- Microsoft wants to sell you a subscription to use Skype
- You can no longer buy Skype Credit to make phone calls
- Custom phone numbers have been discontinued, no replacement
You’d be forgiven for thinking that Microsoft Teams fully replaced Skype when it launched in 2017, but its video conferencing predecessor is still going strong, and has jumped on the subscription train.
In a major change for the platform, Microsoft has quietly removed two of its key premium features – Skype Credit and custom phone numbers.
Instead, Microsoft is pushing Skype customers towards subscriptions for calling plans, ending the flexibility that one-time credits previously offered and potentially proving more costly for irregular users.
Skype goes subscription-based
The change was first noticed by a moderator on Microsoft’s Skype forums, who stated: “Skype has stopped purchase of Skype Credit for all users. The only option available now are monthly calling subscriptions.”
Microsoft later confirmed the changes in an email to TechCrunch, adding it, “continuously evaluate(s) product strategy based on customer usage and needs.”
Anybody with credit already applied to their account can continue to use it, so long as they use it once every six months to keep it active, however new purchases for credit are no longer possible.
Calling landlines and mobile numbers now requires a subscription, and Skype-to-Skype calls remain free and unaffected. However, users of Skype’s virtual phone numbers for international calls or outbound SMS messaging have been most affected, because Microsoft has not confirmed a direct replacement.
In the years following its $8.5 billion acquisition of Skype in 2011, Microsoft has slowly deprioritized the platform and largely replaced it with Teams. The company no longer shares its user base in earnings reports, however increased competition from the likes of Zoom and Cisco have put pressure on Skype in a post-pandemic world where video conferencing remains a staple of hybrid working.
In the meantime, Skype’s interface still suggests that users can buy credits, leading to failed payments. Microsoft acknowledged inconsistency in its messaging, and promised to update it accordingly.