Skype to be shutdown in May

[KhunHeineken]

17 hours ago, The Fugitive said:

$27 USD is the annual rate for US virtual mobile number rental. Calls to US; 1.2c per minute for both mobile and landline. SMS 5.0c each. Bundles are available. All Bundles are valid for 30 days. US Bundles; Minutes; 200 for $2.19, 400 for $3.09 and 800 for $5.29. SMS; 200 for $2.99.    

I didn't see a similar deal for Australia.  Am I missing something? 

[The Fugitive]

4 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

I didn't see a similar deal for Australia.  Am I missing something? 

Viewable in the mobile app - Australia 12 months rental virtual mobile number; $66 USD. Bundles (valid 30 days) Minutes; 200 $6.59 USD, 400 $10.59 USD. SMS; 200 $8.99 USD.

[KhunHeineken]

1 hour ago, Galong said:

It even says I can add funds to my account. 

Where does it say this? 

[KhunHeineken]

7 minutes ago, The Fugitive said:

Viewable in the mobile app - Australia 12 months rental virtual mobile number; $66 USD. Bundles (valid 30 days) Minutes; 200 $6.59 USD, 400 $10.59 USD. SMS; 200 $8.99 USD.

Ok.  Thanks.  I was looking at their website on a PC.  I'll check it out. 

[samtam]

On 3/1/2025 at 8:18 AM, mikeymike100 said:

According to the email  i received.....

"Skype Credit users can also continue to use their remaining Skype Credit. After May 5, 2025, the Skype Dial Pad will be available to remaining paid users from the Skype web portal and within Teams."

 

Whatever that means!

 

Yes, the Skype dial pad is available on Teams.

[Crossy]

Yup ^^^.

 

It took me a few minutes to actually find it, but it does seem to work.

 

Click on the 3 dots to the left of your username top right (not the ones far right of the chat window).

Select "Skype Dial Pad" from the drop down. It only appears if you have active credit or a live subscription.

 

Easy peasy, the destructions that came with the email are carp!

[CallumWK]

Installed and removed the whole <deleted>e already. Looks like the app is built by the Thai government, so reliable it is.

Skype was always already a big pita, teams is worse

[KhunHeineken]

12 hours ago, CallumWK said:

Installed and removed the whole <deleted>e already. Looks like the app is built by the Thai government, so reliable it is.

Skype was always already a big pita, teams is worse

Teams is more for businesses, not so much for the consumer.  It's not as user friendly as Skype.  I will not be using Teams.  

[Digitalbanana]

On 5/3/2025 at 2:46 PM, KhunHeineken said:

Skype will not work at all after March 2026.  I would say they are going to shut down the servers. 

Well thats not true exactly is it?

 

Skype Credit will remain active indefinitely as long as you use it at least once every 180 days. However, there is some truth to the March 2026 claim—Microsoft has announced that the 60 minutes of free Skype calls included in Microsoft 365 subscriptions will end on March 3, 2026. This applies to users who receive free monthly Skype minutes as part of their Microsoft 365 Personal or Family plans, but does not affect regular Skype Credit.
So, if you purchased Skype Credit separately, you can continue using it in Teams Free or via calling.web.skype.com, as long as you keep it active. If you received free Skype minutes through Microsoft 365, those will expire in March 2026.

 

[impulse]

6 hours ago, Digitalbanana said:

On 5/3/2025 at 3:46 PM, KhunHeineken said:

Skype will not work at all after March 2026.  I would say they are going to shut down the servers. 

Well thats not true exactly is it?

 

Skype Credit will remain active indefinitely as long as you use it at least once every 180 days.

 

My issue is that I always kept just a few bucks on Skype credit and it just renewed automatically when it needed to.  So my Skype credit amount is paltry and I only heard about Skype going tits up after they no longer allowed adding to my Skype account.  Had I known earlier, I'd have added a bunch of money to the account.

 

Or am I missing something?

 

[KhunHeineken]

On 5/7/2025 at 4:33 AM, Digitalbanana said:

Well thats not true exactly is it?

Did you see the words "I would say?"  That means it's my opinion. 

