Working and convening remotely/Google Hangouts Meet

This page provides documentation on setting up and using Google Hangouts Meet, a service provided through the Google G Suite. Here is a quick video introducing Google Hangouts Meet.

What you can do with Meet

• Make video calls. Join video meetings from mobile devices, laptops, or a conference room. You can meet with up to 250 people at a time.
• Invite people inside or outside your organization. Schedule a meeting using Google Calendar or invite people after you join the call.
• Dial in from a phone. A phone number and PIN is automatically added to every Meet video meeting created. This was currently only available in the US and Canada, but as of February 2019, several international numbers are available. Anyone can use the number to dial-in (including external users and people using other G Suite editions). Note: Regular call charges apply.
• Dial out to a phone number. This was currently only available in the US and Canada, but as of February 2019, several international numbers are available.
• Schedule meetings. All meetings scheduled with Google Calendar include a Meet video link. Meetings also include a dial-in number so people can call in for audio access.
• Share your screen. While in a meeting, you can share your screen to present slides or other information on your desktop.
• Use multiple devices. Scheduled meetings are synced automatically across devices, so you can start a meeting on your computer and continue on another device, such as your phone.
• Record a meeting. You can record video meetings for other people to watch later if you are the meeting organizer or in the organizer's domain.

When to use Meet

• Routine team meetings
• 1 on 1s
• Meetings with 250 remote participants or less

Meet system requirements on your computer

Supported operating systems

Meet supports the current version and the 2 previous major releases of these operating systems:

• macOS
• Windows
• Chrome OS
• Ubuntu and other Debian-based Linux distributions

Supported web browsers

• Google Chrome
• Firefox
• Note: Chromium is unsupported, but everything except screensharing works

Camera and microphone access

When you start a video call for the first time, you need to let Meet use your camera and microphone.

Video call requirements

A quad-core processor or higher is required to support HD video.

Bandwidth for video calls

The bandwidth used by Meet is adaptive and varies to provide the best experience on participants’ network. Run Google's internet speed test if you do not know your bandwidth speed.

Minimum bandwidth required

• Outbound from the participant: 300 kbps
• Inbound to the participant: 300 kbps

Ideal bandwidth

• Two-person video calls:
  • Outbound from the participant: 3.2 mbps
  • Inbound to the participant: 2.6 mbps
• Group video calls:
  • Outbound from the participant in all situations: 3.2 mbps
  • Inbound to the participant with 6 or more participants: 3.4 mbps

Start a video meeting

You can start a video meeting from several different devices and G Suite products. Note: Before you start a video meeting, make sure that your computer meets the system requirements.

Schedule a video meeting in Calendar

It’s easy to schedule a Meet video meeting in Google Calendar—just create an event and add your guests to it. A video meeting link can be added to a calendar event either by adding one or more guests to the event, or by clicking on Add conferencing. After you save the event, a meeting link and dial-in number are added to the event. Note: Guests can forward the meeting link to other people. If someone tries to join who was not invited to the Calendar event, a meeting participant from your organization must accept their request.

On the web

1. Go to Google Calendar and create an event.
2. On the Guests tab, go to Add guests to invite guests from inside or outside your organization.
3. Click SAVE.
4. Click Send to notify guests.

Guests receive an email with the event information and a link to the video call.

Copy an existing conference from one event to another

You can use the same Meet conference details to schedule Calendar events.

1. In Calendar, open an event that has a conference call in edit mode.
2. Click View Details > Edit create.
3. Paste or type an existing Meet URL and click Done.
4. Click SAVE.

Note: You can only paste a Meet link (not a classic Hangouts link) from another Calendar event.

On mobile devices

1. Go to Calendar and create an event.
2. Add guests from inside or outside your organization.
3. Make sure Video call is on.
4. Tap Save.

Guests receive an email with the event information and a link to the video call.

Start a video meeting from your web browser

If you need a quick conversation from someone, you can start an instant meeting in a web browser. If someone sends you a meeting link URL, simply click the link to join the call. Note: You can send the meeting link to people outside of your organization, but someone from within your organization needs to give them access to the video meeting.

