To many, this seemed inevitable. Microsoft’s acquisition of Skype was the start of the VoIP platform’s demise, once taken over by the tech giant. Re-designs of the platform, integrations with Microsoft in-house products such as Windows, iMessage, Xbox and even the Windows phones were attempted, some not entirely successful as a service, or financially for the company.

This largely failed ‘re-vision’ of Skype by Microsoft also included attempts at integrating Co-pilot and also introducing features such as Skype Clips, but one of the main failures was the company’s inability to popularise the service during the COVID-19 pandemic – a period in which many think was an ideal time for such a service to be utilised. However, the tech giant's purchase of Skype (for an eyewatering $8.5 billion in 2011) did use its technology to build Teams, its new communications system it introduced for the enterprise market.

Skype services were not as popular with users, with more competition from the  likes of Whatsapp and others has resulted in Microsoft’s reported shutdown of the platform on May 5^th, 2025. In the meantime, a steady phase-out of Skype feature’s has been taking place, along with the company stopping the sale of credits for Skype numbers, which as resulted in users being able to make calls to any number anywhere.

As we all remember, since Skype’s launch in 2003, it has proved to be one of the most (if not the most) popular VoIP systems out there, with a reported 36 million users using the platform for business and pleasure according to Microsoft. But where to Skype users go from here?

So how do you switch to Teams from Skype?

Microsoft has tried to allay any fears by highlighting the ease of transition to the new platform.  They report: "We will roll out the ability for Skype users to sign into Teams (free) on any supported device using their Skype credentials in the coming days,"

In addition, chats and contacts are instantly transferred to Teams when users sign in with their Skype account, enabling users to quickly resume where they left off.

They also highlight the full compatibility between Skype and Teams, with any user on any of these platforms being able to ‘cross-call’ any other user.

For those not interested in transferring to the Teams platform, Microsoft report that they can still export their chats, contacts and call history.

Transferring to Teams is a matter of downloading the Teams app, and logging in with the Skype credentials you had, and this will allow you to view all the existing contact and call information. Skype credits and subscriptions will be honoured till the next renewal period, and also Skype dialpad will still be available.