Goodbye Skype, hello Teams: How Microsoft is making the switch easy

Microsoft users who still rely on Skype will soon have to find a different service. On Friday, the company announced that Skype will be retired on May 5 so that it can focus on the free version of Teams.

Sign into Teams with your Skype credentials

To encourage this transition, Microsoft will soon allow users to sign in to the free version of Teams with their Skype username and password. By using the same credentials, users will be able to access their existing chats and contacts if they want to pick up where they left off.

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Until the official retirement, Skype users will still be able to call and chat with people on Teams, and vice versa. If you’re not fond of Teams, you can export your data from Skype, including your chats, contacts, and call history.

How will this shutdown affect paid Skype options and subscriptions?

As of now, Microsoft no longer offers Skype Subscriptions, Skype Numbers, or Skype Credit. Existing paid options and subscriptions will continue to automatically renew until April 3, allowing you to use them until then. After May 5, the Skype dial pad will be accessible to any remaining subscribers only from the website and within Teams. Microsoft provides more details on a web page about what you need to know regarding Skype’s retirement.

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The news is hardly surprising, given Skype’s checkered history. 

After its initial launch in 2003, the service was acquired by Microsoft in 2011, with big plans to push it to consumers and enterprises and integrate it with Windows and other products. Over the years, Microsoft diligently updated and enhanced Skype. During the pandemic, many people turned to it for remote calls and video conferences.

The competition is a problem

The truth is Skype has fallen by the wayside. Yes, the service still has many dedicated fans. In March 2020, the number of daily users hit around 40 million. But following the pandemic, that number had dwindled to 36 million in February 2023. And those numbers may have dipped further since then.

One problem has been competition. Zoom, Slack, and a host of other communications services have won over their fair share of users. But the major rival has been Microsoft Teams.

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Over the past few years, Microsoft has spent more time and effort promoting and tweaking Teams, both for consumers and businesses. By integrating Teams into Windows, the company has clearly positioned it as its go-to calling and chat app.

In 2024, Microsoft tried to simplify the use of Teams by combining the separate personal and business versions into one single unified app. After launching the app, you can sign in to your work, personal, or educational account.

If you haven’t yet tried Teams and want to give it a whirl, you should find the app in the Start menu in Windows 10 and 11. Otherwise, you can download it from the Microsoft Teams website. Open the app, sign in with your Skype credentials, and you’ll be able to access all your Skype chats and contacts.