 

On 5/7/2025 at 4:33 AM, Digitalbanana said:

Skype Credit will remain active indefinitely as long as you use it at least once every 180 days. However, there is some truth to the March 2026 claim—Microsoft has announced that the 60 minutes of free Skype calls included in Microsoft 365 subscriptions will end on March 3, 2026. This applies to users who receive free monthly Skype minutes as part of their Microsoft 365 Personal or Family plans, but does not affect regular Skype Credit.
So, if you purchased Skype Credit separately, you can continue using it in Teams Free or via calling.web.skype.com, as long as you keep it active. If you received free Skype minutes through Microsoft 365, those will expire in March 2026.

I would say, yes, there's those words again, that by ending the free 60 minutes of Skype included in a Microsoft 365 package, it shows their intention of shutting down the Skype servers in March 2026.

 

I posted weeks ago that it was my intention to leave $0.20AUD credit, so Skype would be around forever.  Do you really think Microsoft will allow this? 

 

I also posted I expect Microsoft to send out emails later this year with a deadline to use their Skype credit.  I would say, yes, those words yet again, that the deadline for Skype credit will be March 26, to coincide with the end of the 60 Skype minutes with a Microsoft 365 subscription.  This basically gives Microsoft 365 users 1 year, Skype subscribers 1 year, and Skype credit holders 1 year to continue to use Skype services, then Skype is shut down, as in, the Skype servers.  Why would they continue to run them at a loss?  

 

By March 26 the last of remaining subscriptions will be expiring and will not be renewed also. 

 

Once again, this is just my opinion, as I just can't see them allowing Skype uses to hold on to Skype credit for another 20 years out of protest, which is possible, because in that case, there isn't actually a "shut down" of Skype, is there? 

 

I have not heard about using Skype credit once every 6 months, do you have a link for this. 

 

If what you say is correct, as an example, even the small $0.20AUD I proposed to leave in Skype, forever, out of protest, if I was to make one call every 6 months at $0.01AUD a minute, and hang up straight away, then that credit will last for 10 years, at $0.02 per year, and that's only $0.20AUD.  What about people with $50AUD credit that are infrequent users, calling their bank or government departments, rarely.  That $50AUD will last for years, even with one call every 6 months and they hang up straight away just to keep their credit active. 

 

Do you really think Microsoft are going to allow a declining number of people to continue using Skype, whilst not making any income from Skype, for years to come, running servers at a loss the whole time?    I don't think so. 

[KhunHeineken]

18 hours ago, impulse said:

 

My issue is that I always kept just a few bucks on Skype credit and it just renewed automatically when it needed to.  So my Skype credit amount is paltry and I only heard about Skype going tits up after they no longer allowed adding to my Skype account.  Had I known earlier, I'd have added a bunch of money to the account.

 

Or am I missing something?

 

I have just given my reasons in a previous post. 

 

In my opinion, later in the year, those with Skype credit remaining will receive an email giving them a deadline to use it. 

 

Out of luck, say you put a "bunch of money" into your Skype account just before the shut down announcement, in my opinion, like Microsoft 365 subscribers, and Skype subscribers, credit holders will eventually be given a deadline as well, otherwise, people could be sitting on a "bunch of money" in their Skype accounts that lasts for years, the whole time Microsoft runs it at a further loss.  I just can't see that being allowed to happen. 

[impulse]

1 hour ago, KhunHeineken said:

I have just given my reasons in a previous post. 

 

In my opinion, later in the year, those with Skype credit remaining will receive an email giving them a deadline to use it. 

 

Out of luck, say you put a "bunch of money" into your Skype account just before the shut down announcement, in my opinion, like Microsoft 365 subscribers, and Skype subscribers, credit holders will eventually be given a deadline as well, otherwise, people could be sitting on a "bunch of money" in their Skype accounts that lasts for years, the whole time Microsoft runs it at a further loss.  I just can't see that being allowed to happen. 

 

Someone would have to do some fancy 'splaining why they'd be losing money holding onto unused Skype credits.  That's money they can use to fund other operations and make a return on OPM.  Not to mention all that they'd get to keep when their users die off and/or forget they even had money on account.

 

As far as the expense of keeping Skype alive while they're winding it down, they get money every time I use Skype.  They could scale back the bandwidth and the number of servers and support staff to match the usage.  Those costs go down as usage dwindles.  They'd still have millions of users getting charged millions of dollars every month.

