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Skype login problems

Some of you may be having problems logging into Skype.  Our engineering team has determined that it’s a software issue.  We expect this to be resolved within 12 to 24 hours.  Meanwhile, you can simply leave your Skype client running and as soon as the issue is resolved, you will be logged in. We apologise for the inconvenience.

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A note at 20:06 GMT: We’d like to thank everyone who has taken the time to send us their thoughts, concerns and good wishes. It means the world to those working so hard to resolve this thing.

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227 thoughts on “Skype login problems

  1. praphulpa said 2106 days ago

    Wish you all success in fixing the problem

  2. ianstark said 2106 days ago

    “Relying on Skype for business is absolutely insane. I don’t know why anybody would do that.”

    Er, why?

    We entrust the vast majority of our written communications to email; increasingly people manage their entire financial matters online; hundreds of thousands, if not millions of businesses only have a sales presence on the web.

    Why is relying on a voip service for voice comms any different?

    Skype offers a business service. It’s an attractive offering and this is the first problem I have experienced in the whole time I’ve been a Skype user. I have been very happy with what I can do for free or for very little compared with, say, five years ago.

    I will admit, though, that I have grown so used to Skype working without problems that this has rattled my confidence in its viability as a potential one-stop solution for all my voice comms. I’ll be keeping the landline a while yet. I suspect I’m not alone.

    But ‘insane’? Sorry, I disagree.

    But I am mad (that it hasn’t been fixed yet).

  3. nardomarino1 said 2106 days ago

    skype is down even in sardinia, italy

  4. ianstark said 2106 days ago

    Ever wish you’d kept your mouth shut?

    “Hardware is temporal. Software is forever. You cannot kill software, for it’s like Casper the Friendly Ghost. No matter how sharp your spear or cutting blades, the attempt will be futile. I run Skype 2.6 for Mac that came to me as a 30MB file. I can download it a million times and it’ll still be there, pretty as ever. It will not burn, drown or develop blemishes.”

    Whose wise and cocksure words?

    Some bloke called Villu Arak, three weeks ago in ‘Life at Skype’.

    http://blogs.skype.com/sites/en/2007/07/would_skype_blend.html

    Ha ha haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!

  5. bayliss.chris said 2106 days ago

    Skype is still down in Canada (11.52GMT 17 August 2007) This sucks, I got up at 4am because I needed to make an important phone call to UK. Maybe time to go to my local telco and pay a bit extra for intl calling.

  6. crazyjflipkid said 2106 days ago

    Here I am getting pissed off at my phone company since they carry my internet. Pissed off at them and yelling at them…all because the Skype server went down. Then again…it could be partially my provider’s fault!w00t! HURRY AND FIX IT! I need to talk to friends!

  7. dstockinger said 2106 days ago

    Austria (NO kangaroos), 17th, 1PM, – still offline….

  8. inichol said 2106 days ago

    Relying on Skype for business comms is insane basically because (1) it depends on too many other unconnected services like ISPs and (2) you’ve got no comeback when they fail to deliver, and as people are finding there’s nobody at Skype that you can call (on another phone, lol!) or email to find out what’s happening or when your paid-for service is going to resume.

    At least if you have landlines from BT or similar conventional provider you can get on to them and they’ll tell you when the problem will be fixed, compensate you for the outage, and help divert the numbers to a cellphone during the fault.

    By all means use Skype as part of a wider comms strategy but make sure you have an alternate method to make and more importantly RECIEVE INCOMING BUSINESS CALLS when Skype or the internet goes out. There are people on here moaning that their customers can’t call them, well, these people should have either retained a landline for emergency use or fronted their business with a type or number that can be quickly redirected to someone’s cellphone until the primary comms service is back.

  9. lesliechen1023 said 2106 days ago

    I could sign in but couldn’t skypeout.
    could anyone tell me when will it be resolved?

