2 Best Ways to Enable Grid View in Google Meet on PC and Mobile Devices

If you have used the Zoom app for group video calls, you must have liked the gallery view layout. The gallery or grid layout allows you to view up to 49 participants simultaneously on the same screen. People who moved to Google Meet due to security concerns in Zoom were wondering how to use the grid view in Google Meet. Let’s find the answer in this article.

Previously, Google Meet only allowed you to view 4 participants. However, things changed completely in April 2020, when Google introduced support for up to 16 participants on a single screen. If you want to see more than 16 contributors, we’ve covered that in this post as well.

So, let’s take a look at how to see everyone in Google Meet on Windows, Mac, Android, iPhone and iPad.

How to Enable Grid View in Google Meet on the web

There are two ways to view everyone on the Meet screen on the web. In the first method, we will take the help of a local layout setting and the second method involves using a Chrome extension. Google calls the layout a Tile layout, while others refer to it as a grid view. Therefore, we will use them interchangeably to avoid any confusion.

Even the Chrome extension we’ll recommend later in this post calls it a grid view. Well, the tiled view looks like a grid, right?

Method 1: Use Tiled Layout

As mentioned above, you can view up to 16 meeting participants in Google Meet. For this you need to enable the Tiled layout setting in Google Meet.

Here’s how to view all attendees in Google Meet:

Stage 1: Join a Google Meet meeting.

Step 2: Inside the meeting, click the three dots icon at the bottom. Select Change layout from the menu.

Stage 3: By default, the service chooses the Auto layout. Therefore, click Tiled to display up to 16 participants on the screen.

Method 2: Use the Google Meet Grid View Extension

The above method only allows you to view up to 16 participants. What if you want to see more people than that? Fortunately, a Chrome extension comes to the rescue – Google Meet Grid View. You need to install the extension on your computer and enable Grid view in the extension settings.

Note: The extension enables grid view layout only for you, not for other participants. If others want the same look, they will need to install this extension. You can share this page with them to help them.

Here’s how to install and use the Grid View extension for Google Meet.

Stage 1: Open the Grid View extension download page from the link given below in the Chrome browser from your Windows 10 computer or Mac.

Download Google Meet Grid View Extension

Click Add to Chrome.

Step 2: Once installed, you will find the extension icon in the top extension toolbar in Chrome.

Fly: Check out the best extension managers for Chrome.

Stage 3: Now open Meet.google.com and join a new meeting.

If you try to use it for an ongoing meeting while installing the extension, it may not work. You will get errors like Grid View is not working. So disconnect the Meet call and join again.

Step 4: Click the Grid View extension icon in the Chrome tab where you’re using Meet. Then check the box next to Enable Grid View.

A few settings will now become visible. Check the box next to the settings you want to enable.

If you notice closely, you will see that the extension has also added a new button to the Meet window. You can use it to change the extension settings and also enable or disable the grid view. If the icon has a bar above it, it means that the grid view functionality is disabled.

Fix: Google Meet Grid View Extension Not Working

For some users, the extension does not work as intended. Here are some tips to fix this.

Rejoin the Meeting

As mentioned above, if you are in a meeting, the extension will not work after installing it. You need to rejoin the meeting. You can also try refreshing the Chrome tab.

Enable extension

It is imperative to enable the grid view as shown in Step #4 above. Otherwise, the extension will not work.

Update Chrome

You should also try updating your browser. This fixed the problem for many Meet users. Click the three dots icon at the top of Chrome to update Chrome. Choose Help > About Chrome.

Your browser will start searching for a suitable update. If available, click Restart to update your browser.

restart the pc

When was the last time you restarted your computer? Do not you remember? damn! Restart your system now and then try using the extension as shown above.

How to Enable Grid View in Google Meet on Android, iPhone, and iPad

Google doesn’t offer native Tile (or grid view) layout in Meet mobile apps. Similarly, the Chrome extension only works on a computer. So how can we see all the participants on mobile phones and tablets?

There are two methods.

Method 1: Open Google Meet in Browser

If you can view up to 16 participants on your mobile, you must uninstall the Meet mobile app and use it via a browser. Next, you will have the option to change the layout. In this method we will take the help of Desktop mode in mobile browser.

Here are the detailed steps:

Stage 1: Launch a browser that supports desktop mode. This step is required. Otherwise, if you open Meet.google.com directly on your phone, you will be prompted to download or launch the Google Meet app. We don’t want this.

For the sake of simplicity, we will use Chrome on mobile devices. So, open Chrome and tap on the three-dot icon at the top. Select the desktop site.

Step 2: Now, open Meet.google.com in it and join a meeting.

Open Google Meet

Stage 3: Tap the three-dot icon at the bottom of the Meet page. Select Change layout.

Step 4: Select Tiled from the drop-down menu.

Method 2: Current Screen

Screen sharing is known as Present Now or Present in Google Meet. We will get help from the same. One of the participants using a computer must enable the grid view for the meeting. They can do this using the native option or they can use the extension as described above. Next, they will need to present their screens to others.

When they share their screen, everyone else will also be able to see all the participants. Others may be on mobile or computer.

To share the screen from the web, click the Show now button at the bottom of the Google Meet meeting. Select ‘A Chrome tab’. Then select the Google Meet tab from the list.

Fly: Check out some great tips and tricks for managing and using Chrome tabs.

Google Meet and Zoom

With the growing popularity of Google Meet, Google has been quick enough to increase the participant limit in Tiled view from 4 to 16. We hope they allow more participants as they did with the Zoom app. Then you won’t need to use the extension. In the meantime, check out how Zoom and Google Meet differ from each other.

Next: Google Meet is a good alternative to Zoom. Check out other video conferencing alternatives to Zoom at the next link.