Office workers, no more suffering — you don’t have to spend hours in a stuffy meeting room. With conference call service as Zoom and Skype are easily available on mobile and desktop platforms, it’s now easier than ever to set up a video call for work or play, whether it’s with you friends or meetings with your boss.
Google’s own video calling service, Google Hangouts, was recently discontinued to replace Google Meet. What exactly is Google Meet? Formerly a business service, Google Meet is a simple, click and start video calling service, now available to all Google account users.
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What is Google Meet?
Google Meet is Google’s premier video calling service. Originally launched in 2017 as a paid product for business users, Google’s decision to discontinue the consumer Google Hangouts service left a major hole in the calling feature. video in its services — a vulnerability that Google Meet intends to replace.
Google Meet has been free to use for all Google account users since April 2020. It has a mobile app available for iOS and Android devices or it can be used on computers to your desk or PC by accessing Google Meet Website. You can also use Google Meet within Gmail itself, and schedule calls for future events using Google Calendar.
Although the service is designed with business in mind, it provides a great experience for individual users. The benefit of using Google Meet over other services is simple — if you have a Google account, you don’t need to sign up for another account to start a video call with friends, family or his colleagues.
Schedule a Google Meet meeting
Before you can start a video conference call with another Google Meet user, you need to start the meeting immediately or schedule it for a future time.
If you want to schedule a meeting, you can use Google Calendar to create a meeting ID that can be shared with other users.
- To schedule a meeting in Google calendarpress Create at the top right. In the create meeting box, set the time, date, and name for the meeting, and then click More Google Meet video conferencing button. This will create a shareable Google Meet link, which you can copy by tapping Copy button. Press Save to save the meeting event to your calendar.
- To invite others via email, tap Another choice button. In the broader create meeting menu, you can invite other Google account holders to the event (and thus provide them with a link to the conference) in Guest section.
The Google Meet link created with the event will take the user to a private Google Meet meeting, and you can use it before, during, or after the scheduled event time.
If you want to create this event in Google Meet, tap Schedule a video meeting from Google Calendar upper button Google Meet front page. This will take you directly to the new Google Calendar event, where you can schedule a meeting and invite others directly.
Create and join a Google Meet meeting
If you want to create a meeting right away, you can do so from Google Meet front pagefrom the Gmail website or from the Google Meet app on iOS or Android.
- Click Start a meeting to instantly create a new meeting. This creates a virtual meeting room with its own 10-letter ID code.
- With the link created, you can test your video and microphone input on the left side. When you’re ready to join the meeting, tap Join now button, or The current if you want share your screen. A direct link to your meeting is listed above the options to join the meeting — you can copy this link or save the 10-letter code here to allow other users to join the meeting your.
You can also create and join a Google Meet meeting using the Gmail interface. This is only possible for desktop users — mobile users will need to download and install the Google Meet app instead.
- To create a new Google Meet meeting in Gmail, open your Gmail inbox and tap Start a meeting inside button Google Meet in the menu on the left. This will open Google Meet in a new window, allowing you to preview the feed from your camera and microphone. As before, press Join now or The current to join the meeting.
- If you want to join a meeting, press Join a meeting alternative link.
- Gmail will ask you for a 10-digit Google Meet meeting ID code. Enter this in the section provided Got a meeting code? Box, then press Participation to join the meeting.
- If the correct Google Meet meeting code is provided, Google Meet will launch in a new window — press Participation, Ask to join or The current to join it. Another user in a Google Meet meeting may need to accept an invitation to join if that user has not been invited to the meeting. If that approval is given, you will successfully join the meeting.
If you’re using Android and iOS, you can join a meeting with other Google users using the Google Meet app.
- To create a new meeting in the Google Meet app, tap New meeting button. This will create a new meeting, with a pop-up containing the meeting ID and sharing link. To join a meeting in the Google Meet app, tap Meeting code instead.
- If you decide to join a meeting, you’ll need to enter your Google Meet meeting ID Enter the meeting code window, then press Join meetings join the meeting, or The current to mirror your device screen into the meeting.
Once you decide to end the meeting, all other connected users will need to leave the meeting for the meeting to actually end. However, the meeting ID will still be valid, allowing you to reconnect and restart the meeting later, if you wish to do so.
Video Conferencing with Google, Zoom and more
With the ability to schedule and launch video calls on desktop and mobile, Google Meet offers strong competition Launch and Microsoft Team for quick, easy team meetings. This is also a good option for personal calls, although other options, such as Whatsapp video calls, are available for you to try.
If you can’t decide between these services, why not try them all? Even enterprise services like Microsoft Teams offer a free service or a trial period, but for Google account holders, Google Meet offers the fastest and easiest route to video calling between colleagues and friends — completely free.
