Retirement of Skype - when and what to do

Question

Recently received an Infomail from Microsoft advising "Beginning March 03, 2026, you will no longer have access to 60 minutes of monthly Skype calls to mobile phones and landlines.". But the FAQ link says Skype is being retired in May 2025.

Why the different dates?

The link suggests moving to Teams Free and the contacts and chats will be carried over. I already have Microsoft Teams (MT), which I don't pay for.

I can't log in to MT using my Skype Login and when I opened MT, there are no chats there and many of the contacts have multiple entries with the same details.

Do I need to delete Microsoft Teams and try for Teams Free?

What to do and when?

Answer 1

Hello Susan Diamond,

Microsoft has announced that the Skype service will be discontinued on May 5, 2025. The information you mentioned that from March 3, 2026 there will no longer be access to the 60 monthly free minutes for calls to mobile and landlines probably refers to a specific subscription or feature that could remain active beyond the general end of the Skype service.

To secure your contacts and chats, Microsoft recommends switching to Microsoft Teams Free. By signing in with your existing Skype account, your existing chats and contacts should automatically be available in Teams.

If you are already using a version of Microsoft Teams and are having difficulty accessing your Skype data, this could indicate that your current Teams version is not the same as the free version. Microsoft offers both free and paid versions of Teams, which differ in their range of functions.

It is not necessary to delete your current Teams installation. Instead, you should make sure you are using the free version of Teams and sign in with your Skype credentials. If you continue to experience problems, it may be helpful to contact Microsoft Support for specific assistance.

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