LockedGSuite Non-Profit Account?

In our stake - very rural - we do a lot of telephone and video conferencing for meetings and interviews.

We are trying to simplify the process and want to set up a GSuite account to get access to Google Meet.

Does the Church have an agreement already in place with Google? I'm pretty sure the answer is yes... so can our stake get an account? I know we can just pay for one, but it would be nice to get the non-profit version and not have to pay...

Watching this...

Based on what I’ve observed the new missionary.org missionary email accounts are using G Suite. I think that having a G Suite account for members would help build awareness of the church. It could be connected to our come into Christ profiles.

In an email dated April 16, the church has extended their Google Enterprise G-Suite account to stake and ward leaders for the purpose of conducting meetings and interviews. This level of Google Meet allows for 250 audio and/or video participants. This for those without access to Zoom or other video-conferencing tools. The invitation is extended to those with the following callings:

• Stake presidency, stake high councilor, stake organization presidency, stake technology specialist, and secretaries and clerks where applicable
• Bishopric, ward organization presidency, ward mission leader, ward temple and family history leader, and secretaries and clerks where applicable
I'm just trying to figure out how you sign up

brettzollingerA wrote:In an email dated April 16, the church has extended their Google Enterprise G-Suite account to stake and ward leaders for the purpose of conducting meetings and interviews. ... I'm just trying to figure out how you sign up

The instructions are in the email. If you didn't get it, ask one of your leaders who are on that list. I doubt if the church wants that information to be posted in a public forum. I got the email in my calling as an STS.

Note that only one person on the call has to have an account.

brettzollingerA wrote:In an email dated April 16, the church has extended their Google Enterprise G-Suite account to stake and ward leaders for the purpose of conducting meetings and interviews. This level of Google Meet allows for 250 audio and/or video participants. This for those without access to Zoom or other video-conferencing tools. The invitation is extended to those with the following callings:
• Stake presidency, stake high councilor, stake organization presidency, stake technology specialist, and secretaries and clerks where applicable
• Bishopric, ward organization presidency, ward mission leader, ward temple and family history leader, and secretaries and clerks where applicable
I'm just trying to figure out how you sign up

I was able to get a G-Suite login (I'm a stake clerk) using the link that was provided in the April 16 email, which is great, but when I create a meeting the phone numbers list just one number and it's a U.S. number. I haven't found any way of changing it to a Canadian number so that it won't be long-distance for our members (we're in Canada). I've found mention in the Google support information that there are international dial-in numbers for Google Meet, but I haven't found them listed anywhere. I'm wondering if the international dial-in numbers are available for use under the church's account and I just need to find them somewhere, or if the church's account only permits use of the U.S. number.

Google has now made Google Meet free for everyone during this time. Anyone can create a gmail account and goto meet.google.com and use the tool.

Can anyone say if this April 16th letter was just a thing in the US, or is it available elsewhere? I'm in Finland (Europe) and nobody seems to have heard about it.

trantanen wrote:Can anyone say if this April 16th letter was just a thing in the US, or is it available elsewhere? I'm in Finland (Europe) and nobody seems to have heard about it.

It doesn't say. It arrived via email on April 16th, based on the "my calling" subscription. It is not signed, so I don't know what level of church administration sent it. At the bottom, it says "Email Recipients Include: Stake Clerks and Technology Specialists". At the top it says "Please distribute this information to ward and stake leadership."

Thanks! But no sender information? Then I could at least contact someone there.

If your organization has a Google for Nonprofits account, you're eligible for G Suite for Nonprofits. G Suite for Nonprofits is available at no charge. G Suite for Nonprofits has similar features to G Suite Basic with the addition of shared drives and your organization can have unlimited users.

https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/ ... oronavirus

"All G Suite customers can use advanced Meet video conference features like larger meetings, live streaming, and recording through Sep 30, 2020. "

Google Meet will be available for free on the web at meet.google.com and via mobile apps for iOS or Android. Anyone who has a Gmail account can sign in at meet.google.com to activate their Meet account. Meet can be a good alternative to Zoom as the app allows 100 people to participate in a single video call.

