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Skype's shutdown

Is Skype still a thing? What happened after Skype shut down in May 2025

Part of: Skype alternatives in 2026: what replaces Skype's free calls and Skype Credit

By · Updated · 9 min read

TL;DR

No. Microsoft retired Skype on and sent its users to Microsoft Teams (free), where a Skype account still signs in and contacts and chats carry over [1]. Paid Skype wound down over the following year, and Teams (free) sells no calling plans for ringing phone numbers [1]. For that job, see what to use now that Skype is gone.

Key facts

Does Skype still exist?

Not as a service you can use. Microsoft retired Skype on , for free and paid users alike, and its support page now says simply that Skype is no longer available [1]. What survives is the Skype account, which now signs in to Teams (free), and a Skype Dial Pad for people who still hold paid credit.

When I opened skype.com on , it forwarded me to the Teams (free) page [3], and the old Skype for Web address, web.skype.com, opened the Teams (free) web app [4].

When did Skype shut down? The timeline from 2025 to 2026

Skype did not switch off in one day. Microsoft announced the retirement on and closed the service on . Over the next 13 months it removed the paid leftovers (caller ID, Microsoft 365 minutes, subscriptions and numbers) and then the old chat data of users who had not moved [2][1].

Skype's shutdown step by step, from Microsoft's own pages
DateWhat changedWho it affected
Retirement announced; sign-in to Teams (free) with Skype accounts starts rolling out; paid features no longer sold to new customers [2]Everyone
Last automatic renewals of calling and number subscriptions [1]Paid users
Skype retired; SMS, call forwarding, voicemail, credit gifting and caller ID setup end [1]Everyone
Cut-off: Skype history kept only for recent users who had moved to Teams (free) before this date [1]Free users
Swedish Skype Numbers terminated [1]Sweden
Caller ID setups shut down [1]Paid users
March 202660 Skype minutes removed from Microsoft 365 Personal and Family [1]Microsoft 365 subscribers
Deletion of old Skype data begins [1]Free users
Subscriptions end; longer ones converted to Skype Credit [1]Paid users
May 2026All Skype Number subscriptions ended; port-out closed [1]Number holders
Last day to request a data export; inactive users' data deleted after it [1]Free users

Microsoft's page contradicts itself on data: an older answer still says Skype data stays available only until January 2026, while the newer section gives and [1]. I went with the newer dates.

What moved from Skype to Teams (free), and what didn't

Your account, your contacts and most chats moved. Signing in to Teams (free) with Skype credentials needs no new account, and contacts and chats transfer on their own, in under a minute by Microsoft's estimate [1]. Teams (free) keeps Skype's core free features: one-to-one and group calls, messaging and file sharing. Calling phone numbers did not move, apart from a Dial Pad for people who already hold Skype Credit.

Skype features and where they stand in Teams (free)
Skype featureIn Teams (free) now
Contacts and chatsTransferred when you sign in with your Skype account [1]
Chats with work or school accounts, private conversations, bot chatsNot migrated [1]
One-to-one callsFree between Teams users, up to 30 hours [5]
Group callsUp to 60 minutes and 100 people; guests join from a link [5]
Calls to landlines and mobilesNo paid calling plans; only leftover Skype Credit in the Dial Pad [1]
Skype Number, SMS, voicemailGone [1]
Meet Now and chat invite linksOpen the same conversation in Teams [1]

When I opened teams.live.com on , it offered to start a meeting, join one or sign in, with nothing to install [6]. To ring ordinary phone numbers from Teams, Microsoft points small businesses to the paid Teams Essentials plan combined with Teams Phone [1].

What happened to Skype Credit and Skype Numbers?

Skype Credit can still be spent but not bought, and Skype Numbers are gone. Microsoft stopped selling credit, subscriptions and numbers and ended automatic top-up; remaining credit works in the Skype Dial Pad, on the web or inside Teams (free) [1]. All Skype Number subscriptions ended in May 2026, and Microsoft no longer accepts requests to port a number out [1].

Subscriptions that ran past were cancelled and converted into Skype Credit [1]. On , the old sign-in address, login.skype.com, took me to calling.web.skype.com, a page titled Skype Dial Pad [7]. I did not sign in, so I can't say what an account with leftover credit sees there.

Refunds for cancelled subscriptions, and what to tell people who still dial your old number, are in my guide to Skype Numbers after the shutdown.

What can you still do with an old Skype account?

As of , a few things: sign in to Teams (free) with it, spend leftover Skype Credit, and check whether your chat history survived. Getting an export is harder: Microsoft accepted export requests until and warned that exports made after may be incomplete [1].

  1. Sign in to Teams (free) with your Skype sign-in details on any supported device [1]; in a browser it is at teams.live.com [6].
  2. Check your history. It stays only if you were active in Skype between December 2024 and February 2025 and used Teams (free) before ; the Teams (free) app shows your past activity [1].
  3. Spend leftover credit in the Skype Dial Pad. Credit left unused for 180 days goes inactive and has to be reactivated in My Account before the Dial Pad shows [8].
  4. Try the export page. Microsoft's export link now leads to a page titled Export my Skype data on teams.live.com [9]. I did not sign in, so I can't confirm it still returns anything after the deadline.

