Watch the full setup (10:41) — subtitles in 10 languages
GOOGLE MEET TRANSLATION
Translate Google Meet calls live — both ways, nothing joins
Meet runs in a browser tab; VoxisLive runs on your Windows PC beside it. You hear the call in your language, and with a free virtual microphone the others hear you in theirs. No bot, no Meet add-on, no Workspace admin approval.
This is the Meet version of Meeting mode, which runs two translations at once. Incoming: the audio Meet plays is spoken back to you in your language. Outgoing: your microphone is translated and played into a virtual microphone that Meet uses as your mic. Both run a few seconds behind the speaker, the span any simultaneous interpreter needs.
The translation does not happen inside the Meet tab: VoxisLive captures at the Windows audio layer, so there is no participant to admit and no add-on for a Workspace admin to approve. If the host uses Meet's own recording, your translated voice is on it like any microphone audio. Only need to listen? The browser extension translates the tab you are on; two-way needs the desktop app.
Set up two-way Google Meet translation in four steps
About five minutes, once. After that, every call only needs Meeting mode started.
You'll need: VoxisLive (Meeting mode uses paid minutes after the one-time 15-minute Pro taste) · VB-CABLE (free, one-time) · Chrome, Edge or Firefox · headphones
STEP 1
Install VB-CABLE, then restart the browser
VB-CABLE is a small free driver from VB-Audio that gives Windows a virtual microphone: VoxisLive plays your translated voice into it and Meet picks it up like a headset. Download it from vb-audio.com/Cable, install it; if CABLE Output is missing from Meet's list afterwards, reopen Settings or restart the browser. On Windows, Meeting mode does not start without a virtual microphone; on Linux the app creates its own.
STEP 2
In Meet, open Settings › Audio and pick the virtual cable
In the call, open the three-dot menu in the bottom bar and choose Settings; it opens on the Audio tab. Set Microphone to CABLE Output (VB-Audio Virtual Cable) and Speaker to the headphones you wear — never CABLE Input or CABLE In 16ch. If your headphones are already the Windows default, they carry the System default label under their name — pick that one. You choose CABLE Output by hand, so after the call set your real microphone back in Meet; otherwise your next call without VoxisLive may have no sound.
STEP 3
Allow the microphone for Meet
Chrome asks for microphone permission per site. If you denied it earlier, the microphone list looks empty whatever is installed: allow the microphone for the Meet site, restart the browser, then reopen Settings › Audio.
STEP 4
Start VoxisLive in Meeting mode, then test with one sentence
In VoxisLive, pick the Meeting scenario, choose your real microphone as its input, set the language you want to hear and the one the others should hear, and press Start. Join and say one sentence. Meet shows a level indicator beside the Microphone box; the other side hears your translated voice a few seconds after you speak. In the call, the three dots to the left of the microphone button open a strip with both devices: Microphone = CABLE Output, Speaker = your headphones.
Headphones, and the mistake that creates a third voice
Use headphones, or your real microphone picks up the meeting and sends it back. And if Meet's Speaker points at the virtual cable VoxisLive feeds, the call loops back into the meeting and the others hear a third voice half a beat behind. The cable belongs in the Microphone slot only. If the others hear your real voice together with the translation, Windows “Listen to this device” is usually on for your microphone: it copies your untranslated voice into the cable. In the Windows Sound settings, open Recording › your microphone › Properties › Listen and untick Listen to this device.
Meeting minutes are paid minutes. The daily free minutes cover one-way listening only; a new account's one-time 15-minute Pro taste includes Meeting mode. After that, every minute, both directions together, is billed against a paid balance — see pricing.
Where to go next
The general picture is on the meetings hub and applies to Meet unchanged; the same setup covers Zoom and Microsoft Teams. Device missing? Work through the audio setup checklist and troubleshooting. For the capture path itself, see how it works and features.
FAQ
Common questions
01Do I need to install a Google Meet add-on or get Workspace admin approval?
No. Nothing is installed into Meet and nothing joins the call, so there is no third-party app for a Workspace admin to approve. The capture happens at the operating-system audio layer on your own machine, which is why the conferencing app does not matter. That describes the mechanism, not a compliance status: we hold no certifications, so judge it against your own policy.
02Can the other participants hear me in their language?
Yes, with a virtual microphone. Meeting mode runs an outgoing session that translates what you say and speaks it into a virtual microphone device — a free driver such as VB-CABLE — which you then select as your microphone in Meet. On Windows, Meeting mode will not start without that driver; on Linux, the app creates its own virtual microphone. To only hear them translated, use Video & Game mode, which needs no extra setup.
03Should I use the browser extension instead, since Meet runs in a tab?
If you only need to understand the call, the extension is the shorter route: it captures the audio of the tab you are on and speaks it back. If you need the other side to hear you in their language, use the desktop app's Meeting mode — the outgoing direction has to reach Meet as a microphone device.
04Is Meeting mode included in the free minutes?
Only in a new account's one-time 15 Pro minutes. The daily free minutes apply to one-way listening; a two-way meeting session needs a paid plan or a minute pack. See pricing.
05Will anyone see that I am using it?
There is no participant entry, no extra tile and nothing for the host to admit, because nothing joins the meeting. What is visible is ordinary: your microphone device is a virtual one rather than a headset, and your speech reaches the call a few seconds after you say it.
06The virtual microphone does not appear in Meet's device list. Why?
Two common cases. Right after the driver is installed, CABLE Output can be missing from the list: reopen Settings or restart the browser. Or microphone permission for the site was denied earlier, in which case the picker looks empty no matter what is installed. Fix the permission, restart the browser, then reopen Settings › Audio.