From zero to your first meeting.

1 Both laptops

What you need

Join From Anywhere connects two laptops that you own or are allowed to use.

1. The Host: the laptop that sits in the meeting. It runs the meeting page in Chrome and shows your Remote’s camera and microphone to everyone else.
2. The Remote: the laptop you are at. Its camera and microphone go to the Host, and you hear the meeting on it.
3. Google Chrome on both laptops (Windows, macOS or ChromeOS). Phones and tablets are not supported yet.
4. An internet connection on both. The laptops talk to each other directly where possible; they do not need to be on the same network.

You can add as many Hosts and Remotes as you like to one account. Pricing is per Host; Remotes are free.

2 Any laptop

Create your account

One account is shared by all your laptops.

1. Open the dashboard at app.dev.joinfromanywhere.com and choose Create account.
2. Enter your email and a password of at least 10 characters.
3. We email you a 6‑digit code. Enter it on the next screen; you are signed in as soon as it is accepted.
4. Did the code not arrive within a minute? Check spam, then use Send a new code.

3 On the Host

Install the extension

This is a test environment, so the extension is loaded from a folder rather than from the Chrome Web Store.

1. Download the test build (a zip) with the button below and unzip it into a folder you will keep. Chrome loads the extension from that folder, so do not delete it afterwards.
2. In Chrome open chrome://extensions and switch on Developer mode (top right).
3. Click Load unpacked and choose the unzipped folder. "Join From Anywhere" appears in the list.
4. Click the puzzle icon in Chrome’s toolbar and pin Join From Anywhere so its icon stays visible.

The extension opens as a side panel on the right of the browser window, so your meeting stays visible next to it.

4 On the Host

Sign in

Click the Join From Anywhere icon in the toolbar. The side panel opens with the sign‑in form.

1. Enter the email and password of the account you created.
2. Forgot the password? Use Forgot password; a code is emailed to you.

5 On the Host

Name this laptop

The first time you sign in, a short setup runs. Step 1 asks for a name.

1. Type a name you will recognise in the dashboard, for example "Work laptop" or "Office desktop".
2. Press Continue.

6 On the Host

Choose Host

Step 2 asks what this laptop does.

1. Choose Host · joins the meeting.
2. Press Continue.

7 On the Host

Wait for the Remote

Step 3 looks for a Remote signed in to your account. Until you set one up it shows "Connecting to your Remote". That is normal.

1. Leave the panel open and set up your Remote (next section). The Host finds it on its own.
2. Or press Continue anyway and come back later; the Host keeps looking in the background.
3. With several Remotes on the account, a list appears and you pick the one this Host should use. You can also type the 6‑character code shown on a Remote.

8 On the Remote

Install and sign in

Repeat the install (step 3) on this laptop and sign in with the same account.

1. Name the laptop at step 1, for example "MacBook Air".
2. At step 2 choose Remote · camera and mic.

9 On the Remote

Allow camera and microphone

Step 3 asks Chrome for permission to use your camera and microphone.

1. Press Allow camera and mic. Chrome shows its own permission prompt; choose Allow.
2. If you dismissed the prompt by mistake, click the camera icon in Chrome’s address bar and allow it there, then press the button again.
3. Pick the camera and microphone you want to use. You can change them later in Settings.

10 On the Remote

Pairing

Step 4 registers this Remote on your account. The Host that is waiting picks it up within a few seconds.

1. When the Host shows up here as Connected, press Finish.
2. A 6‑character code is shown too. You only need it if a Host asks for one.

Both panels now show the other laptop by name. The Host says Ready; the Remote says Ready with a Go live button.

11 On the Remote

Go live from the Remote

When the Host is in a meeting (or about to be), start sending your camera and microphone.

1. Press Go live. The preview shows what the meeting will see.
2. Use the camera and microphone buttons on the preview to turn either off without stopping the session.
3. Press Stop when you are done.

12 On the Host

Pick Join From Anywhere in the meeting

In the meeting page on the Host, choose Join From Anywhere Camera and Join From Anywhere Microphone as your devices. Do this once per meeting app; it remembers the choice.

1. Google Meet: Click ⋮ › Settings, Open Video and Audio, Choose Join From Anywhere for camera and microphone.
2. Microsoft Teams (web): Click ⋯ › Settings › Devices, Set Camera and Microphone, Choose Join From Anywhere in both.
3. Zoom (web): Click the arrow next to Start Video, Pick Join From Anywhere Camera, Do the same next to Mute.

Until the Remote is live, the meeting sees a plain camera tile on black instead of a frozen picture.

13 On the Host

Hear the meeting on the Remote

The Host can send the meeting’s audio to the Remote. Chrome only allows this after you click the extension on the meeting tab once.

1. Go to the meeting tab on the Host.
2. Click the Join From Anywhere icon in Chrome’s toolbar (it is behind the puzzle icon unless you pinned it). This gives Chrome permission to hear that tab.
3. In the panel, under Meeting audio, switch on Share meeting audio to Remote.
4. On the Remote, Meeting audio shows "Hearing the meeting" with a volume slider and an output picker.

14 Both laptops

Next time

The laptops stay signed in and paired.

1. Host: open the meeting in Chrome. The panel shows Ready as soon as the Remote is signed in.
2. Remote: open the panel and press Go live.
3. Closed the panel? Click the toolbar icon to open it again; nothing stops while it is closed.

15 Both laptops

Settings worth knowing

Open Settings from the menu in the panel’s top right corner.

1. Name in meeting apps: what the meeting lists as your camera and microphone. The default is "Join From Anywhere"; use anything you like.
2. Default camera, microphone and meeting audio output for the Remote.
3. Pair again (Host): drop the current Remote and find another one, or enter its code.
4. Remove this device: forget this laptop. You can set it up again at any time; your other laptops then pair again.

16 Any laptop

Meeting time

Every account starts with 15 free minutes of meeting time, on the first Host you use. After that, time comes from a prepaid balance or a subscription on that Host.

1. Time counts only while the Remote is live and sending camera or microphone. Pairing and waiting are free.
2. Both panels warn you when under 30 minutes remain, with a button to buy more hours. Top up or subscribe on the Billing page of the dashboard.
3. When the time runs out the session ends and the meeting sees the camera tile. Top up and press Go live again to continue.