  10. inichol said 2106 days ago

    By the way when your website fails you can move it to another server, when your email fails you can use hotmail or even good old fax for essential stuff. There are various easy ways to work around problems to those services. It’s the people that have put all their eggs in the Skype basket that are now suffering. Voice comms are generally too important to a business to risk that.

  11. austjb said 2106 days ago

    It has been MORE than 24 hours for me here and I am NOT HAPPY. I really need to call one of the guys I work with to ask him a question (email isn’t fast enough) but I was stupid enough to think that Skype was stable enough to be trusted so I’m stuck without a phone who knows how long.

  12. linkin_shark said 2106 days ago

    BULGARIA is OFFline too I guess the hackers are pretty good.

  13. carolyn261 said 2106 days ago

    SOUTH AFRICA IS OFFLINE 2! ME AT LEAST…. WHEN IS THIS SORTED!! ITS IN THE AFTERNOON HERE AND STILL NO PROGRESS FROM YESTERDAY….

  14. arun_kenriche said 2106 days ago

    Chennai is offline too. I know Skype will resolves this problem asap.

    Arun Rajasingh, CEO
    Kenriche Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
    A Web Development Company
    http://www.kenriche.com

  15. krutais.info said 2106 days ago

    Emz.. yeah – You need Inspector Gadget support thenx 4 this brilliant program

  16. pappydamonkey said 2106 days ago

    Japan is offline too.
    And it’s more than 24 hours now, hope they will fix it sap.

    Also my boyfriend in Thailand is offline too

  17. ianstark said 2106 days ago

    Hi inichol,

    I absolutely agree that those that have switched 100% to Skype and have no back up systems may be regretting their decision! But I still don’t see it as being ‘absolutely insane’.

    Until now, it’s been a fairly reliable service and for my part I have had as many problems with my landlines and mobile phone as Skype. No hang on – I have had LESS trouble with Skype’s reliability. It’s been around a while now. It’s gone way beyond the early adopter stage and is generally perceived as being a stable platform.

    I don’t rely 100% on Skype but I *do* rely on it to a degree, as you say, as part of a wider comms strategy.

    I produce corporate films for IT companies around the world. I’m a one man band that works with freelancers all over the world. That means I am away a lot. When ANY part of my comms fails – email, web, mobile, landline, voip, whatever – I suffer. Potentially I lose new business and credibility.

    In my case Skype’s failure yesterday is terribly disruptive because people that are trying to contact me don’t know that they are calling a Skype-In number so they just get an unobtainable signal. Sure I can put something up on my website (I have, in fact) but not everyone gets my number from the website. All those business cards I gave out at that trade show last week? Guess what number? Same thing, of course, if your primary email fails. Going to Hotmail won’t help there.

    No problem with outgoing comms – I’m well covered there. It’s incoming that’s the problem – new customers, existing customers, suppliers, my bank! Aargh!

    What would you have me do? Print business cards with “If this number is out of service please call this one. And if this email doesn’t work, please try this one.” Sorry but that just isn’t painting a good picture for someone who might spend tens of thousands of pounds with me (ha! I wish!).

    As far as compensation for the outage is concerned, I am SURE Skype will offer something to it’s disgruntled user base by way of appeasement! Think what a huge blow to their credibility this is. How many businesses will now think twice before adopting Skype as ANY part of their comms strategy?

    And all this at a time when the stock markets are already teetering on the brink!

  18. azuzarte said 2105 days ago

    I think this has to do with yesterday’s Microsoft update for XP. After rebooting Skype stopped connecting. Maybe this Microsoft “patch(es)” messed up the network string allocations. MySpace IM was out too unable to connect

  19. strwberrysoul said 2105 days ago

    Ohhhh…Kazakhstan is offline too, its almost 24 hours like that. It works for a minute and then for 1-2 hours nothing! Please, please, please!!! I cant talk to my boyfriend in Moscow!!! Please, is there anything u can do!!!??????

