iPhone update: now supports multitasking, no additional charges for calling over 3G
We’ve updated our iPhone app – you can now make video calls.
In May, we upgraded our iPhone app to allow users to make calls over 3G data connections. Today, I’m pleased to introduce a brand new version of the app. It allows you to make calls with high quality sound, and supports multitasking. This means you can receive Skype calls while other apps are running, even when your iPhone is locked. And during a call, you can keep the conversation going while you switch to another task, such as checking a movie listing or reading an email. We’ve also updated the app’s graphics to support iPhone 4’s Retina Display.
Download it now for an even better Skype experience on your iPhone (opens in the App Store).
At Skype, we believe that better call quality and better availability (which is achieved with an app capable of multitasking and/or making calls over 3G) lead to increased call frequency and longer calls. We also believe that the mobile world is in a period of significant change, for example, with some operators starting to move to tiered pricing models.
In light of that, we no longer have plans to charge a supplement to make calls over 3G. We’re delighted to make it easier for you to talk for even longer and do even more together using Skype.
Multitasking requires iOS 4 and an iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, or a third-generation iPod touch (32GB and 64GB models from late 2009).
I have always championed Skype against the likes of the pathetic moaners of 3G becoming chargeable, the groaners who think that writing new code and completing beta testing is so easy but, the time has come to say, “what have you done Skype?”
This battery drain issue is calamitous!
Every time I quit Skype, I have to delete it from my background apps window. No option to turn off. No push. No time limits to stay on line for a set time, etc.
I’ve been with you about 6 or 7 years now. I wasn’t expecting this.
Guys
My take… Due to the negative reaction they had from users re. app delay and plan to charge via G3 they decided to correct the situation which was becoming a PR and commercial nightmare by releasing the long awaited app even though some features need still refining… so give them some slack. As I said in my previous (first) post. Kudos.
@jincos- I haven’t instal mobileSubstrate, winterboard or anything. I just jailbroken my iPhone only to use multitasking & background wallpaper.. please help me. Even my Nimbuzz doesn’t support push notification & multitasking. What’s wrong? I’m totally disappointed
yes definitely this update is killing my battery, before i could go all day, even talking a lot on the phone… but now i can’t pass lunch time without charging it again…
Skype better fix this issue… maybe using push instead of multitasking…
also would be good to have bluetooth support…
cheers
dan
It seems that several users report battery issues. I haven’t been able to try the updated skype on my iPhone 4 yet but I’ve seen skype draining my MacBook Pro’s battery before. The battery drains not only when speaking on skype but also when skype is open in the background. Not sure if the same happens with the pc version of skype. I just wanted to share my observation with skype people (Peter I hope you are listening). Maybe this is a mac os – skype issue and not just an iPhone, ios4 multitasking issue after all
Are you kidding me? We need to be PATIENT (and, apparently, silent) while the video calls for iphone or any smart phone are not happening? I’m getting dunned, with threat of losing my account entirely, to renew the subscription for the phone number I never got because it ended up just being a front for the “free” U.S. and Canada calls subscription I paid for… I only skype people who are fellow skypers, so you can understand my frustration at this…google is offering free video calls now; perhaps they would be willing to let us make use of those neat little webcams so many of us had assumed would be “skype-able” immediately! It truly never occured to me that skype would not have its stuff together before the iphone 4 launch. Even with the skype phone number crap, and even after the 3G stunt, I still had faith that this was a really cool company that just wanted to help people connect as much, as completely, as red-tape-free, and as inexpensively as possible. Obviously, I am as easily suckered by internet/corporate greed-heads as I am by people. And that is a damned sad statement!
Battery usage for multitasking seems to be very high. Even in Standby mode I had to recharge during the dayd. Is there a more economical update in th enear future? I switch it off now
IPHONE 4 VIDEO CHAT PLEEEEAAAAAAAASSSSEEE ^_^
Just adding my voice to the growing shouts of “poor battery life”. I’ve no idea whether this is specific to the skype app or just a problem with Apple’s implementation of the background VOIP task. But for me it means this app is pretty much not multi task enabled because I have to kill it after a call if I want my phone to last any decent length of time.
If it’s not Apple’s fault and Skype have released buggy software then I would remind you of Robert Miller’s post – that it is damaging to your brand and reputation and perhaps skype should block itself from having access to the skype network.
