What Are the Disadvantages of Google Meet?

The COVID Pandemic ushered in a time where working from home has become the need of the hour. Work tools like private chat platforms and word documents experienced a sudden increase in video conferencing tools. The need to meet with clients and team members alike has initiated the question: what is the best video conferencing tool? Google meet is undoubtedly one of the most reliable and secure video conferencing Platforms to connect with colleagues and handle daily tasks. 

Here's a brief overview of how Google can help your daily business. 

Google Meet was previously known as Google Hangouts. Together with Google Chat, they make a section of the Standard G Suite, i.e., Google's office suite. Google Hangout Meets was named an enterprise-friendly version of Hangouts that supports 100 participants for non-G users and 250 participants for the G Suite users. The software is perfect for work-related calls and workshops and can also be used for little chit-chats with friends. Google Meet is often compared with Zoom and Skype is also frequently considered as an alternative to Zoom. 

Meetings for up to 60 minutes are free; you will have to buy a plan if you want to exceed the time limit. Also, you can go through the plans and their respective pricing accordingly for any additional features such as live streaming, international dial-in numbers, meeting recordings, and administrative controls.

Google Meet also uses AI to conform to lighting conditions automatically. This feature helps the meeting participants to join the video call without worrying whether other team members can see them. Here are some other advantages of using Google Meet.

1.     100 participants – Google Meet is a free service offered by Giants "Google" for everybody. You can use this tool as long as needed, up to 100 participants at a time for virtual meetings. You can exceed the user limit by buying the other pricing plans by Google Meet. You can have 250 attendees based on the Google Workspace version you are using.

2.     The Screen-sharing feature allows the user to share their monitor screen with others. That's how you can discuss your problems with colleagues/ friends.

3.     The cross-add feature makes the creation and joining of audio and video meetings easy. 

4.     Google Meet supports Gmail Web, IOS and Android apps, and Google Calendar. 

5.     The Anti-Hijacking feature and additional privacy feature make Google secure for real-time official meetings.

6.     Perfect solution for distance learning - Luckily, this video conferencing app is crucial for teachers to create a Google classroom for students. Students can attend their classes from a mile distance. 

7.     Remove user – if you want to remove any meeting participant from the Google Meeting, you can mute and remove them.

8.     Layout options – Google Mate has a tiled layout and other layout options, which is more efficient. 

9.     Subtitle – if you are video calling or chatting on Google Meet, you will see the subtitles. The accurate caption option and additional call features allow you to see the captions and subtitles as a host speaks. 

10.  Background blur – you can blur the background if you want through Google Meet. It’s an all-exclusive feature.

11.  It has access to Google Calendar and Google Jamboard.

12.  You don’t have to deal with the unwanted ads during the deployment of meetings.

13.  It has an easy-to-use, intuitive user interface. 

14.  Updates are automatic and constant.

15.  The sessions can be easily stored in Google Drive.

While Google Meet has many advantages, there are also some drawbacks you should be aware of while choosing a video conferencing system for your business communications

1.     Screen sharing restrictions

Screen sharing is an outstanding feature Google Meet offers, but it only permits sharing one screen at a time. The other way to do this is by adding two windows to a screen before sharing the content. This way, the meeting host can display more information specifically used while making comparisons. Unfortunately, when you are in the middle of an important meeting, this can feel like a boring task. 

2.     Blank presentation problems

At times, while sharing the screen with other users when the host uses Keynote presentations or Microsoft PowerPoint and commences with a slide show, it takes a great deal of time to load, and sometimes the screen is widely blank to all the participants, which can be annoying to make them wait.

3.     Limited features

It’s better to compare different forms of technology to understand their features better. Google Meet may look like a perfect option among the other online video conferencing tools because of its high levels of security. For feature comparison, when Google Meet is compared with Zoom, users can realize that Google Met has a set of constraints. There’s no waiting room for participants in Google meet, but Zoom offers this feature. Whiteboard is another feature for which use of Google Jamboard is a must. On the other hand, the Whiteboard is an in-built feature in Zoom. Thus, feature-wise, Google Meet is limited compared to its competitor video conferencing tools.

4.     Interoperability service users are prohibited from joining

As Google Meet is famous for its stability and security, it has unarguably disallowed giving allowance to join in any meeting through any interoperability services such as Pexip, etc. Users connecting through this service are often considered to be unknown parties. They are automatically blocked from entering the call sessions, which is quite annoying as many people use such services and have been experiencing this problem.

5.     Display limited number of participants

Google Meet displays up to 16 participants in tile view at once. This can look impressive at first; when you compare it with Zoom, you'd realize Zoom is better than Meet. Zoom displays 49 participants, making it a more suitable option. This is specifically true for users who want to monitor more participants simultaneously. Those groups of professionals will undoubtedly choose Zoom for a better user experience. 

6.     Users from outside the domain are disallowed

Majorly for teachers and students, only the meeting creator or host can approve or restrict the requests to join a meeting from participants, not in the particular domain. Also, if the host of the meeting is not available on the call and if a user requests at that time, the external user cannot join the meeting even after having the meeting link. Zoom is often preferred over Facetime for business and educational video calling.

7.     Browser freezing problems

There have been several complaints registered by the Google Meet users that experienced freezing of the browser while sharing the screen. The browser suddenly stops working, and the user has to initiate the meeting all over, which is time taking. Sometimes, if your desktop uses incompatible video adapters or video drivers, Google Meet bugs out loading or browsing issues. 

Google Meet has turned into one of the standard solutions among the popular video conferencing apps. And it's a viable choice whether you're entering a business meeting or chit-chatting with friends and family. However, not all pieces of software need to be perfect. Even with Google Meet, you may encounter a few problems along the way. Here are some of the problems that you might experience with Google Meet.

1.     You can’t start or join the meeting at times.

2.     You don’t get any dial-in number with the meeting link. 

3.     At times, as a meeting creator, you can't add additional people, and you receive the message that you have reached the limit for your subscription. 

4.     You don’t see any drop-down menu when you share a window for the meeting. 

5.     Meet supports dial-in phone calls for up to 8 hours. At times, the dial-in call ends unexpectedly.

The abundance of apps and tools within Google workspace is a key advantage of using Google Meet. It makes Meet undoubtedly an ideal video conferencing tool and many prefer Google Meet to Skype for business . However, compared to other video telephony apps and services, the list of advanced features should have been extended and improved for better interactivity, productivity, and remote collaboration. Here's a brief list of the pros and cons of Google Meet.

Pros of Google Meet

A major advantage of Google Meet and other top video conferencing apps and services and messaging centers and apps is that it's a part of the whole Google Workspace suite of apps and tools. Paying for the video conferencing service means paying for other services and products. Moreover, it readily incorporates these apps and tools from Google for a smooth and uniform user experience.

Other advantages include:

• Offers collaborated tools
• Quick Messaging
• Automated recording and recording storage option available
• Works in all devices
• Integrate with all other Google apps

Cons of Google Meet

• Screen sharing is limited to only 1 
• Absence of waiting room feature
• They can improve privacy features
• The all-day meeting schedule feature is missing
• No drop-down menu when you share the window

Concerning its major drawbacks, the software still lacks particular features catered by its competitors. Amending its features can enhance virtual meeting productivity and remote collaboration. Google Meet is still a dependable video conferencing solution overall. The competitive pricing factor makes it best for small to medium-sized businesses.