  20. justbelieve008 said 2105 days ago

    THE ONLY THING I WANT TO SAY IN THIS CHAOS WOULD BE– DAN, I LOVE U!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NEXT WEEK,U’LL BE IN BOSTON AND I’M STILL IN SHENZHEN,CHINA.

  21. magda.david.hercheui said 2105 days ago

    Hi, just keep going guys. Everybody depends on you. We love Skype. My full support for your good work. From London. Cheers.

  22. justbelieve008 said 2105 days ago

    I MET MY DEAREST DAN THERE ON SKYPE.
    NOTHING GONNA CHANGE THIS, THROUGH TRIAL AND ERROR WE GROW STRONGER.
    OUR LOVE AND SKYPE : )

    DAN, I LOVE U!
    I SHOUT OUT FROM SUCH A CHAO,
    AFTER THIS STROM, I’LL TELL U AGAIN THROUGH SKYPE ~~

    MAGIC IN SHENZHEN!

  23. estenflo said 2105 days ago

    I just wanna say…. “Malachai, Daddy Loves You!!! Switzerland is great and I can’t wait to see you back in Boulder. XXXX OOOO X O XX OO X O X X X” Everyone at Skype, we love you too, thanks for working on this issue.

  24. crazybigbillybob said 2105 days ago

    Dear ianstark,

    I was going to be more firm about this, I got worried just as you, but then realized there are more words in the English language that can be used besides swearing, so I don’t have to worry about getting my post pulled.

    If you use Skype for business, and this is your only line, you’re obviously not using your head. How simple would it be to get a pay-by-minute cell phone for a couple of days? If you’re that important and worry about credibility, put TWO LINES ON THE BUSINESS CARD!!! Honestly, why in the world would you attack inichol by implying that the only thing you could add to your business card is “if this line is down…”. If that’s the best you can think of, I can only imagine how boring your videos are to begin with. Just throwing this out here, but I’m pretty sure here that most people have MULTIPLE NUMBERS on business cards. Business, cell, fax, possibly a home phone line. If you lose customers over this, then you obviously haven’t been in IT very long. Get a backup.

    This is an eye-opener who use this program for communications. Servers fail, ISPs crash, and STUFF HAPPENS! Go on with life.

    Having said all this, Skype should’ve also had a backup. However, coming down on them because you have no other alternative is a bit of an oxymoron. Think before you talk people.

  25. royalscam21 said 2105 days ago

    Hey All we are up and running near toronto canada came on at 11:00 am eastern time

  26. gem7681 said 2105 days ago

    Dear ianstark, I was upset reading you comments. THIS IS ABOUT “problems logging into Skype” and ALL OF US are very upset with this. This is not to judge other users. Please if you are bored find something else to do. We are ONLY CONCERNED HERE ABOUT this terrible problem, that i never expected. WE ARE NOT HAPPY ARE ALL. We are frustrated, etc.. Skype did not permormed well with almost 100millons of users. This is unaceptable.

  27. gem7681 said 2105 days ago

    I am sorry, my message above was for crazybigbillybob and not for ianstark.

  28. mir234 said 2105 days ago

    How difficult can it be to playback a backup?
    Should be possible in less then an hour…
    Or for example change simply back the code to the code before change? I hope the person who knows the code gets back from vacation soon

    Or is there something else people shouldn’t know about?

  29. bahadirgokbayrak said 2105 days ago

    It has been 36 hours now that I have this problem and it seems like this will continue for another 24…
    Please do something quick, patience is great but it runs out quickly. Especially when you can talk with that person who is 10.000 miles away only by using Skype…

  30. virglin5796 said 2105 days ago

    Just by chance, say: Suppose that Skype has been hit by some type of Infection, and suppose Skype has stopped it in their system, before it got into my system? Then it is possible that I need to be thankful that Skype is doing their best to clean it out and maybe even repair stuff that has been damaged by said infection. I feel good not having an attack on my computer. I can wait until Skype is repaired and back online. Meantime, I have a lot more to do with my time than to be angry over something that I have no control.
    Come on folks, be thankful for the fact that you do not have to clean infection out of your systems.