Can anybody help me please? I can sign in on Skype website, but not on my own pc, it always say”Your Skype Nme and Password were not recognized” I am pretty sure I use the same as I sign in on website, and also I found lots of help, but non of them works, such as “Make sure you have the latest version of Skype. To check what version you have, click Help > About Skype.
Close Skype. If you have a router, reboot your router.
If you are on a network that uses a proxy server, make sure your proxy settings are correct. To check proxy settings in Internet Explorer, go to Tools > Internet Options > Connections > LAN settings. To check proxy settings in Skype, go to Tools > Options > Advanced > Connection.
Check your firewall settings. If you are using the Windows inbuilt firewall, click Start > Control Panel > Windows Firewall, and make sure Don’t Allow Exceptions is not ticked.
If you are using a different firewall, click Start > All Programs and select your firewall. Make sure that exceptions are allowed. Go to the Exceptions tab. If Skype is listed, delete it. Start Skype. When prompted, select Yes to allow Skype to connect to the internet.
In Skype, go to Tools > Options > Advanced > Connection and then un-tick Use port 80 and 443 as alternatives for incoming connections. “
I have done all of them, but still no luck, could anybody help me please? Very much appreciated.
now i can talk 2 my friendz. thankz u!!
Nice to finally get backgrounding, thanks for making it available. The one issue I noticed is that the Skype app doesn’t seem to necessarily stay active in the background forever. I kept my phone on for a while with Skype running and when I open it it’s not in the state it was last in, it actually goes into sign in, which leads me to believe the connection was lost. Another indication is that there are times when I have calls that don’t seem to come in, and after I open the app again and it signs in things work fine again. Would be nice if the backgrounding was more reliable. But for now, it’s a good step in the right direction, I’m definitely happier with this new version of the product!
I get a message saying I am not on line although I can send Email and Web Surf. How do I reach someone who can help???????
since i have updated my skype to 2.0.1, i am having problem with call on 3g. i get average or poor quality. anybody having same problem as me? worth to mention here that skype 2.0 worked perfectly
leoofborg, I believe you are really dumb
Why? Because you’re making things up your .ss without knowing anything. I’ve got a 3GS with 4.0 Jailbroken and I DON’T EVEN HAVE MOBILE SUBSTRATE INSTALLED. But skype still cannot manage to run in the background. That seems to rule your “proofs” into a “poof” I think.
So either it’s a mistake on Skype’s end or it’s something they did intentionally. Stop acting like an idiot.
Skype, I understand you put in alot of effort to put this app into place and I appreciate that fact.
The thing is; when calling other people the call stays connected but has bad call quality, the sound keeps cutting out…
It is quite frustrating when you release a version such as this which still includes many many bugs!
No, I’m not complaining about the other bugs like jailbreak multitasking (which isn’t a bug as it was intended to do as it does) or the push notifications that when you click cancel it doesn’t stop the incoming call. But the bad call quality, I found version 2.0.0 to be one of the best so far!
But we should be able to change the audio Codecs that we send and receive ! For example: settings > Skype > Audio > Quality > – Skype 2.0.1
- skype 2.0.0
- Skype 1.2.2
- etc…
I think skype 1.2.2 had the best call quality so far as I could still have absolutely perfect conversations when I was over my Internet Quota! Please skype take my idea into consideration and make your brilliant app even better, I’m sure many people will appreciate it
Regards , Nick Carton
People in foreign countries are using skype to chat. But QQ is
popular in china. QQ is diversified including game,recruitment,blog
and so on. Importantly,QQ has 3g service as well.If skype and QQ merger,it is truly international.Now many smart phone offers 3g
service.3g can bring explosive business opportunities.
emresumengen: are you really sure that you don’t have mobile substrate installed? It only shows in the packages list if you tap “simple” (doing that shows more installed packages) in the upper right corner. I have a friend with a jailbroken 3gs running ios 4.0 that can run skype in the background, but he doesn’t have anything mobile substrate-dependant installed. I hope there will be an update to mobile substrate soon!
I just stopped using Skype on my iPhone today. The newest update crashes every time I use it. It also kills the phone’s battery life and makes the phone hot! While I have no evidence of this, I suspect this is because the app locking up while running in the background, causing the kernel to run at a high level.
All I can say is I am real disappointed. I have waited a long time to utilize Skype on my iPhone. First we waited to use it over 3g then to have it run in the background… I love using Skype; however, the experience on the phone has been frustrating.