I created my church "meet" account, and created an event. Since what I really want is a view-only live stream event, I tried to use the instructions below. However, my church "meet" account does not provide a "Create view-only event" option on the "More actions" drop-down. So it seems that the church accounts simply don't allow that option.

https://support.google.com/meet/answer/9308630

Part 2: Create an additional event for view-only guests
To invite specific people to the view-only live stream, create a view-only event. The event is added to their Calendar and includes the link for view-only guests. You can add up to 100,000 view-only guests.

People invited to this event are not seen or heard in the meeting, and can’t present, record, or control streaming.

Open Google Calendar.
Click the live stream event you created and then Edit .
At the top, click More actions and then Create view-only event.
Add guests or rooms for view-only access, and other details such as a description.
Click Save and then Send.

Does anyone here know what feature(s) a ChurchofJesusChrist "Google Meet" account offers over and above the features of a normal free-for-everyone "Google Meet" account?
I haven't found any differences between the two so far.

This may be a difference, but I haven't tested it yet:

For the free version of Google Meet, all participants will need to be signed into a Google Account to join. You can create a Google Account with a work or personal email address. For G Suite customers, once you've created a meeting, you can invite anyone to join even if they don't have a Google Account. Just share the link or meeting ID with all meeting participants.

drepouille wrote:I created my church "meet" account, and created an event. Since what I really want is a view-only live stream event, I tried to use the instructions below. However, my church "meet" account does not provide a "Create view-only event" option on the "More actions" drop-down. So it seems that the church accounts simply don't allow that option.

https://support.google.com/meet/answer/9308630

Part 2: Create an additional event for view-only guests
To invite specific people to the view-only live stream, create a view-only event. The event is added to their Calendar and includes the link for view-only guests. You can add up to 100,000 view-only guests.

People invited to this event are not seen or heard in the meeting, and can’t present, record, or control streaming.

Open Google Calendar.
Click the live stream event you created and then Edit .
At the top, click More actions and then Create view-only event.
Add guests or rooms for view-only access, and other details such as a description.
Click Save and then Send.

I have the same question. We are doing youth firesides and having that option would help minimize any disruptions. There seems to be a very simple function for the Church admins to enable this feature https://support.google.com/a/answer/9055446

I have created a church G Suite account in preparation for broadcasting sacrament meeting.

However, one of the advertised features doesn't seem to be working. It is requiring a Google Account to join. I have seen multiple FAQs and Google Meet help pages that state a Google Account is not required if the meeting is created using a GSuite account.

I confirmed that the meeting was created using my G Suite account, not my personal account. But when I try to join from a logged-out-Chrome browser from my PC, it always prompts for a Google Account login. I also tried a scheduled meeting to no avail (created through GSuite Calendar). Haven't found any solution Googling, so I'm wondering if someone else with a GSuite account has experience this or could try it out to confirm. This page suggests joining using an incognito browser, which I have also tried (still prompts for Google login).

Thanks for any assistance!

That sounds about right. A member of my ward could not join my Google Meeting because he did not have a Google account. As soon as he created one, he was able to join the meeting.

drepouille wrote:That sounds about right. A member of my ward could not join my Google Meeting because he did not have a Google account. As soon as he created one, he was able to join the meeting.

Did you create your meeting using a GSuite account or your personal Google account? According to several official sources, a person without a Google account should be able to join a meeting created with a GSuite account.

nathansharp wrote:Did you create your meeting using a GSuite account or your personal Google account? According to several official sources, a person without a Google account should be able to join a meeting created with a GSuite account.

