How Google Meet works

Nowadays, whether it’s to keep in touch with friends and relatives or for more efficient work management, it is increasingly useful to be able to organize group video conferences. If you are reading this guide you will surely know it, and you will know that there are different software suitable for the purpose.

Among the numerous video conferencing apps, however, you have searched for it Google Meet. So I guess you’ll want to know more about this tool, understanding how to use it on all your devices. I’m right? Well, then know that by reading this article you will find all the information you need.

Whether you have an Android smartphone, an iPhone or a computer at your disposal, read on: I will explain to you in detail how Google Meet works and how to use it to make video conferences and meetings in comfort. So take five minutes all to yourself and put my advice into practice: you won’t regret it!

What is Google Meet

Before guiding you through the actual use of the service, allow me to explain what is Google Meet and how it differs from other video conferencing solutions available today.

Google Meet is an application developed by Google to allow users to create and participate in meetings and video conferences quickly and easily.

If you want to join a meeting created with Google Meet, know that this function has always been fully freewhile the creation of new meetings and the permission to invite people into a meeting are functions previously reserved for G Suite users (Google’s paid business-oriented platform) but from May 2020 available free of charge for everyoneas also written by Google on its official blog.

The service is available for use by 60 minutesup to a maximum of 100 participants for single users, while for unlimited use and up to a maximum of 250 participants for companies.

As for compatibility, I have already mentioned it: Google Meet is available for Android, iPhone and iPad, PC and even from a landline: as I will explain later, in fact, it is possible to participate in meetings created with Meet simply by dialing a number phone connected to the meeting. But now let’s go in order.

How Google Meet works

As I mentioned in the previous chapter, Google Meet it is really simple to use. In the following paragraphs, I will therefore explain how to create and participate in meetings on this platform. Whether you have an Android device, an iPhone, an iPad or a PC, you will find no difficulty: guaranteed!

How Google Meet works on PC

You don’t need to download any software to use Google Meet from a PC. Indeed, if you have a microphone and a webcam, you can create or participate in Meet meetings simply by using your browser. Here’s how.

First, make sure you’re using a compatible browser, such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Edge or Safari.

Then go to the Google Meet website and, if you are using an account enabled for the creation of meetings, you will see the green button on the screen with the writing Join or start a meeting; otherwise, if you are only allowed to join meetings (restriction removed as of May 2020), you will see a green button that says Use a meeting code.

To join a meeting, you will need to have the meeting code or the invite links provided by whoever created it. If you can’t find it, I suggest you ask the person who requested your participation in the meeting directly.

Do you have the code at hand or do you have the invite link available? Great, press the now green button on the Google Meet page and enter the code you received on the page that opens. If you clicked on the invitation link, however, you can go directly to the next chapter.

If you want to create a meeting instead, press the green button that says Join or start a meeting and enter the title of the meeting in the box that appears next. You can also leave the box blank, to assign a random name to the meeting.

In both cases, if it is the first time you start Google Meet, a request for permission to use the webcam and microphone will appear, which you will have to agree to by pressing the button allow.

Once this is done, you will be presented with a preview of your meeting link. In this screen you have the possibility, if you want, to deactivate the microphone or the webcam, by pressing the button with the icon microphone or the button with the icon webcams, on the left. You can now decide to join the meeting by pressing the button Ask to participate or, if you were creating the meeting, the button Participate.

If you have just created a meeting, a box will immediately appear with the information needed to connect other people. You can press the Copy participation info button and send the copied information to the participants, or decide to press the button add to invite new participants via email.

Pressing the button Who loves, you can also invite attendees by phone number. Remember, however, that the function that allows the invitation by call is only available to participants who have a Canadian or US number.

You can also decide to press on the writing Other phone numbers, to obtain a list of telephone numbers divided by country. Send attendees their country’s phone number, along with the PIN that will appear next to it, to allow them to join the meeting by calling that number and entering the received PIN.

Once the meeting information has been copied and invitations sent, you can press the icon x, at the top right of the box, to return to the videoconference. In any case, you can view the meeting information again by pressing the button with the name of the meeting located at the bottom left of the screen.

If, on the other hand, you are joining the meeting as a guest, you must wait for the meeting manager to accept your link; after which you will automatically be inside the meeting.

Also in this case, you can decide to disable the microphone and webcam at any time by pressing the buttons with the icons microphone or of the webcams places below. To interrupt the connection, however, just press the red button with the icon of a handsetbottom center.

While joining a meeting, Google Meet allows you to view the connected participants, using the button with the icon two people (top right). You can also send text messages to participants by pressing the button with the a icon comic book also located at the top right.

If you want to share your screen with the rest of the participants instead, press the key Submit now placed in the lower right. In this case, a menu with buttons will open Full screen And A windowwhich will allow you to cast the entire PC screen or a single active program on your computer, respectively.

Once you have chosen the image to present, press on it and then press the button Share, to start sharing the image. You can stop the presentation at any time by pressing the central button Stop presentation.

Please note that Google Meet is also available in Gmail. To use it, all you have to do is access your e-mail address from your browser and click on the item relating to Google Meet present in the left sidebar.

How Google Meet works on mobile

If you want use Google Meet from mobile, the first step you need to take is to download the official app provided by Google. You can download and install the Android version for free from the Play Store or the iPhone version from the App Store. They both work the same way.

Once you install and open the application, you will immediately see the video image from your camera. Before participating in a meeting you have the option, by pressing the buttons with the icon microphone or with the icon video camera to mute the microphone and camera, depending on your preferences.

Now here’s how you can join or create a meeting. If you’re creating a meeting, press the button New meeting, to create a new meeting automatically. The meeting participation information will appear in a box with the writing Add others.

You can share this information by copying and sending it to attendees or by pressing the button Share. Also, pressing the button Other phone numbersyou can see a list of numbers divided by country: you therefore have the possibility to send the participants the telephone number corresponding to their country together with the PIN present in the green box above, to allow them to participate by calling the number provided and entering the relevant PIN.

When you have completed the invitation operations, press the icon with the x, at the top right of the tile, to return to the meeting. You will always be able to view the meeting information by pressing the button with the one icon “the” placed in the center of the screen.

If you were participating as a guest in the meeting, press the button instead Enter a meeting code and enter the code that was provided to you. Then press the button Ask to participate and wait for the meeting creator to accept your participation. Once he has accepted, you will be in the video conference.

Whether you have created a meeting or are just participating in it, you can decide at any time to deactivate the microphone or webcam by pressing once on the part of the screen containing the video of the meeting and successively pressing on the buttons with the icon microphone or with the icon video camera.

You can end your participation in the meeting by pressing the red button with the icon of a handset. At the bottom of the screen, however, you can check the meeting participants using the button with the icon two peoplewhile you can write text messages to the participants through the button with the icon of a comic book.

You can also choose to share your smartphone screen with meeting participants. To do this, press on the part of the screen containing the video of the conference and then on the button with i three dots located at the top right. Then click on the items Show screen, Start presenting And Start nowto start screen casting.

You can stop screen sharing by pressing the button End presentation placed in the center of the screen. Simple, right?

Salvatore Aranzulla is the most read blogger and IT popularizer in Italy. He is known for discovering vulnerabilities in Google and Microsoft sites. He collaborates with computer magazines and takes care of the technological section of the newspaper Il Messaggero. He is the founder of Aranzulla.it, one of the thirty most visited sites in Italy, in which he simply answers thousands of computer-related questions. He has published for Mondadori and Mondadori Informatica.