How to Share Audio in Google Meet

Working from the comfort of your home has many advantages. Especially when using amazing conferencing apps like Google Meet. However, when you share your screen, you will notice that the audio feature may be missing.

So far, Google Meet hasn't offered a perfect solution, but there are a few workarounds you can try. In this article, you will learn all about the different options available. The next time you start a meeting with a YouTube clip, everyone can hear it.

Google presentations with your PC

Preparing for a work meeting online is slightly different from doing it in the office, mainly because you have to make sure that all the technical prerequisites are in order. If you are a Windows user, you can make sure that the instruction video you prepared comes with the audio ou share other videos, animations, gifs, music and more in your meetings.

Currently, you have three options. You can change microphone settings in Windows 10 and Google Meet or use the “Present” option in Google Meet on Chrome. The "Present a Chrome Tab" feature was "fully" released in May 2022. Here are your options.

Option 1: Adjust microphone settings to share audio in Google Meet

Here's how to adjust your microphone settings in Windows 10.

1. Go to your Windows 10 " Start " Menu.
   
2. Then open " Settings. »
   
3. Then go to "System" > " Ring. »
   
4. Now click “Manage audio devices”.
   
5. Sous “Entry Devices,” make sure to activate the "Stereo Mix" option.
   
6. Also, make sure to turn on the Microphone feature which is right under the “Stereo mix option”.
   
7. Once you're presenting to everyone using Google Meet, click " Settings " (three vertical dots in the lower right corner).
   
8. Under the "Audio" tab, change your default microphone to “Stereo mix. »
   
9. Navigate to the clip you want to showcase and press " Player. »
   

After completing the above steps, meeting participants will not hear your voice because you are setting the studio for PC sounds. Therefore, be sure to let everyone know what's going to happen before you make the changes. Otherwise, the scenario might create confusion.

After you've played the audio you want, you can go back and switch the setting to your default microphone. Switching between microphone settings may not be the ideal solution, but it is the only one available at the moment.

Option 2: Use the "Present a Chrome" tab to share audio in Google Meet

The official Google Workspace team feeds show that the “Present…” option is available for G Suite users, but we've confirmed that it works for general Google accounts as well. The feature only displays the tab you currently have selected. However, when you switch to a new tab, a notification pops up asking if you want to switch to the current tab. Here's how to use the "Present a Chrome Tab" feature.

1. Click on the " People " in the top right section to open more options.
   
2. Select "Present Now" So choose " A tab " from the options listed.
   
3. Click the tab you want to present in the list that appears on your screen, then click Share.
   
4. A notification appears to let you know that you are currently sharing a tab.
   
5. Switch to a new tab if necessary. A prompt appears at the top asking if you want to share this tab or stop instead. To select "Stop" to end the presentation or choose "Share this tab instead" to make the change. You can also click on the currently presented tab (shows a blue rectangle) to skip the prompt if you want to keep the same tab running.
   
6. To close your presentation, click "Stop Presenting" in the main window, the Windows presentation notification, or “You present -> Stop presenting” in the lower right corner of your main window.
   

Option 3: Use another device to share audio in Google Meet

In addition to changing your microphone settings in Windows 10 and Google Meets, it is also possible to use your smartphone at the same time using the " Use phone for audio " characteristic. As a result, you can talk while presenting the video or images from your PC. However, using your phone for audio in Meets is currently limited to Google Workspace hosts only. It also mutes PC audio during the call.

How to mute attendees on Google Meet

If you plan to share audio during your Google Meet presentation, you're probably worried about too much noise or chatter. It would be nice if there was a 'Mute All' button available that you could click while Audio Sharing is active.

Fortunately, Google Meet has just started introducing an option to mute everyone from May 2022 by providing it to Google Meet hosts in the Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals and Education Plus domains. All other users should wait until further notice. For companies and users in general, this does not mean that all is lost. You can attempt to use a third-party browser add-on, or you can mute individual Google Meet participants with just a few clicks.

Google Meet: mute everyone using individual selection

The safest way to mute everyone during your Google Meet presentation is mute each participant, one by one unless you can use “Make everything quiet. » Here's how to mute everyone individually.

1. While presenting, go to " People " in the upper right corner of the Google Meet window.
2. From the list of participants, select a name you want to mute.
3. You will have three icons that will appear, click on the middle one ("microphone icon").
4. You will be asked to confirm if you want to disable this participant. hurry " Mute. »

Now that person's microphone will be muted. You can repeat the process as many times as needed if you want to mute everyone.

Google Meet: Mute everyone using the "Mute All" feature

When using Google Meet for educational purposes, with lots of students involved, it helps to know how to turn off any unnecessary noise, mainly because teachers often use audio and video clips in class. For those who use Meet to Education Plus Domains ou Google Workspace for Education Core Principles (as mentioned before), you're in luck. Feel free to mute everyone all at once. Remember you can't unmute. Therefore, include something in your presentation to let attendees know they can unmute their microphones if needed! Here's how to mute everyone on Google Meet.

1. During the Google Meet session, click on "People" in the session menu at the top right.
   
2. Select “Make everything quiet. »
   
3. The mute icon will change from black to color to represent the active state, and the text will become “All muted. »
   

Google Meet: First Listen, Then Speak

Sometimes it's hard not to want to step in, even when it's not the right time. If you're the one sharing the audio, you want everyone to hear it first. You may even need to resort to muting attendees, especially if you're dealing with students.

Second, until Google Meet finds a better way to share audio, you can always switch between microphone settings, as shown above, or use your smartphone to provide audio. It's not perfect, but it does the job.

Audio and Google Meet

Fortunately, Google Meet has come a long way in terms of audio capabilities, but there's definitely room for improvement.

Did you manage to add audio to your Google Meet? Do you know any other ways to share audio? Share your thoughts with the community in the comments below.