Yes, I create all Google Meetings using my GSuite account, which is why I was amazed when someone told me they had to create a Google account to join my meeting. I read the same documentation that you did, which said that anyone can join a Google Meeting created by a GSuite account. In fact, the person who told me he had to create a Google account was indeed able to connect to our first meeting event on July 12th, but was denied access two weeks later, until he created a Google account. That makes no sense at all, but at least he is happy now.

Also, all my Sacrament meeting events are clones -- they use exactly the same URL and phone number, so I don't have to send out confusing messages with different connect information for each meeting. That really confuses everyone who is accustomed to receiving different connection information for Zoom or Webex meetings. When they ask me (one minute before Sacrament meeting begins) to send them the invitation, I tell them to use the same link they used for the previous meeting.

Thanks Dana for confirming.

Anyone else have any other experience being able to join a Google Meet without a Google Account?

This is the relevant page:
https://support.google.com/meet/answer/9303069

In the last section, "Join a video meeting without a Google Account," there are two caveats:
1. To join the meeting, the "meeting organizer or someone from the organization must grant you access to the meeting." I take this to mean the person who owns the GSuite account, not just anyone on the meeting, has to manually let the person in each week.
2. "If you are not signed into a Google or Gmail account, you cannot join using your mobile device." If you don't have a Google account, you need to join from a desktop or laptop computer.

sbradshaw wrote:This is the relevant page:
https://support.google.com/meet/answer/9303069

In the last section, "Join a video meeting without a Google Account," there are two caveats:
1. To join the meeting, the "meeting organizer or someone from the organization must grant you access to the meeting." I take this to mean the person who owns the GSuite account, not just anyone on the meeting, has to manually let the person in each week.
2. "If you are not signed into a Google or Gmail account, you cannot join using your mobile device." If you don't have a Google account, you need to join from a desktop or laptop computer.

Thanks Samuel, that is how I read it, too. My testing has consisted of creating meetings with my GSuite account, starting that meeting on my phone or computer A, then trying to join from Computer B without being logged in to a Google Account. Each time I try to join from Computer B, it prompts me to login to a Google Account.

Here is another source (bolded applicable part):

From https://apps.google.com/meet/ Top Questions:

Can external participants Join a call?
Absolutely. For the free version of Google Meet, all participants will need to be signed into a Google Account to join. You can create a Google Account with a work or personal email address.

For G Suite customers, once you’ve created a meeting, you can invite anyone to join even if they don’t have a Google Account. Just share the link or meeting ID with all meeting participants.

nathansharp wrote:Thanks Samuel, that is how I read it, too. My testing has consisted of creating meetings with my GSuite account, starting that meeting on my phone or computer A, then trying to join from Computer B without being logged in to a Google Account. Each time I try to join from Computer B, it prompts me to login to a Google Account.

Does your Computer B have any Google Accounts associated with it? Maybe if Google sees a Google cookie that shows you have an account, even when not signed in, it prompts you to sign in to use that account – but if you use a different browser that's never been signed in to Google, or clear cookies, it doesn't? (I haven't used GSuite or Google Meet myself, so it could be something else.)

sbradshaw wrote:

nathansharp wrote:Thanks Samuel, that is how I read it, too. My testing has consisted of creating meetings with my GSuite account, starting that meeting on my phone or computer A, then trying to join from Computer B without being logged in to a Google Account. Each time I try to join from Computer B, it prompts me to login to a Google Account.

Does your Computer B have any Google Accounts associated with it? Maybe if Google sees a Google cookie that shows you have an account, even when not signed in, it prompts you to sign in to use that account – but if you use a different browser that's never been signed in to Google, or clear cookies, it doesn't? (I haven't used GSuite or Google Meet myself, so it could be something else.)

On computer B, I have tried Google Chrome (regular and incognito). Chrome does have google accounts associated with it. I'll have to try clearing cache, etc. But using an incognito window should have the same effect.

From here: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/hel ... tGuide.pdf
If all else fails, they should join using an incognito browser window.