Microsoft to Shut Down Skype in May

Article Comments
41

I use Talkatone as one of my two non-Skype VoIP services. I wrote some details about it and others, including Skype, on my blog a few years ago with some later updates: Phone and Text VoIP (Voice over IP) apps – Doug Reports

I have a paid version of Talkatone (the $3.99/month subscription I think) which includes support for sort-number messages like bank and credit card authentication codes, and also voicemail transcriptions. You can’t send messages to a short number though.

I also use TextNow, which works better in some ways, but is difficult to setup if you live outside the U.S.

I would sort of like to not lose my Skype-in number which I’ve had for over a decade. But I can’t figure out where to port it to. I tried using Google Voice the other day and it’s way too complicated to juggle around if you live overseas. I may just end up dropping Skype. I just paid for my one-year number renewal last month though.

42

I have used Skype for over 20 years to make international calls to landlines. I am keen to learn if there is a good alternative out there.
Almost every app I have examined including WhatsApp is limited to calls to other app users. Clearly that is not acceptable for calls to landlines. Talkatone, which many have mentioned, is US only. Teams is overkill both functionally and cost especially when I only need the facility a few times a year.
It looks like I will have to revert to the POTS.
Another giant leap backwards for technology.

43

I do as it is my PRIMARY phone number. I only use my cell when I’m away from home, otherwise it sits on the nightstand.

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44

I’ve been using Skype from well before Microsoft bought it, it is still my first choice for iPad to landline calls and still works well.

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45

I use Skype to video chat with a friend in Canada. He is a PC user and has used Skype for a long time. That is my only use of it. We use it because it was his choice. We most likely will move to Google Meet.

46

Enjoy it while it lasts. You’re certainly the exception to the current norm.
For most people the cell phone has become the main means of communication for pretty much everything: social media, shopping, booking tickets, navigation, fitness, music, searching the web, managing bank accounts, stock markets, paying bills, identity management (2FA), video conferences, voice calls over social media apps. And yes, phone calls (thru the mobile number) too, though they represent a minor use compared to all others.
In fact - your mobile number is in many cases a more useful identification method than your social ID…
Most people have ditched their landlines. They bring no value as they only serve one purpose while a mobile serves dozens.

But anyway - use your landline as much as you like. It’s just that people won’t be able to call you using Skype going onwards. That’s the real topic here. Microsoft have identified the end of life of landlines and ditched Skype.

47

I have had numerous frustrations with Teams running under macOS. It works one week but not the next:

These days I have to paste the Teams URL link into MS Edge to join a conference - if I am lucky. Not a great look for business meetings.

With the demise of Skype and the changes to Zoom my regular chats with overseas relatives is going to become more daunting for everyone.

48

Like you, I have a Skype out number I’ve used for years as Iive part of the year in Japan. The thought of replacing it across all my contacts is daunting. So I’m considering MagicJack, and to protect my skype out number I might try numberbarn.com. It costs $2/month. I also realized the Ooma, a VOIP service I use for my home phone in the U.S, has a iPhone app that may be able to replace my Skype out number. I’m going to be checking out these options in the next few days.

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49

I won’t miss the horrible user interface of Skype, but I will miss the ability to make low-price calls to mobiles and landlines overseas. Does anyone have any experience of using Rakuten Viber?

As well as free Viber to Viber calls and messaging, according to their website they offer a service called Viber Out for making international calls. It looks as if you can either buy a certain amount of minutes, or take out a monthly subscription for unlimited calls.

50

Talkatone works anywhere as far as I know and can call phone numbers in most/all of the world. Where did you see it listed as US only?

51

When I saw the 1 March email from Skype announcing this, it was one of those “oh shoot!” moments. Like others in this comment chain, I live overseas (Japan) and have been using Skype since well before MS intruded on the party. While it doesn’t offer full SMS capabilities, I can text with family, int’l calls are cheap, it provides a US number that people can use to call me, and it can handle authentication codes for some websites.

To have more reliability for authentication codes, I recently went ahead and got an eSIM mobile number with GoogleFi. It provides domestic cell phone service when I’m in the US, but it turns out that Google suspends an account if it’s used outside the US for more than 3 months. For this reason, I can’t use it as a replacement for Skype, and must be careful to turn it on only when needed for authentication codes. If I turn on my phone’s VPN to a US location and then turn on my GoogleFi number, maybe it will be fooled into thinking I’m in the US.