 

If Microsoft had wanted to maintain goodwill among their user base, they could have given us all Teams accounts and either spun Skype off and kept it going as a division of MS, or sold Skype to a 3rd party.  Instead, they bought a competitor and killed it off.  I think that's fodder for an anti-trust lawsuit.

 

 

[ukrules]

4 hours ago, KhunHeineken said:

credit holders will eventually be given a deadline as well,

 

Yes, I've read about that, I think it's end of year or early next year some time.

[topt]

6 hours ago, impulse said:

If Microsoft had wanted to maintain goodwill among their user base,

That is one of either the funniest or most naive statements I have read for a while especially considering their recent history with the upgrade from Windows 10 to 11.......

 

6 hours ago, impulse said:

I think that's fodder for an anti-trust lawsuit.

Sorry if I am being harsh but that seems like nonsense. On what basis?

Skype was bought over 10 years ago and has been superseded by alternatives, one of which  they have suggested you can transfer to along with your contacts. The fact that some functionality is different is, IMHO, neither here nor there as far as your statement is concerned.

[impulse]

9 hours ago, topt said:

16 hours ago, impulse said:

I think that's fodder for an anti-trust lawsuit.

Sorry if I am being harsh but that seems like nonsense. On what basis?

Skype was bought over 10 years ago and has been superseded by alternatives, one of which  they have suggested you can transfer to along with your contacts. The fact that some functionality is different is, IMHO, neither here nor there as far as your statement is concerned.

 

And yet, Meta is now being investigated and may be broken up for doing exactly the same thing.  Buying up competing products to eliminate competition.

 

[topt]

24 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

And yet, Meta is now being investigated and may be broken up for doing exactly the same thing.  Buying up competing products to eliminate competition.

 

I may well be wrong but I would have to disagree that Skype was in any way a similar "competitor" to Microsoft at that time - and certainly not a rival -

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cedy2ygy50do

Quote

Lawyers for the US competition and consumer watchdog allege Meta unlawfully quashed rivals by purchasing Instagram and WhatsApp over a decade ago.

Remember Microsoft bought it from basically private equity owners (ebay still had a 30% stake).

 

[impulse]

28 minutes ago, topt said:

1 hour ago, impulse said:

 

And yet, Meta is now being investigated and may be broken up for doing exactly the same thing.  Buying up competing products to eliminate competition.

 

I may well be wrong but I would have to disagree that Skype was in any way a similar "competitor" to Microsoft at that time - and certainly not a rival -

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cedy2ygy50do

Quote

Lawyers for the US competition and consumer watchdog allege Meta unlawfully quashed rivals by purchasing Instagram and WhatsApp over a decade ago.

Remember Microsoft bought it from basically private equity owners (ebay still had a 30% stake).

 

Which brings it back around to why Microsoft may regret this move and pissing away the goodwill of millions of Skype users.  Politicians are people, too.  And a lot of them are hearing from friends and family about the Skype debacle.

 

Meta's in the hotseat for transactions they did over 10 years ago.  Not hard to imagine more political pressure to do the same to Microsoft for the Skype transaction of over 10 years ago.  They have an OS, a software suite (Office), Edge, and now a communications suite.  They may even be forced to divest Teams or...  or...

 

Personally, I think they should have sold Skype.  Not killed it.  They're going to end up regretting the scrutiny that decision will bring down on them.

[thesetat]

On 2/28/2025 at 11:02 PM, it is what it is said:

 

skype was great, but possibly old tech now.

 

apparently users are being migrated to Teams, i'm not familiar with Teams, is it possible to call uk landlines using Teams?

So far i have found Teams to be a crappy app. Skype recommends it and says it transfers your skype data to the Teams app but really it uses your contacts in your hotmail. I try to avoid Teams now. I have yet to figure out how to use calling in Teams. 

[ukrules]

8 hours ago, thesetat said:

So far i have found Teams to be a crappy app. Skype recommends it and says it transfers your skype data to the Teams app but really it uses your contacts in your hotmail. I try to avoid Teams now. I have yet to figure out how to use calling in Teams. 

 

Or worse - it does both and you can add people in and then when the Skype import hit the same people were there twice.

