We’ve all been there: one person on a group Zoom or Teams call is blissfully unaware their audio is echoing, or worse, that they’re causing ear-piercing feedback for everyone else. Meanwhile, you can barely get a word in to let them know. It’s even more embarrassing if you’re unlucky enough to be that person.
It’s a massive annoyance, to say the least. So you’ll be thrilled to hear the boffins at Google have been hard at work on solving the issue.
The tech company’s video calling platform, Google Meet, will now warn users who are causing an echo on calls. It announced the change in a blog post on Monday.
Meet already has tech in place to reduce echo and other background noises. However, sometimes it still isn’t enough to remove the irritation completely, as regular users will know.
Once the new feature is live, which will be up to two weeks from today, Meet will notify you if it detects your device is creating feedback. You’ll see both a red dot on the “more options” button as well as a text notification.
Muting is a quick fix to stop the echo annoying other callers. But even better, clicking the alert will direct you to Google’s support pages, where you’ll find information on how to stop the noise altogether.
The setting will be turned on for everyone by default, meaning those clueless callers in your work meeting won’t be able to escape.
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However, it will only be rolled out to Google Workspace and G Suite customers. That means your personal calls likely won’t be covered unless you have a subscription yourself. Still, it’s a fantastic add on for those still struggling to work from home.
Echos on video calls often happen when your microphone feeds audio back into a call, essentially doubling up the sound for everyone else.
Common fixes for the problem include using headphones, lowering your speaker volume and muting yourself when not speaking. Other tips from experts include making sure you’re using the right microphone if you have multiple mics available, like headphones or a webcam as well as your PC. If all else fails, it might be time to upgrade your microphone or headset.
It follows other Google Meet updates this summer, including a standalone web app, the ability to have up to 25 co-hosts and background blur or replacement for your video feed.
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