I have posted before, complaining and being very critical of delays, etc… I just wish Skype would step and address the void in this product. Is it too much to ask for the app to just work?
Josh Silverman, there are hundreds of negative comments posted from your customers regarding the iPhone application; yet, I have never seen any direct response from you to your customers.
Do you believe this is the best your company can deliver today? It would be great knowing you are listening.
@costanzo98031 sorry to hear about your experience – we read every single comment posted here, and make sure they’re fed back to the relevant teams. Thanks for your feedback.
Looking forward to an Android client now.
VIDEO on ANDROID? Now you CAN!
http :// code. google. com/p/imsdroid/
(strip spaces to open link)
Jailbreak is now legal.
Please fix the multitasking bug with “MobileSubstrate” from Saurik in iOS4.
Thanks for everything.
WHY doesn’t multitasking work??? I’m on jailbroken 3GS ios 4.01. If you tell me to remove mobile substrate, can you please tell me how to do that? I don’t see it anywhere in cydia at all…so maybe I don’t have it?? but then why is multitasking not working? Skype just closes every time I hit the home button. When I re-open it, it has to log on again… please help
I have I minor request:
Could Skype use local notifications to inform the user when it’s logging out automatically (when app in background)?
I have Skype running in the background, but after an unspecified time, it logs out (I imagine this happens alot when RAM runs low or something similar).
Now, it would be invaluable to know when that happens, so I can open the app again and log back in. Is that a thing you could implement?
Kind regards.
Nice, but it absolutely kills battery life on my 3GS while backgrounded.
It was actually more usable *before* the background update because I didn’t need to quit it after every use. Now I just avoid it.
I’m 99% certain that Skype is the problem here. I find the phone HOT and battery depleted whenever Skype is backgrounded, and never without.
It seems fairly obvious to me that you guys have taken money from Apple in order to give better support to the iPhone than you will ever will Android.
This is just like the money you receive from Intel in order to limit conference calls to 5 people on non-intel proccesors, regardless of actual CPU spec.
You must be laughing all the way to the bank being you now also take cash from Verizon in order to release a limited version of Skype just for them and make sure it doesn’t support wifi.
This sort of anti-competitive behaviour is far more damaging to your corporate image than Fring ever could have been.
It is clear that skype doesn’t work correctly with jailbroken iphones when multitasking. Every time that you press the home button and put skype on the multitask bar it signs off from the account.
There are 2 solutions for this problem, the first it to delete mobile substrate from cydia, however i do not recommend doing this because in my view there is no point of having a jailbroken iphone without the apps you get due to mobile substrate. The second solution which worked perfectly for me, is to download the backgrounder application from cydia. When logged in to skype on WIFI or 3G simply press the home button for a couple of seconds until you see the message Backgrounding Enabled. Skype will then be visible in the multitask thingy and will stay online on either 3G or WIFI. You can now answer calls at any time and moment. Hope this helps
@pelosm You don’t even have to activate Skype manually every time in backgrounder. Just set the global behaviour of backgrounder to “native backgrounding”; that solves the problem after a restart of Skype (quit through task bar necessary).
Ok. There is solution:
Go to the Cydia, press “Changes” You must see few updates and one from it is “Mobile substate”. Press Update all, confirm, restart phone. All done. Skype now is running in background perfecty..
Amazing update, amazing decision.
My main reason for jailbreaking my iPhone was to install backgrounder and Voip over 3G.
No more jailbreaking for me.
@ollello Tonight Saurik updated MobileSubstrate to FINALLY work with Skype. Borked ‘view full profile’ is fixed, and multitasking (including tapping on the red bar) also works.
To the other somewhat rude user above– when you jailbreak it becomes YOUR responsibility to troubleshoot. It’s not Apple’s, Skype’s or my problem. I sent a bug report to Saurik and there’s an update that seems to fixe the issues. Happy?
To other users: Even tho’ Saurik wrote that ‘MS is now compatible w Skype’ there *may* be minor bugs. Again this is not Skype’s problem. A **polite** email to Saurik is called for **if** you find a bug. For me the most ‘serious’ bugs are ‘fixed.’ YMMV.
*WARNING* – Battery Killer!!!!!