 

I believe the longer you had an account with them the more fragmented the import process was.

Mine was a really old Skype account - like when they first opened it up I signed up within a few months.

 

[KhunHeineken]

On 5/8/2025 at 7:13 AM, impulse said:

Someone would have to do some fancy 'splaining why they'd be losing money holding onto unused Skype credits.  That's money they can use to fund other operations and make a return on OPM.  Not to mention all that they'd get to keep when their users die off and/or forget they even had money on account.

At the present time, Skype is currently running at a complete loss.  That means, Microsoft is still supporting Skype, at a cost to the company, but there is $0 in revenue coming in because Skype is shutting down.  Remember, they already have your money from your subscription / credit purchase. 

 

On 5/8/2025 at 7:13 AM, impulse said:

As far as the expense of keeping Skype alive while they're winding it down, they get money every time I use Skype.  They could scale back the bandwidth and the number of servers and support staff to match the usage.  Those costs go down as usage dwindles.  They'd still have millions of users getting charged millions of dollars every month.

Wrong.  They already have your money.  They got your money the day you purchased Skype credit.  It's not held by a 3rd Party and released to Skype after your call. 

 

No one is getting charged every month.  They are not selling anything anymore.  Not selling subscription, or credit / minutes.  Zero revenue coming in, but still supplying the service means it's running at a loss. 

 

For this reason, in my opinion, I would say they will put a deadline on using Skype credit, and I have predicted it will be March 26 to coincide with the ending of Microsoft 365 subscribers 60 minutes per month, and the ending of the last annual Skype subscription. 

 

Like I said, I wanted to leave $0.20 in credit in my Skype account forever, in protest, to keep Skype alive forever, but I can't see Microsoft allowing users to sit on Skype credit for years and years, otherwise, there is no real Skype shutdown. 

 

On 5/8/2025 at 7:13 AM, impulse said:

If Microsoft had wanted to maintain goodwill among their user base, they could have given us all Teams accounts and either spun Skype off and kept it going as a division of MS, or sold Skype to a 3rd party.  Instead, they bought a competitor and killed it off.  I think that's fodder for an anti-trust lawsuit.

Goodwill from Microsoft, that's funny. 

 

As another member posted, look what they did with Windows 11 and all the unsupported hardware out there.  

 

One thing is for sure, Skype's competitors will be picking up hundreds of millions of new users, and billions of dollars in revenue, many of them also offer a good product, but I will forever miss Skype.  

 

 

 

[KhunHeineken]

On 5/8/2025 at 9:58 AM, ukrules said:

 

Yes, I've read about that, I think it's end of year or early next year some time.

I'm predicting a complete server shut down in March 26, with emails being sent out later this year informing people to use what's left of their credit by March 26. 

[KhunHeineken]

14 hours ago, impulse said:

They're going to end up regretting the scrutiny that decision will bring down on them.

What they will regret is not developing Skype, particularly with the rise of Zoom during the pandemic.  Some may say Teams is Microsoft's development of Skype, but Skype was already a global brand, with hundreds of millions of users, worldwide.  They should have developed it to keep up with their competitors, but it's basically remained the same for years.  

 

Like I have said, Microsoft reminds me of Nokia.  Had a huge market share, but ultimately went broke.  They didn't invest in R&D. 

[KhunHeineken]

13 hours ago, thesetat said:

So far i have found Teams to be a crappy app. Skype recommends it and says it transfers your skype data to the Teams app but really it uses your contacts in your hotmail. I try to avoid Teams now. I have yet to figure out how to use calling in Teams. 

You have to buy a Microsoft Teams Phone Plan in order to make calls on Teams. 

[ukrules]

4 hours ago, KhunHeineken said:

What they will regret is not developing Skype

 

No, they clearly don't care about the Skype brand, it's Teams now and that's the end of it.

 

It's all about video chat, I never use that so it's useless to me - but there's many tens of millions of people who do use it.

They had two services offering a similar service and went with Teams as the newer iteration.

 

There will be no regret, it's a tiny fraction of a percentage on their balance sheet and nobody will miss it at all, nobody at Microsoft anyway.

Also this will create a lot of demand in the VOIP/SIP phone service industry - a completely out of the blue bonus for that bunch of mostly charlatans and MLM type resellers.