Record a Google Meet call with audio from both sides

You press record, the call goes well, and afterwards the file holds only your own voice. Everyone else on the call is missing. If that has happened to you, nothing was broken. Chrome simply never handed their sound to the recorder. This article explains why, then shows you how to record a Google Meet call with audio from both sides, using Cheap Recorder, which runs in Chrome on Mac, Windows and Linux with nothing to install.

Why your recording only has your voice

On a call, the sound comes from two places. Your voice comes from your microphone. The other people's voices come from the Meet tab, where Chrome plays them. A recorder that listens to your microphone hears you clearly and hears the others only faintly, through your speakers, or not at all if you wear headphones.

To get the other side, the recorder needs the Meet tab's own sound. Chrome is careful about this: it only gives a web page the sound of another tab when you share that tab and tick its tab-audio option. If you share a window or the whole screen instead, or leave the box unticked, the call's sound never reaches the recording.

Cheap Recorder gives this its own place on the page, a tile called Call audio. It takes only the sound of the Meet tab, not its picture, and mixes it with your microphone into the same recording. That one tile is the difference between half a conversation and the whole of it.

What you need before the call

Google Chrome on a Mac, Windows or Linux computer, with the Meet call open in a Chrome tab.
A Cheap Recorder account. The Free plan covers everything below, and it does not ask for card details.
A microphone. The one built into your computer works. A wired or USB microphone sounds better.
Headphones, if you have them, so the other people's voices do not come out of your speakers and back into your microphone.
Everyone's agreement. Tell people you are recording before you start. The rules on recording calls differ from place to place, and some places need everyone to agree.

Setting it up takes about a minute, so do it before the call starts rather than while people are waiting.

Step by step: record a Google Meet call with audio

Open the Meet call, or its waiting screen, in a Chrome tab. Open Cheap Recorder in another tab and sign in.
Under Where to save, press Choose folder… and pick a folder. Each recording gets its own folder inside it, named with the date, the time and the recording's name.
Look at the Microphone tile. It names the microphone it will record. If the tile asks for access, press Allow microphone and camera and accept Chrome's question.
In the Call audio tile, press Pick the call tab…. Chrome opens its sharing window. Choose the Meet tab, tick Share tab audio (some versions of Chrome call it "Also share tab audio"), then press Share. The tile changes to "on" followed by the tab's name.
Under What to capture, choose Whole screen, A window, A browser tab or Webcam only. For sound only, switch off Record my webcam and do not pick a screen: you then get an M4A audio file instead of an MP4.
Type a name in Name this recording and press Start recording.
During the call, press M or Add marker to mark a moment you want to find again.
When the call ends, press Stop and finish. The recording appears on the page with a player, and it is already saved in your folder.

The full walkthrough, with every button, is in the guide Record a Google Meet call with both sides' voices.

A worked example: a one-minute test before the real call

The cheapest fix for a bad recording is the one you make before it matters. Say you have a client call at ten tomorrow. Today, ask a friend to join a Meet call with you for one minute.

Follow the steps above, and name the recording "Test call".
Press Start recording, then each of you says a sentence. Your friend might read out the date.
Press Stop and finish, and play the result in the player on the page.
Listen for both voices. If you hear only yours, look at the Call audio tile. If it does not say "on" with the Meet tab's name, the tab sound was never shared.
If your friend's voice echoes, put on headphones and try once more.

That minute tells you which setting to look at while there is still time to change it. Tomorrow, you repeat exactly what worked.

If you want the faces and slides as well

You can film the Meet tab itself by choosing A browser tab, so the recording shows the faces and any shared slides. Chrome offers tab audio in that window too. Leave it unticked there, and keep using Pick the call tab… for the sound. If you tick tab audio in both places, the other people's voices go into the file twice.

When something goes wrong

The Call audio tile says "that tab had no audio". You shared a window or the whole screen, or left the tab-audio box unticked. Press Pick the call tab… again, choose the Meet tab from the tab list and tick the box.
"Meeting audio sharing stopped." appears while recording. The tab share ended, for example because the Meet tab was closed. From that point the other side is silent, though your voice carries on. Picking the tab again does not add it to a recording that is already running, so stop and start a new one if you need the rest.
The other voices echo, or sound twice. Wear headphones, and leave Record the microphone untouched under Options unticked for calls, because it turns off echo, noise and volume correction.
A warning about a Bluetooth microphone. On a Mac, using a Bluetooth headset as a microphone switches it into a low-quality mode. Use the headset to listen, and a wired or USB microphone to speak.
Start recording is greyed out. The words next to the button say why, for example "choose a folder first".

For a recording that came out silent for other reasons, the article on finding which sound is missing from a screen recording goes through each cause in order.

What you have after the call

Below the player you will find Download MP4 and, where the site can convert files, Download MP3 for a sound-only copy. If Live transcript was ticked under Options, you also get Captions .srt and a Transcript. While the live transcript is on, Chrome sends your microphone audio to Google to turn it into text, so leave it off if that matters for a call.

The recording itself is not uploaded anywhere. It sits in the folder you chose, and it only leaves your computer if you use Convert, which sends the file to the Cheap Recorder server to make another format. More on that in Where your recordings are saved.

If you plan to edit, tick Also save every source separately under Options before you start. The other side of the call is then saved in a file of its own, next to your microphone's file, so you can make a quiet guest louder without touching your own voice. The same steps work for Microsoft Teams in a Chrome tab: see how to record a Microsoft Teams meeting with audio.

Frequently asked questions

Why does my Meet recording only have my voice?

The Meet tab's sound was not shared with the recorder. Press Pick the call tab…, choose the Meet tab and tick Share tab audio before you start.

Can I record only the audio of a Meet call?

Yes. Switch off Record my webcam and do not pick a screen, and the recording is an M4A audio file instead of an MP4.

Is my recording uploaded anywhere?

No. It is saved in the folder you chose on your own computer, and it only leaves it if you use Convert.

Do I need to tell people I am recording?

Yes, always tell them before you start. The law on recording calls differs from place to place, and some places need everyone to agree.

Get started

The free plan needs no card. Try Cheap Recorder in Chrome, open your next Meet call in a tab, tick Share tab audio, and the whole conversation lands in one file on your own disk.