A laptop in Google Meet Companion mode intentionally has its meeting microphone and playback audio turned off. If you leave the conference room or need to use that laptop for conversation, use the documented leave-and-rejoin path. Searching for an ordinary unmute control within Companion mode does not change its audio purpose.
Prepare the audio handover
Tell the organizer that you are changing from room participation to personal audio. Move away from an active room speaker or use an appropriate headset before joining with full audio. Keep the original meeting invitation available so you return to the same conversation. A new instant meeting would leave colleagues in a different room.
Leave Companion mode and rejoin
In the laptop’s Companion screen, click the meeting name at the bottom left. Use Leave and rejoin to use your audio to return to the meeting landing page. Review the selected microphone, speaker, and camera, then follow the normal joining option for the existing meeting. Admission may still depend on the meeting’s access settings.
Verify sound and the room association
Ask a colleague to confirm a short spoken phrase and check that you can hear their response. Make sure you have not left another nearby device playing the same meeting audio. Google says room check-in is tied to the Companion session and is lost when you exit it, so do not assume you remain associated with the old room tile. If you later return to the conference room, reconsider whether Companion mode is appropriate again. Check the connection type and audio state each time rather than relying on the fact that the meeting title remains the same.
References
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.