Issue
Starting, or joining, a Google Meet call and receiving the error stating the microphone is muted by the system:
Solution
1. Open Control Panel by searching for it in the Start menu. You may also access it by pressing the Windows key and 'r' together on your keyboard, then enter "control" (without quotes) in the on-screen dialog
2. Click on the category for Hardware and Sound. If you see a longer list of individual items, skip to Step 3.
3. Click the Sound section
4. This will open a new pop-up screen. Click the Recording tab, then right-click on the device you use as your microphone and click "properties". If you have multiple options, look for the one matching the brand of any microphone or headset connected to your computer. For most built-in microphones on laptops, look for an option with Realtek in the name.
5. Click the "levels" tab, then click the speaker icon so that it does not have the red "cancel" symbol on it. If it currently does not have the red symbol as shown in the picture below, you may have a different issue preventing your microphone from working properly.