As for MS Teams as a replacement, I used Teams for a while when I did some part-time work for a university a few years ago. It was not a good experience: video meeting quality and site functionality were poor compared to Zoom, and the data storage functionality was unreliable. I’ll be interested to hear what it’s like today and if it will offer Skype’s functionality. I can tolerate something that’s clunky so long as it provides the same capabilities Skype offers now.

I will be following this closely, and will check out the other options people mention here, i.e. Talkatone, TextNow, MagicJack, Ooma, Viber.

52

This page says that you just need to find another provider and have them port your number over.
How do I port my Skype Number to another company? - Microsoft Support

53

I’ve been using Google Voice since it was invitation-only [/hunblebrag], us calls are free and international calls are pretty reasonable (Calling Rates); I call friends in Australia for $0.01/min.

If you use the Voice app (or third-part apps) on your iPad or Mac web browser, it does not relay your call to your cell, and US calls are absolutely free.

Texts are also free, work internationally, and with every bank and 2FA I’ve encountered.

You can port existing numbers in, and I’m pretty sure Federal law on ports says you should be able to port your Skype number. Of course you can also port out if you decide the service is not for you.

Combine Voice with an Ooma or ObiHai box, and you can use existing wiring of your house or business to continue using traditional corded telephones, and, bonus: it will transfer fax calls to your ancient machines.

Of course, if you install the app on your phone (iOS or Android), it acts as a voip, and rings your line. You can choose whether or not to have it forward to your cell, to your office number, your MIL’s landline, etc.

And if that really appeals to you, I want to plug an awesome iOS app (iPhone, iPad and Touch), called GV Connect (https://gvconnect.com/), which, amongst a hundred other awesome features, allows you to geofence your location-enabled device, such that calls only get forwarded to a given number based on your current location. I use this everyday; if I go to work, my GV number “follows me” there automatically; when I leave, it switches back to my iPhone (and iPad and Macs), until I reach another destination where I prefer a regular phone over my iPhone. (I’m disabled and I prefer to use a headset phone; I know, AirPods, Jabra, blah blah).

I once wrote an entire article for tidbits about this awesome app, but life got difficult and I never submitted it.

GV voicemail is bottomless, and transcripts are usually pretty good if the caller speaks reasonably clearly. I recently retrieved several voicemail from 2008.

Call quality is excellent, but does require a decent Internet connection to not get compressed into garble.

I could go on and on describing both service and app(s) features, but I think this is already lengthy.

HTH

Cheers

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54

Yes. But easier said than done. I have not been able to find another provider for this yet.

55

The app website https://www.talkatone.com/ shows that calls etc. are US only. If this is incorrect then I will use the app.

56

My sister in law has severe MS and has only the use of one hand. She barely manages an iPhone but gets no cell service in her nursing home and has been relying on Skype to call friends, family and others over wifi for nearly ten years. Teams doesn’t sound like an option for her and this will be devastating.

57

Well, US and Canada. I hope and trust those will remain two different countries, dictators’ fever dreams notwithstanding.

58

Free phone calls and texts are only available to US and Canadian numbers. But you can add credit and call any country:

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The full list of their calling rates is here:

59

I use Google Voice and call the UK regularly for, err, 1 cent per minute. I often have one hour calls with friends in the UK.

You can port any number to it. I have used it for years. Just a web interface on the Mac and not very elegant at all. You can chose to have incoming calls forward to any other number, set up call monitoring, blocking etc.

I did read the upcoming demise of Skype with dread however and wondered how long GV was going to last.

The number porting business is a federal mandate AFAIK, so they can’t take the number away from you and it’s easy, but these days…

With GV I call the UK and chat for an hour with one dear friend and it’s costs peanuts. You can also get GV numbers as if you lived in another country. I had a London number for a while which would call my US cell.

Good luck. L

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60

I’ve been Skyping every morning for video chats with my brother and my 96-year-old mother. I’m not pleased to hear that it’s shutting down. While my mother isn’t cognitively capable of switching to another platform, her caregiver might be able to assist her. We’re all in different states, so it’s wonderful that we can visit each other daily.

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