Microsoft Backtracks, Classic Skype Lives to See Another Day

Earlier this summer, Microsoft announced that they would be ending support for version 7.0 of classic Skype in September. If that news didn’t sit well with you, it looks like you will have a bit more time to use the software.

In a forum post where the Skype team was asking for feedback about the update, the team has updated the post to say that they will not be ending support Skype 7 and will extend the deadline. The company did not provide a new timeline for the end of life of the product but did say that they will update the post again with more information in the future.

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The full post can be read below:

The team says that this change is based on customer feedback but is ambiguous about the future of the platform. This is an awkward backward step for the Skype team as they previously said that Skype 8 had all the functionality that users needed but clearly that is not the case.

For the past couple of weeks, Microsoft has been aggressively pushing users to upgrade from version 7 to 8 but it’s clear that this update process has been far from painless.

I have reached out to Microsoft about this change to see if they will provide any additional information about when this product will be retired.

For now, if you are using the classic version of Skype, you will be able to do so for the foreseeable future. That being said, at some point you will have to migrate to a newer version of the software.

Thanks for the tip Rick

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Conversation 24 comments

  • bart

    Premium Member
    06 August, 2018 - 1:58 pm

    <p>Good to hear that:</p><p><br></p><p>1) Microsoft is providing more time</p><p>2) Will still kill Skype classic </p>

  • Bdsrev

    06 August, 2018 - 2:29 pm

    <p>I think I'm the only person in the world that prefers the UWP Skype app. I think a good number of these people just hate change though </p>

    • LurkingGrue

      06 August, 2018 - 5:06 pm

      <blockquote><em><a href="#299850">In reply to Bdsrev:</a></em></blockquote><p><br></p><p>Yeah, we hate change. Like how they changed the feature set to be less than the previous versions. You can't even open up multiple chat windows at the same type in the new skype. It's just a pile of horrible. </p>

    • dontbe evil

      07 August, 2018 - 2:48 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#299850">In reply to Bdsrev:</a></em></blockquote><p>+10, haters gonna hate… Than apple or google does the same, and they're amazing</p>

      • roastedwookie

        08 August, 2018 - 4:10 am

        <blockquote><em><a href="#300006">In reply to dontbe_evil:</a></em></blockquote><p>Wrong site for MS fanboys – windowscentral is that place.</p>

    • David Balažic

      07 August, 2018 - 5:43 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#299850">In reply to Bdsrev:</a></em></blockquote><p>No, we love changes to the better, and hate changes to the worse. And Skype 8 is mostly the latter.</p>

  • Trickyd

    06 August, 2018 - 2:46 pm

    <p>Great news Brad, and kudos to Microsoft for listening to their users. It's never a good idea trying to make happy customers unhappy!</p>

  • Darekmeridian

    06 August, 2018 - 3:57 pm

    <p>Yay!? ?‍♂️</p>

  • dsddafdsf

    06 August, 2018 - 4:29 pm

    <p><span style="background-color: rgb(230, 240, 250); color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Aaaah, another program from the golden era where desktop programs had good, functional and pretty UI's before Metro destroyed it all.&nbsp;</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style="background-color: rgb(230, 240, 250); color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">If they didn't butcher decent desktop UI toolkits in favor of huuuuge fonts, thiiiiiiiick borders and whiiiiiiiitespace maybe UWP hadn't so many haters, cause the underlying technology and benefits are quite good, only the UI is pure trash.</span></p>

  • david.thunderbird

    06 August, 2018 - 5:05 pm

    <p>DID THEY SAY HOW TO ROLLBACK? It is there, it spontaneously restarts the machine out of the blue, looks like shit, doesn't allow contacts to be alphabetical sorted. Did I say it looks like shit.</p>

    • generalprotectionfault

      09 August, 2018 - 7:22 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#299923">In reply to david.thunderbird:</a></em></blockquote><p>You can't rollback. You have to do a complete uninstall &amp; reinstall of 7.41. Agree the "new" looks awful.</p>

    • DreamEater4real

      10 August, 2018 - 4:42 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#299923">In reply to david.thunderbird:</a></em></blockquote><p>You can, also, do a systems restore to an earlier point in your computer history, *before* you installed Version 8.&nbsp;Otherwise, if you uninstall and reinstall, I would worry that you might lose everything?&nbsp;I'm not sure, but this is another option, too.&nbsp;And, yes, another thing that was gutted from Version 8 was the ability to organize your own contacts, even in favorites.&nbsp;Skype V8 insisted on making suggestions for you, instead, where you can't even position your own contacts the way you want them.</p>

