Fix Google Meet Microphone Not Working “Off Due to Call Size”
One of the limitations of online meetings is bandwidth. Not every online meeting tool can handle multiple audio and/or video streams at once. Apps have to manage multiple streams, keep them all separate, keep the quality of the call decent, and accommodate new participants joining in.
Google Meet Microphone Not Working?
Google Meet is one of the many popular apps being used for online meetings at present. It’s a robust tool that offers background blur, picture-in-picture mode, and meetings with up to 100 participants. It’s also free which makes it more accessible for many people.
Google Meet is like any other online meeting tool that needs to manage a great number of audio and video streams in a call. If you join a Google Meet meeting, and you see the “Mic is off due to the size of the call” message, it’s nothing to worry about and the fix is simple.
How to fix “Mic is off due to the size of the call”?
Unmute the mic
Google Meet automatically mutes the mic for participants in a meeting once the participant count exceeds 5. This isn’t a hard block; as a user, you can unmute the mic by clicking the mic icon.
How it works
In a Google Meet meeting, the first five users will join with their mics on. The sixth person to join the meeting will be muted and they will see the “Mic is off due to the size of the call” message. All subsequent users who join the meeting will likewise be muted and they too will see the same message.
In all cases, the user who has automatically been muted can unmute the mic.
Why does Google Meet mute users
Google Meet mutes users because the more users that join the meeting, the more ‘noise’ an active mic will create in the conversation. It’s best to mute a user and to allow them to unmute themselves when they have something to say. It can also help manage the bandwidth for the call more easily.
Conclusion
There is no option to disable this feature. If you routinely hold meetings with more than five users, it’s a good idea to let other participants know why they’re being muted on entry, and that they can unmute themselves whenever they want. Google Meet allows everyone to have their mic unmuted and will not forcefully mute other users so that you can speak. All that said, it is good online meeting etiquette to mute you mic if you aren’t the one speaking.