On the web

Chrome browser only

1. In a web browser, enter https://meet.google.com.
2. Click Start a new meeting > Start meeting.
3. Click Copy joining info to copy the meeting link details and share the details with your guests.

Start a video meeting from your mobile device

If you’re away from your desk, you can start and join video meetings anytime, anywhere on your mobile device using the Hangouts Meet mobile app.

Get the Google Hangouts Meet app

1. In the Play Store (Android) or App Store (iOS), download and install the Google Hangouts Meet app.
2. Tap the Google Hangouts Meet app on your device to open it.

If you have multiple devices, you can start the video call on one device and continue on another. Calls are automatically synchronized across all devices.

Start a video meeting from your mobile device

1. Open the Hangouts Meet app.
2. Tap Add.
3. Tap Share and select an app to send the meeting details to your guests.

Join a video meeting

You can join a Meet video meeting from a Calendar event, a meeting link URL, a meeting code, or dial in from a phone.

Join from a Calendar event

See your scheduled meetings in Calendar and quickly join a video meeting.

On the web

1. In Calendar, click the event you want to join.
2. Click Join Google Hangouts Meet and in the window that opens, click Join meeting.

On mobile devices

1. In Calendar, open the event.
2. To join the meeting, tap the Join video call link.

Join from Meet

On the web

1. In a web browser, enter https://meet.google.com/.
2. Select the meeting from your list of scheduled events.
3. Click Join meeting.

On mobile devices

1. Open the Hangouts Meet app.
2. Swipe up from the bottom to view your scheduled meetings.
3. Select a meeting from the list and tap Join.

Join with a meeting link URL

Sometimes there isn’t enough time to schedule a meeting and book a room. You can join an impromptu video meeting by clicking the meeting link URL sent to you in a text or email.

On the web

1. Click the meeting link sent to you in a text or email.
2. Follow the onscreen prompts to join the meeting.

On mobile devices

1. Tap the meeting link sent to you via text or email.
2. Follow the onscreen prompts to join.

Join with a meeting code

You can join a meeting by entering the meeting code, which is the unique code at the end of the meeting link.

On the web

1. In a web browser, enter https://meet.google.com.
2. Click Use a meeting code.
3. Enter the meeting code and click Join.

On mobile devices

1. Open the Hangouts Meet app.
2. Tap Menu menu.
3. Tap Use a meeting code.
4. Enter the meeting code and choose an option:
   • If you’re signed in to your G Suite account, click Join.
   • If you’re not signed in to your G Suite account, click Ask to join the meeting.

Dial in from a phone

Meet allows for creating meetings that include a dial-in option for audio-only access. Several countries are supported as of February 2019.

1. Open the Calendar event or meeting invite.
2. Tap the phone number (the PIN is automatically entered. Enter the PIN if you are manually entering the phone number).

Supported dial-in countries

See Working and convening remotely/Videoconference international phone dial numbers.

Collaborate in video meetings

Add and remove guests to video meetings in progress

You can invite more guests and remove guests during a video meeting. To invite people outside of your organization who haven’t already been added to a Calendar event, someone from your organization must first give them access to the meeting. Note: Guests who manually dial in using the phone number need to enter the meeting PIN.

On the web

Add a guest to a video meeting in progress:

1. In the bottom corner, click the meeting name.
2. Click Copy Info
3. Paste the meeting details into an email, or other app, and send it to the person.

Remove a guest from a video meeting in progress:

Click the Back arrow, hover over the person, and click Remove. Note: You need to be in the same organization as the meeting organizer to remove someone from a video meeting.

On mobile devices

Add a guest to a video meeting in progress:

1. Open Meet and join a video meeting.
2. Tap the Details tab.
3. Tap Share joining info and select an app to send the meeting details to your guest.

Remove a guest from a video meeting in progress:

Click the People tab, select the Down arrow next to the person, and click Remove.

Add more guests to a Calendar event

If you’ve forgotten to invite people to your Meet video meeting, you can add additional guests in Calendar.

On the web

1. Go to Calendar and open an existing event.
2. On the Guests tab, go to Add guests and add additional guests.
3. Click SAVE.
4. Click Send to send the invites.

