Google Meet Screen Sharing Not Working? How to Fix the Problem

Presenting your screen in Google Meet is usually a straightforward process. When it doesn't work, you might have a black screen only, or the screen share button is greyed out.

How Do I Enable Screen Sharing on Google Meet?

Under normal circumstances, it's simple to share your screen through Google Meet. Follow these steps after joining a meeting:

• Desktop: Select the up arrow, and then choose a presentation type.
• App: Tap the three-dot menu, and then Share screen.

Why Can't I Present My Screen on Google Meet?

Screen sharing doesn't always work out as smoothly as those directions make it seem. Here are various fixes for when Google Meet screen sharing isn't working:

1. Depending on how you are using Google Meet, restart the app or your browser. A simple restart is often enough to fix issues.
   

   A restart involves a total shutdown of the app/browser. Minimizing it, or switching to another app and then back to Google Meet, isn't enough, so make sure you quit the app. If you're not sure if you're totaling shutting down the app or your browser, restart your computer or phone.

   Instead, you can try refreshing the page if you log in through a web browser, but restarting is the best first thing to try. You'll have to rejoin the meeting after completing this step.

2. If the screen sharing option is greyed out, then the host has disabled it for everyone else.

   Contact the host and ask them to lift the restriction. They can do this on a computer by opening host controls (the shield symbol) and enabling Share their screen. The same option is available through Meeting safety via the three-dot menu if they're using a phone.
   

3. You can't share your screen if you're currently doing so. While this sounds obvious, there are a few different sharing sources, and some of them only work if you disable the current screen share.

   When using Google Meet from a web browser, you're able to share your entire screen, a specific window, or a particular browser tab. You have to stop the share entirely before you can pick a different type.

   For example, if you're sharing the whole screen, you can't switch to a window or tab without selecting Stop presenting from the share button. The only exception is if you're sharing a browser tab—choose Share this tab instead to switch to that tab.

4. Double-check that the window you're sharing isn't minimized. It makes the screen black in Google Meet, which looks like the share has stopped, but you just need to resize the window again.
   

5. Similar to the previous step, ensure if you're sharing a whole window that the Google Meet page isn't in that same window. This setup can confuse you because each time you flip back to the meeting, you won't see the tab you were presenting since now it's the meeting tab you're sharing.

   To solve this, isolate the Google Meet tab. Make it be in its own browser window. Either that or change what you're sharing to be a single tab instead of the whole window.
   

6. Are you sure it's not working? If someone else in the meeting decides to share their screen while you're presenting, they will overtake you as the main presenter.

   When this happens for other desktop users, the screen share is hidden but not removed. All you need to do is select Resume presenting from the share button.

   If you're sharing your phone screen through the Google Meet app, another user sharing their screen will kick you off. You'll need to start your screen share again to take over as the main presenter.

7. Are you using macOS? There's a privacy setting specifically for screen recording that you must enable for the browser you're using.

   Go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy > Screen Recording, and check the box next to your browser to permit it to share the contents of your screen.
   

8. Update your browser or the Google Meet app. Using an outdated version could mean there are bugs or compatibility issues preventing screen sharing.
   

9. Try a different browser, like Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Edge, or Vivaldi. When all else fails, accessing the meeting through a different browser is the most viable solution. We've seen this fix the problem on Linux operating systems, specifically, but it doesn't hurt to try.

   If this works, some possible reasons could be that a setting within the original browser conflicts with the screen recording, the software is incompatible with Google Meet, or a browser extension is interfering with the screen share.