A Google Meet host can mute your microphone to stop background noise, but cannot turn it back on for you. If the host invites you to speak after muting you, use your own microphone control. First distinguish ordinary muting from an audio lock that prevents participants from unmuting.
Turn your microphone back on
In the meeting’s bottom controls, find the microphone button. Point to it if you need to read its label, then choose Turn on microphone. Speak briefly and ask whether the host can hear you. A headset’s physical mute switch or the computer’s input setting can still prevent sound even when Meet’s button shows an active microphone.
Recognize a host audio lock
If Meet prevents you from enabling the microphone, tell the host through an available channel. With Host Management enabled, a host or co-host can lock participant audio. The host must allow microphones again before you can unmute. Repeatedly clicking the button or selecting a different headset does not remove this meeting restriction.
Verify speech after the restriction ends
After the host turns off Audio Lock, manually turn on your microphone; unlocking does not automatically broadcast your voice. Check the microphone selected in Meet’s audio settings and its activity meter while speaking. If the meter responds but someone still cannot hear you, ask another listener before assuming the microphone is broken. For a telephone dial-in connection, Google documents *6 as the phone mute and unmute control, including after another person mutes you. When your turn ends, mute again if the meeting requires it. Keep the host informed of a continuing permission or device error rather than leaving and creating a new meeting.
References
- Fix audio issues in Google Meet
- Lock audio & video in a Google Meet meeting
- Pin or mute Google Meet participants
Reviewed against the linked official product guidance on November 4, 2026. Features, limits, screen labels, and access can vary by account, platform, region, and organization policy.