What did Microsoft replace Skype with?

Teams (free), but it replaces only Skype's free side. Teams (free) has no paid calling plans [1], so calling landlines and mobiles, or keeping a number people can dial, now takes a service from another company. I compare those services in my roundup of Skype alternatives for calling phones; the short version follows.

Google Voice makes almost all calls from the US to the US and Canada free, but its personal accounts are for the US only [10][11]. Pay-per-minute browser dialers such as Yolla [12] and TwinPhone, which sponsors this site, ring landlines and mobiles from a browser tab; TwinPhone needs no phone number to sign up, but it has no free tier and rents numbers only in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico [13][14].

Frequently asked questions

Does Skype still exist in 2026?

No. Microsoft retired Skype on , for free and paid users alike, and moved them to Microsoft Teams (free) [1]. The name survives in two places: the Skype Dial Pad, where remaining paid users spend old credit, and Skype for Business, a separate product for organisations that the retirement did not affect [1].

When exactly did Skype shut down?

On . Microsoft announced it on , giving users until then to move to Teams (free) or export their data [2]. Paid features were removed in stages afterwards, ending with Skype Number subscriptions in May 2026, and the last deadline of all was , the final day to request a copy of your Skype data [1].

Why did Microsoft shut down Skype?

Microsoft said it wanted to streamline its free consumer communications products and focus on Teams (free). The same announcement noted that minutes spent in meetings by consumer Teams users had grown fourfold in two years [2]. I found no other official reason on the Microsoft pages I read.

Can I still download Skype?

No. Microsoft's support page says Skype is no longer available [1], and on both skype.com and its old download page redirected me to the Microsoft Teams (free) page [3]. If you still hold Skype Credit, you don't need an app: the Skype Dial Pad runs on the web at calling.web.skype.com and inside Teams (free) [15]. Treat any site that still offers a Skype installer as out of date.

Can I still access my old Skype account?

Through Teams (free), yes: the same account signs in there and your contacts and chats appear [1]. Old chat history survives only if you were active in Skype between December 2024 and February 2025 and used Teams (free) before ; otherwise Microsoft said the data would be deleted after [1].

Can I still use my Skype Credit?

Yes, if you already have some. Remaining credit works for calls through the Skype Dial Pad, on the Skype web portal or inside Teams (free). You cannot buy more, automatic top-up is gone, and gifting credit ended on [1]. Credit left unused for 180 days goes inactive until you reactivate it in My Account [8].

Is Skype for Business still a thing?

Partly. It is a separate product, and Microsoft says the consumer Skype retirement does not affect it [1]. Its cloud version, Skype for Business Online, was retired on ; organisations running Skype for Business Server on their own premises were not affected by that [16]. Neither is an option for a personal account.

When was Skype created?

Skype was founded in 2003, bought by eBay in 2005 and by an investor group led by Silver Lake in 2009. Microsoft agreed to buy it on , when Skype had 170 million connected users [17]. Microsoft retired it on , 14 years after that deal was announced [1].

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Sources

  1. Skype is retiring in May 2025: What you need to know - Microsoft Support · checked November 1, 2026
  2. The next chapter: Moving from Skype to Microsoft Teams (Microsoft blog, 2025-02-28) · checked November 1, 2026
  3. skype.com (redirect observed) · Microsoft · checked November 1, 2026
  4. Skype for Web (redirect observed) · Microsoft · checked November 1, 2026
  5. Microsoft Teams (free) · checked November 1, 2026
  6. Microsoft Teams (free) web app landing page (observed) · checked November 1, 2026
  7. Skype Dial Pad (web page observed) · Microsoft · checked November 1, 2026
  8. How do I reactivate Skype Credit? - Microsoft Support · Microsoft · checked November 1, 2026
  9. Skype export portal (redirect observed) · Microsoft · checked November 1, 2026
  10. Make a call with Google Voice - Computer - Google Voice Help · checked November 1, 2026
  11. The end of legacy Google Voice for personal accounts - Google Voice Help · checked November 1, 2026
  12. Make Phone Calls from Your PC, Laptop, or Browser - Yolla · checked November 1, 2026
  13. Call a phone from your browser - TwinPhone · checked November 1, 2026
  14. Can I call a phone from my browser for free? - TwinPhone Help Center · checked November 1, 2026
  15. How do I make a call in the Skype Dial Pad? - Microsoft Support · Microsoft · checked November 1, 2026
  16. Skype for Business Online retirement - Microsoft Learn · Microsoft · checked November 1, 2026
  17. Microsoft to Acquire Skype - Microsoft News (press release, May 10, 2011) · Microsoft · checked November 1, 2026