Google Meet: Join a meeting from a link
Google Meet has been around for years, and long before a great deal of people found themselves going online during the pandemic. One of Google Meet’s major strengths is that most people already have it. You can use it with a Google account (or without one), and it’s free.
Google Meet doesn’t have many of the restrictions that you’ll find in a free Zoom account and it lacks many of the complications of Microsoft Teams. It’s great for online meetings that require little set up but need powerful tools.
Google Meet: Join a meeting
Like many online meeting tools, the key to joining a Google Meet meeting is the link to the meeting. You have the choice to sign in with your Google account and join it, or to join a meeting without an account.
Google Meet link
In order to join a Google Meet meeting, you need the link to it. The meeting link can be;
- Found in the invite for the meeting
- Shared directly by the meeting host over email or a chat app
Once you have the link, you can join the meeting. Keep in mind that you won’t be able to join a meeting that hasn’t started. If you enter the meeting before it has started, you will be put in queue. Only when the meeting host allows you to enter the meeting will you be allowed in.
Google Meet join a meeting
You can join a Google Meet meeting from the desktop via a modern desktop browser. There is not dedicated desktop app for Google Meet.
- Open your browser.
- Enter the link to the meeting in the URL bar and tap Enter.
- Sign in to your Google account if you want.
- If you do not want to sign in with a Google account, enter a name and click Join.
- Wait for the meeting host to allow you into the meeting.
Note: Your browser will ask for permission to access the mic and the camera when you visit the meeting link. In order to be heard when you speak during a meeting, you will need to allow the browser access to the mic. If you’d like to join with video, give the browser access to your webcam.
To join a Google Meet meeting from a phone, follow these steps.
- Install the Google Meet app on your phone. It is available for Android and for iOS.
- Open the app and sign in with a Google account.
- Tap Join a meeting.
- Enter the link to the meeting.
- Tap Join.
Note: You must allow the Google Meet app access to your mic and camera when you first install it.
Conclusion
On mobile platforms, there is no option to join a meeting without signing into a Google account. You can try dialing in to a meeting but it means you won’t get any video/screens shared.
