...wasn't it supposed to be other way around?

https://lemmy.world/post/43793011

Linux revoked my mic permissions in the middle of a call today, on Google Meet. Happened before on Zoom.

I have not root-caused it to see if there was flaky hardware or what.

Ok, this prompted me to root-cause the issue. A bad cable between laptop and USB dock seems most likely. Hardware issue, not Linux!