  • kjb434

    Premium Member
    06 August, 2018 - 10:28 pm

    <p>It's pretty simple. If version 8 has all the features and capabilities of version 7, then sign me up. Forced upgrades and gimping the capabilities doesn't win any fans.</p><p><br></p><p>A lot of podcasters are complaining about removing of the gain control for audio. That's just the tip of the iceberg.</p>

  • Winner

    07 August, 2018 - 12:52 am

    <p>Is there a way to get rid of the suggested responses and happy faces in chat in the latest version?</p><p>Don't like it at all.</p>

  • madthinus

    Premium Member
    07 August, 2018 - 4:38 am

    <p>I don't understand the Skype Team. They are just clueless. </p>

  • roastedwookie

    08 August, 2018 - 4:07 am

    <p>Skype is pretty much garbage anyways.</p>

  • generalprotectionfault

    09 August, 2018 - 7:26 am

    <p>This article gives a good idea of all the stuff missing in Skype 8 http://www.skaip.org/old-features-in-the-new-skype</p><p><br></p><p>It's not even close to comparable. I'm amazed they even considered killing it. The Skype team seems rudderless.</p>

    • DreamEater4real

      10 August, 2018 - 5:39 am

      <blockquote><em><a href="#300519">In reply to generalprotectionfault:</a></em></blockquote><p>I wonder why the option to continue to *keep* your history from the beginning to now and to be able to go through it, easily, like before… is not on the list?</p>

  • DreamEater4real

    10 August, 2018 - 5:21 am

    <p>Here is a powerful comment from a friend of mine, who commented about Skype, elsewhere, and I wanted to share. Thank you, Brad Sams!</p><p><br></p><p>Thank you so much for this article. As to the comments, it’s not so much about users not liking change. Most of the Skype features are no longer available on Skype V8. I use Skype personally and professionally. The new version does not allow you to access all of your history from beginning to now. That is something many users need. It’s essential for a lot of us. I have talked about how I have messages from loved ones, back in 2014, who are no longer here. The way it has always been organized, where you can view history through clicking on "conversation" has been very effective. It makes it easy if you need to look over work related material, from awhile back, and so much more. On V8, you can scroll, but at a snail’s pace and most of your history is gone on that version. It was VERY alarming. Some of my old Skype messages? They are all that I have left with one departed loved one and it spans several years. Yes, I want to keep those messages the way they are on Skype Version 7. I was able to get back to 7.41, but I am still getting messages (every day) to install V8, so I am hoping this news with Microsoft is true. When I used V8, briefly, I could not even change the font. Very simple functions were… gone. I tried to do a call and I could hear one contact, but they couldn’t hear me. Once I went back to 7.41, everything was fine. On V8, they wouldn’t even let you organize your contacts the way you want them. So many essential features were missing.</p><p><br></p><p>From another Skype user: "Classic Skype v7 has safety features that the Forced Upgrade v8 , scheduled for Sept 1, does not. Like Skype Room Group chat Moderation, giving admin the ability to remove inappropriate messages and ban people if needed. In new v8 Skype you can not even add more admin, which is also important for Safety! Most Skype /commands are missing! We used to be able to make one person or a whole group ‘read only’ (aka LISTENER role). And many more missing and needed features."</p><p><br></p><p>Let’s be serious about this. Skype was gutted. I’ve used Skype for years and this was not just another "update". I’m grateful that Microsoft is hearing our voices! To see what has been commented on, regarding V8 and the issues, I’ll post a few links and PLEASE keep signing the Petition to keep Skype version 7 alive!</p><p><br></p><p>answers.microsoft.com/en-us/skype/forum/skype_windesk-skype_startms-skype_installms/petition-for-keep-skype-7-classic-active-a/de2c0cd1-451c-4a86-b7bb-5df35308d1c2?page=4</p><p><br></p><p>www.change.org/p/microsoft-microsoft-keep-the-desktop-version-of-skype-alive-for-professional-users/w?source_location=psf_petitions</p><p><br></p>

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