  31. darrenjoseph said 2105 days ago

    Not. Impressed.

    Still no joy in Tokyo.

  32. grizzlybirds said 2105 days ago

    I wish skype would just tell us what’s wrong & when it can be fixed.

    Still down in USA 11:30 central time.(and with a sticky keyboard).

  33. valleybabe69 said 2105 days ago

    Thank Goodness for this BLOG!! I thought it was just me. Now I can relax and wait for SKYPE to resolve this connection issue. I’d like to comment on one other issue I noticed the last couple times I was connected. The other Skype user I was chatting with and myself could not see each other simultaneously. We had to take turns which was never the case before. I will also mention this was after we both updated to the latest version of SKYPE. I hope both issues get resolved…..Connection issue and Video issue. Other than that I really love this program and I always encouage my friends and family to do the same. I have a cousin in Italy who just told me a few days ago she was moved to tears when I called her house phone and she heard my voice. SKYPE is fantastic in keeping all of us connected and communicating. Don’t let us down! I hope we can connect very soon!

  34. ritchie.stobie said 2105 days ago

    Ok, I’ve just read all the comments on this pages. Man am I tried. I really hope the lads in skype aren’t reading this. I work for an ISP and I know how hard it is to fix a priority one fault such as this. These efforts are made harder by people putting undue pressure on them.

    I also think it’s a bit of a cheek to talk about moving providers after the first outage in 2 years. I’ve worked for 2 landline companies in Ireland and can honestly say that is the best, and most reliable track record I’ve ever heard off

    People who rely on internet based services should be aware that these servers are prown to outages, and that these outages can take time to troubleshoot and fix.

    For those using skype, as I do, to talk to friend who are far away. It has been a bit of an inconvenience, however, a simple use of the landline in my house had me talking to my band buddies in Australia in no time.

    Seriously lads, leave them alone. If you really need to complain, do it somewhere else and let the skype boys do their jobs. Oh and to the skype lads, cheers for the service thus far

  35. a_pihourov said 2105 days ago

    Skype still down Ireland 6pm.

  36. ritchie.stobie said 2105 days ago

    That’s a lie. It’s only 5.50pm

  37. ahemmelgarn said 2105 days ago

    Well an Update from Skype Management or Media relations would be really nice… it’s over 24 hours now and my business depends on Skype conversations internationally.

    fiswebdesign.com

    Web design done right!

  38. lordbuddylove said 2105 days ago

    I still can’t log in. Minneapolis. Comcast.

  39. mark.graham88 said 2105 days ago

    I don’t agree with all the “do gooder” comments. I’m sure that people are working hard to fix this issue however, I pay for a service and its not available. Whats going to happen when Skype users start clearing out their pre-paid accounts on mass. Ermm! that might just get things moving?

  40. tommy6000009 said 2105 days ago

    i have just one thing to ask the people who are angry with skype and also those who re being patient, how many of you would feel alot better if skype would just give us an update on whats going on and say something to the effect of we are sorry its been longer than predicted butwe are still having problems we hope to get it up and running as soon as possible, i would say we would be preety close to 100% of people being at least a little happier that they know that its still being worked on and getting closer to being back to normal, well hope you all get back online shortly and havent suffered too much.

  41. ritchie.stobie said 2105 days ago

    I agree completely tommy

  42. bahadirgokbayrak said 2105 days ago

    Skype worked for about just one minute now…I think we are really close to the happy end…

  43. tommy6000009 said 2105 days ago

    great richie so i have 100% that agree so far i was right

  44. virglin5796 said 2105 days ago

    Here is a News story from the New York Times:

    Error in Skype’s Software Shuts Down Phone Service

    By BRAD STONE
    Published: August 17, 2007
    SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 16 — The online telephone service Skype was not working for much of the day on Thursday, leaving its 220 million users, some of them small businesses that had given up their landlines, without a way to call colleagues, customers and friends.