Guests receive an email with the event information and a link to the video call.

On mobile devices

1. Go to Calendar and open an existing event.
2. In the Guests field, add additional guests.
3. Tap Save to send the invites.

Guests receive an email with the event information and a link to the video call.

Send chat messages

Send messages to other guests during a video meeting from a computer or mobile device.

On the web

1. Open Meet and join a video meeting.
2. In the top right corner, click Chat.
3. Enter a text message and click Send.

Note: Chat messages are visible to everyone in the call. When you leave the meeting, all chat messages disappear.

On mobile devices

1. Open Meet and join a video meeting.
2. Tap Chat.
3. Enter a text message and tap Send.

Present your screen

Want to discuss a file or present to a group over a video meeting? You can share your screen to present documents, presentations, spreadsheets, and more.

Note: You can’t currently present your screen from a mobile device.

On the web

1. Open Meet and join a video meeting.
2. Click Present and choose what to share:
   • Your entire screen
   • A window
3. Select Share.
4. When you’re done presenting, click Stop sharing, or at the bottom corner, click You Are Presenting > Cancel your presentation.
5. (Optional) To take over presenting from someone else, at the bottom corner, select the presenting controls and select Present instead.

Change screen layouts in a meeting

Meet automatically switches between layouts depending on the state of your meeting. You can switch to a different layout as needed.

The layout options are:

• Auto: Allow Meet to choose the layout for you.
• Tiled: The default layout when there is no presentation, this layout shows up to four video feeds in equal size. Only available when no one is presenting.
• Side by side: Presentation with up to three speakers shown alongside it. Available when there is someone presenting.
• Spotlight: Full screen layout with either the presentation, active speaker, or pinned feed in a full screen format. This layout is also automatically used for presentations when there is no participant with video speaking.
• Sidebar: Single primary video feed or presentation with multiple additional video feeds at the side.

To change the layout:

1. Join a Meet video call.
2. In the lower-right corner of the Meet screen, click More > Change layout.
3. In the Change layout box, select the layout you want to use.

Tip: Hovering the mouse over a video feed will show a menu with the option to pin that participant so they are always visible, or mute them.

Record a video meeting

If you’re the organizer or you’re invited to a video meeting by someone in your organization, you can use Meet to record the meeting. Recordings are saved to Google Drive and linked to the event in Calendar.

On the web

1. Open Meet and start or join a video meeting.
2. When you’re in the meeting, click More > Record meeting and click Start. Note: Participants are notified when recording starts or stops. People outside of your organization, mobile app users, and people who dial in also get notified when the recording starts or stops, but they can’t control the recording.
3. To stop recording, click More > Stop recording.
4. Click Stop recording to confirm. Also, the recording automatically stops when everyone leaves the meeting.
5. Wait a few minutes for the recording file to be generated and saved to Drive. An email with a link to the recording is automatically sent to the meeting organizer and whoever started the recording. The recording is automatically shared with meeting participants who are in the same domain as the meeting organizer.
6. If you receive an email with a recording file, click the file to open it, or click Open in Drive.

Mute a guest’s microphone

If you’re experiencing feedback or background noise during a video meeting, you might want to mute other people’s microphones.

On the web

1. Open Meet and join a video meeting.
2. To mute your microphone, at the bottom of the screen click Mute.
3. To mute other people, next to the person, click Mute.

On mobile devices

1. Open Meet and join a video meeting.
2. To mute yourself, tap Mute.
3. To mute other people, on the People tab, select the person and tap Mute.

Connect a WebEx meeting to Meet

You may want to connect a WebEx meeting to Meet if you need to add participants by phone who are currently outside of the US or Canada.

1. Create a WebEx meeting. Please see Cisco WebEx usage instructions if you do not know how to set up a WebEx meeting.
2. Join the Meet call. Select Meeting Details > Add Someone by Phone.
3. Enter the toll-free number in the WebEx meeting details and click the Call button.
4. Enter the WebEx meeting access code (and host pin number, if necessary) for the meeting you set up.
5. The person on the other end who will be calling in to the WebEx meeting from outside the US or Canada should use the appropriate WebEx Global call-in number

Manage device settings

Adjust your camera, microphone, and more to get the settings you need.

