Skype for Windows: service closed, what to use now

Skype for Windows was a messaging and calling app owned by Microsoft, and it is no longer available to download: Microsoft closed the Skype service on 5 May 2025. The last Windows build recorded in catalogue data is 8.150.0.125, but an installer of that version will not bring the service back, so this page explains what Skype was and how to move on to Microsoft Teams.

Quick facts

What Skype was

Skype appeared in August 2003, created by Niklas Zennström, Janus Friis, Ahti Heinla, Priit Kasesalu, Jaan Tallinn and Toivo Annus. It paired an instant messaging client with voice over IP, and later with video calls, at a time when calling abroad over a phone line was expensive. For many people the name became a verb for calling someone over the internet. After it became part of Microsoft, Skype Technologies kept developing it for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS, as well as for phone systems that have since disappeared, such as Symbian, BlackBerry OS and Windows Phone. Families used it to stay in touch across borders, companies ran interviews and small meetings on it, and teachers used it for remote lessons. Over the years Microsoft moved its own communication work to Teams, and Skype gradually turned into a legacy product that received fewer changes. In early 2025 Microsoft announced the shutdown and a transition period, and after 5 May 2025 the Skype apps stopped connecting to the service.

What happened to accounts and chats

A Skype account was a Microsoft account, so the account itself did not disappear. During the transition Microsoft let Skype users sign in to the free version of Teams with the same credentials, where their contacts and chat history appeared automatically. People who did not want Teams could export their Skype data instead. If you never made that move, sign in to Teams with your old Skype login first: that is the place to check what has been carried over. Paid Skype features such as calling credit were wound down along with the service.

How to switch to Microsoft Teams

1. Open the official Microsoft Teams page and install the free app, or use Teams in the browser.
2. Sign in with the Microsoft account you used for Skype.
3. Check the chat list: contacts and conversations moved from Skype should be there.
4. Invite anyone who is missing by sharing a Teams link; the other person can join a call from a browser without installing anything.

Teams has its own system requirements, listed on the Microsoft site; any Windows PC that ran a recent Skype build is usually fine, but check the page before installing on an old machine.

Safety: avoid old Skype installers

Setup files for Skype still circulate on third-party download sites. They are not a safe way to get the service back: the apps cannot sign in any more, they no longer receive security fixes, and repackaged installers are a common way to spread malware. Remove Skype from your PC if it is still installed, and do not enter your Microsoft account password into any program that claims to be a working Skype.

Pros and cons of moving to Teams

• Pro: same Microsoft account, so no new registration.
• Pro: free plan for personal calls and chats.
• Pro: works in the browser as well as in the desktop app.
• Con: busier interface built around meetings and teams.
• Con: some former Skype habits, such as calling landlines with credit, have no direct equivalent.

Alternatives

If Teams does not suit you, other messaging and calling apps listed on our site include WhatsApp Desktop, Telegram Desktop, Signal, Viber, Discord, Zoom Meeting and Google Meet. Pick one that the people you call already use, since a call app is only as useful as its contact list.