    Skype’s Bad Day: Share Your Experience
    Executives at Skype, a division of eBay that is based in Luxembourg, said its engineers worked throughout the day to bring the service back online. But they said that while they had pinpointed the source of the problem, they still did not know why it had resulted in a network failure, and they could not ensure that the service would be running smoothly again by Friday.

    “There is a chance this could go on beyond tomorrow, but it’s our hope that it’s going to be resolved,” Kurt Sauer, Skype’s chief security officer, said. “What happened today was caused by a unique set of events, the genesis of which is not entirely understood.”

    Skype allows its users to make calls over their computers. Calls to other Skype members are free. To make and receive calls to and from traditional telephones, users are charged below-market rates.

    The Skype network uses a so-called peer-to-peer infrastructure, meaning that calls are routed through other users’ computers instead of a central hub. But it does have servers around the world, known as supernodes, that manage access to the network. A flaw in a crucial piece of software that connects users to these servers appears to have been the source of the problem.

    Skype engineers said the flaw existed in every copy of the Skype software that had been downloaded since the service’s start in 2003.

    Skype executives said they still did not know why the error, sitting dormant for four years, suddenly crashed the network. They cited problems with the Internet backbone in some parts of the world as a possible contributing factor.

    In the community of devoted Skype users, the shutdown was met with a few conspiracy theories and a little frustration that a communication tool they had come to rely on was not available.

    Phil Wolff, editor of the Skype Journal blog in Oakland, Calif., said he uses Skype to communicate with contributors in a half-dozen countries. “It’s just really awkward,” he said. “All of a sudden these channels of communication aren’t available anymore.”

    Mr. Wolff and Mr. Sauer of Skype noted that the service had never had a major breakdown like this.

    “We have a good track record about uptime,” Mr. Sauer said. “That doesn’t help people who were down today, but we are working every moment to recover from this issue and not to let it occur again. We want to get it fixed quickly and ensure that we are what we always said we were — a highly reliable, resistant network.”

  45. kaybeesolutions said 2105 days ago

    I think that skype is in a little of a trouble and I just dont want it to end…. I will keep my hopes up!
    Lets do it! SKYPE COME ON!! Woohooo Toetledoki!
    Stupid hackers or whatever this is – if its a software problem ( blame microsoft lol wut are they running VISTA hahaha )and hackers congratulation you did it YAY im proud of you now cut it!

    LOVE YOU SKYPE ! oke great…its green now…
    lets wait……
    reaching 2 min….aaah just went down again..
    People you know whats funny when its green and you dial it works hahaha even if your offline…but if you hang up you must wait till its green again.

    Okey skype FIX IT and hackers BUZZ OFF go fishing in Amsterdam or something more fun! RED LIGHT DISTRIKT

    PEACE

  46. inichol said 2105 days ago

    There’s been no update from the Skype management because they have been unable to hold the conference call to decide what to say to the world

  47. versachi007 said 2105 days ago

    Please do something faster, I got so many troubles in my business, cause of the Skype

  48. miguelaluen said 2105 days ago

    People, your services are the very best, with an incredible up time, and I am thankful for that.

    We appreciate all you do for us who enjoy your excellent service. In my case I am doubly thankful because it is free.

    I will wait, do not worry.

  49. sotiria.kollias said 2105 days ago

    Gee Skype what happened to customer service? Not only does Skype not work but you don’t try to communicate with your customers…..I really had to click on all the windows on the Skype site to find out, in a very obscure way,that the system was down. I feel like you guys are on Mars and we can’t communicate with you. That’s too bad. Maybe next time try to be a little more communicative with your customers. Believe it or not it does work!

  50. anil.bmc said 2105 days ago

    INDIA (Delhi).. There is still problem with Login to skype.. It work for few minute & again disturbance………what is going on…?