Change your camera, speakers, and microphone

On the web

1. Open Meet and click More > Settings settings.
2. Click General.
3. Choose a setting you want to change:
   • Video
   • Microphone
   • Speakers
4. Click Done.

Adjust your video quality

On a computer, you may want to decrease the quality of your video call if you experience any of the following:

• Video or audio delays
• Poor network connection
• Low battery
• Limited data available
• Other quality issues

On the web

1. Open Meet and click More > Settings settings.
2. Click Network and choose a setting you want to change:
   • Send resolution—The image quality from your device that others see.
   • Receive resolution—The image quality that you see from other participants.
3. Click Done.

Send resolution (maximum)

• High Definition (720p)—(Available on computers with a quad-core CPU or higher) Uses more data, but your camera will send a better quality picture.
• Standard definition (360p)—Uses less data, but your camera will send a lower quality picture.

Receive resolution (maximum)

• High Definition (720p)—(Available on computers with a quad-core CPU or higher) Uses more data, but you see a higher quality picture.
• Standard definition (360p)—Uses less data, but you see a lower quality picture.
• Standard definition (360p) - single feed—To save more data, the other participants' thumbnails turn off.
• Audio Only—To use the least amount of data, you won't see any video.

Adjust your mobile camera

If you’re using the Hangouts Meet app, you might want to reverse the (default) selfie mode on your phone’s camera.

On mobile devices

1. Open the Hangouts Meet app and join a video meeting.
2. Tap More > Switch camera.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What if my desktop needs to be seen on Meet?

A: If you need to share your screen on Meet, join Meet on your laptop and share your screen. Do not forget to mute your microphone and speakers or there will be significant audio feedback.

Q: How do I patch a WebEx call into Meet so that we can connect via phone to/from countries not supported by Google Hangouts Meet?

A: Please see the connect a WebEx meeting to Meet section.

Q: How can I mute/unmute my microphone quickly?

A: This is a common question because we all like to be polite by muting when we aren't speaking. Google Hangouts Meet has a keyboard shortcut, Command-D on a Mac and Ctrl-D on a PC, that will toggle the microphone mute. This only works if the meeting tab is the foremost active tab on your computer.

Troubleshooting

This section contains the most common troubleshooting steps if Meet happens to not be working properly. Let techsupport@wikimedia.org know about the problem immediately, even if you are about to troubleshoot yourself. Even if you figure out the problem in seconds, it is helpful for Office IT to have a record of what you experienced and where.

Best practices

For best results, the following are recommended for the use of Google Hangouts Meet:

• All remote parties should use headphones to minimize echo.
• All remote parties should keep both their browser up to date.
• All remote parties should mute when they are not speaking. This is especially important for meetings with many remote participants.

Echo troubleshooting

The most common complaint about Google Hangouts Meet revolves around what is commonly described as an "echo" effect. This issue is particularly difficult to troubleshoot, as there are numerous situations (both bugs and expected behavior) that can cause this symptom.
If you experience this problem, try these steps in order:

1. First, be sure that there are not multiple microphones open in the same space, such as the conference room AV system and someone else's laptop microphone. If multiple microphones are in the same vicinity as each other, an infinite loop will be created, causing a lot of feedback noise. Remote people should always use headphones.
2. The quickest, most annoying solution is to have all parties mute when they are not speaking, including the conference room host.
3. Next, suggest that the user hearing the "echo" leave Meet and return.
4. If that does not work, try having the host (conference room Mac Mini) leave Meet and return.

Everything Else

Essentially all other troubleshooting of Meet is accomplished with the following steps, in order:

1. Leave Meet and re-join.
2. Quit the browser, open it back up, and re-join.
3. Make sure your browser is up-to-date
4. Restart the computer.

Additional tips

• Google Hangouts Meet provides an option to switch incoming video to a single stream (one person's video rather than all attendees of the meeting). This can be the difference between a usable video feed with good audio and an unusable audio/video feed. When in a meeting, hover over the bottom right of the screen and click the three dots, then click settings, then you can adjust the incoming video options.