London – Skype is dead. What now?
The closure of Skype by Microsoft on May 5 sent millions of users rushing to find an alternative to the pioneering internet phone service.
Skype, which Microsoft bought in 2011, was appreciated by a group of declining users who appreciated the way he made them make long -term calls cheap and communicate with other users via chat messages, vocals or video calls.
Some liked its simplicity and ease of use – an advantage, for example, when setting up a communication application for an elderly parent living far.
Or they just used it out of habit.
Skype was founded in 2003 and was among the first of a wave of communication services that used voice technology on the Internet Protocol (VOIP), which converts audio into a digital signal.
The disappearance of unique Skype also the Americans and other expatriates living abroad who registered because they needed a number based in the United States to receive text authentication codes, let’s say, a bank at home. He was also at hand to call 800 numbers for free, even if you did not live in North America.
Here is a guide for life after Skype:
Microsoft announced at the end of February that it closed Skype on May 5 and transformed some of its services to Microsoft teams, its flagship desk and group collaboration platform.
Skype users can use their existing accounts to connect to teams and have the possibility of automatically migrating their contacts and cats.
If you had a Skype number or a calling subscription, he stopped renewing automatically on April 3.
If your account always has a credit, you can access the Skype dial from the web portal or teams to make calls.
Skype numbers will not exhaust immediately on May 5, so you can always receive calls until your subscription expires. But you will need to use teams or keep the Skype dial open to the web portal to receive them.
If your Skype number has not expired and you don’t want to lose it, you must transfer it to another supplier.
Skype numbers can be transferred to a telephone operator or any number of other VOIP services. But you will have to start the process via the new supplier, not Skype.
Google users can access the online giant internet telephone service to make calls from a smartphone or desktop web browser. You can get your own Google Voice phone number and use features such as call transfer and voicemail. Or you can wear your number from another service like Skype, but it will cost $ 20.
Calls, Canadian or Puerto Rican numbers are free. Rates for other countries vary.
The free version of Google Voice is available only for American residents located in the 48 contiguous states, which means that expatriate Americans can only use it if they are registered before moving abroad.
“You cannot register for a Google Voice number outside the United States,” said a help page. “Do not try to get around this using a VPN.”
Property of the Rakuten of Japan, Viber has long been considered one of the competitors closest to Skype. A key difference is that Skype users do not need a phone number and are identified by their user names, while Viber users need a number to register for the service.
Similar to Skype, Viber users can buy credit or packages to call phone numbers from around the world, but it is no longer possible to obtain a vibrate number to receive calls.
The videoconference service which has become a word for online company meetings offers a call service, a zoom phone and features such as carrying numbers and the possibility of sending and receiving SMS.
Take note that the zoom phone is not free. There are different call plans that involve a monthly subscription cost and additional costs for international calls.
Microsoft users can make calls in the teams, nicknamed teams. Like Zoom Phone, you will have to buy a subscription and pay a supplement for international calls.
But this is not an option for ordinary people, because Microsoft says that the team phone is not for the use of consumers and is only available for small and medium -sized businesses.
If you absolutely need an American number but live abroad, register in the service with a low-cost virtual wireless operator that offers cheap mobile phone plans or paid prices.
A supplier, Tello, offers monthly plans for as little as $ 5 and says that users can activate its service even if they live outside the United States
Since operators of mobile virtual networks like Tello are essentially wireless phone companies that have pushed the physical network of a larger operator, you cannot use it to make calls on a computer or application.
There are a multitude of Skype contenders offering telephone calls on the Internet, such as Zoiper, Voip.ms, Callccentric, Mytello and Virtual Fandline. Many are targeting professional users.
Some capitalize on the disappearance of Skype. Hushed, which started as an anonymous call application, presents itself as a Skype alternative. Users can buy a phone number in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom or Puerto Rico or carry their own number.
He warns that some of his figures are not guaranteed to operate with third -party verification text messages.
“We do not intentionally block anyone from receiving these codes, but it is common for certain services to prevent the sending of verification SMS to certain telephone numbers because of their own security policies,” said Hushed on his website.
Maybe you cannot decide at which call service you want to go. If you want to save your current number, there are services to simply park your number like Numberbarn.com and Parkmyphone.com.
They allow you to store a phone number for monthly costs while relaying all text messages sent to this number. You can bring the number to another service when you wish.
Beware, you can only phone numbers in the United States or Canadians.
What about an international esim? They are the virtual version of the SIM card on the mobile phone that you can buy and add to your phone when you are traveling to save homeless.
They offer inexpensive data access rates so that you can use the Internet without worrying about raging a huge invoice when you go home.
Unfortunately, you cannot wear a Skype number to an International ESIM due to the “fundamental differences” between Voip services and traditional mobile networks, said Pedro Maiiquez, co-founder of Esim Provider Holafly. “Skype numbers are not linked to the physical infrastructure of a mobile operator, which makes them incompatible with Mobile ESIM solutions.”
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