Works well (32GB 3GS, iOS 4.0.1) and sits nicely in the background, BUT battery performance is impacted and you cannot switch skype off without resetting the device
Also, if you get an incoming skype call that you answer on your laptop then the iPhone app keeps ringing even thought your already connected to the call!!!
its a good update but flawed in some key areas, back to the drawing board me thinks….
FIXED!!!
For your jailbreak device, just go to Cydia and update the new mobile substrator version and other linked apps.
Skype tested and working now!
Thanks to the cydia community!
Thanks Skype, goodbye long distance charges. Sound quality is remarkable over 3G, caller do not know I am using Skype.
When can I get my online number in Canada?
when can we expect Video calling from iPhone?
I have the new update for Iphone for Skype, but I have this badge in the corner with a number one. I am EXTREMELY computer and phone savvy and I CANNOT figure out where this badge came from. One time, i missed a call from my husband and he left a voicemail…I deleted the voicemail AND cleared ALL chat and call history and the badge is still there. I have NO new contacts or friend requests, and no voicemails, and no chats…does ANYONE know how to clear this stupid ting??? please send me a message to my skype thanks!!! (it’s foxyfactor)
Yeah, it’s nice that mobile substrate finally got updated! I think it works OK in the background, not that much battery drain here. Would be cool to get a message if you’re logged out though.
Now I have another problem, I don’t know if it’s because of my jailbreak or not but anyways:
When I’ve made a call with skype, ALL phone sounds comes out of the earpiece instead of the loudspeaker in the bottom. It also messes with the headphone jack volume, making it much lower. After a reboot it gets back to normal.
Anyone else having this problem?
Battery consumption is dramatically higher and the phone runs notably warmer just by leaving skype running in the background! Killing the app using the “long-press and close” method immediately brings everything back to normal. Either there’s a bug or Skype needs to rethink its method of keeping a persistent connection: Beejive and Meebo have pulled this off without killing the battery.
I second qingshuo’s comment about battery life drain even when the phone is sleeping. I would have 100% charge when I sleep and when I wake up in the morning the phone would only have about 60-65%
So I spoke with heavy users of skype and they report battery drainage on their pc laptops when they have skype on for hours. I also tested skype on my iPhone 4 and I don’t have an issue, the battery life is great. Thanks skype!
How do I stop getting chat notifications on my iPhone while I’m chatting on my computer? I find that this is such a waste of battery life and extremely annoying. Doesn’t it see that I’m using my computer, that I’m replying?
Ah double clicked and removed it from the running apps. That stopped the notifications.
My wife and I both have iPhone4′s with IOS4.1 and the latest Skype app. We have been both experiencing wifi call problems. The app sees the network and we can dial (we purchased a pay package to call overseas land lines). However, 8/10 times we get a message showing network speed issues and the other person cannot hear us. I have done a speedtest.net test on the line using the iphone, laptop (wifi) and cabled network PC – all return an average speed of 6.00 mbps. The laptop running Skype calls OK and we don’t have problems. Only the iPhones (both) have this problem – even sitting next to the access point/router. Any advice/support would be appreciated. We have closed apps that are multi-tasking, turned on/off, reset the router – but the same thing happens.
John
i’m having the same problem as johnmusgravebolanos, its absolutely disgusting that skype charge for a call where you only hear the other end ring once and then you hear nothing at all or at best a few muffled noises.
In next update, please put video chat, though I’m using 3Gs, but still, I want it. That would be awesome !!
My battery drain also noticed the phone getting warm . 32GB 3GS, iOS 4.0.1 JB
tried backgrounder first and worked but battery problem and now with updated MobileSubstrate working but battery still a problem.
Peter, I noticed a few people asked, but have not seen a response to the question: are video calls from the iPhone to other Skype clients (PC etc.) something that Skype is working towards within the next few weeks or months, or will it be much longer before that type of technology is released?
On a side note, I was curious if there is a public beta testing group? As a software developer and personal user of Skype, I would be interested in how to sign up.
Has anyone else had the issue: after completing a call using Skype, all audio goes through the ear-piece on the phone instead of the speaker?
Thanks,
Matt
When iPhone goes to sleep mode while Skype in background, all listening tcp ports (like 80, 443, 49026) used by Skype are closed. At the same time, Skype starts to hog 100% of CPU. Do these have any relations?
This new version sucks battery in the background.. on a 3GS ios 4.0.1 I was down to 22% in 6 hours without even using the phone except 1-2 short phone calls.