When you attend an important office meeting on Google Meet, you want nothing to interrupt it. For clarity and isolation, headphones are mostly preferred, but there was a problem with Google Meet when you used USB headphones. The virtual meeting platform did not understand headphone controls, forcing you to inevitably reach out for the mouse to mute or unmute yourself. That has changed. Google has rolled out a new update to Meet that lets you toggle between mute and unmute using headphones, speakers, or other USB audio devices.
The new Google Meet USB functionality recognises any USB peripherals and immediately supports its controls. That means when you press the mute/unmute button on your headphone, Google Meet will do the same for your meeting. It will also allow users to use LED colour changes on a USB device to determine if they are on mute or not. The new functionality helps, especially if you take a lot of Google Meet calls. There, however, are some limitations.
Google will let you control the mute function for your Meet sessions only if you use a Chromium-based browser. That means browsers such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Brave, Vivaldi, and Opera are supported. But other browsers are not. The leading browsers that are not a part are Firefox and Safari. Another limitation is that it works only with USB peripherals. This means the Google Meet USB functionality does not support your Bluetooth headsets.
According to the Meet-certified headsets and speaker microphones list, you can go for products from brands such as Jabra, Logitech, Anker, Poly, and Bose. Google said it will expand the functionality to muting video and ending a meeting, among others. Currently, it is just for calls. The new functionality is available to Google Workspace customers, G Suite Basic, and G Suite Business customers.
“Video conferencing has become a cornerstone of the hybrid work experience, with Google Meet boosting communication and collaboration for teams of all sizes,” Google said in a blog post. “This also means people consider the use of peripheral devices—from headsets, speaker mics, mute buttons, and more—essential to their video meeting experience.”