Skype was an internet calling service launched in August 2003 and bought by Microsoft in 2011. It also sold calls to regular phones and Skype Numbers. Microsoft announced its retirement in February 2025 and shut it down on May 5, 2025. Users were pointed to Microsoft Teams Free.
Skype is gone
Skype first launched on August 29, 2003. Microsoft completed its $8.5 billion purchase on October 13, 2011. On February 28, 2025, Microsoft announced Skype would retire. The service closed on May 5, 2025. New purchases of Skype subscriptions, Skype Numbers and Skype Credit ended. Skype subscriptions ended May 1, 2026. Existing Skype Credit can still be used for calls through the Skype Dial Pad web app.
If you had a Skype phone number
Microsoft moved Skype users to Microsoft Teams Free, where Skype sign-ins bring over contacts and chats. Teams Free is not a phone carrier. To keep a Skype Number, Microsoft says to contact your new carrier directly and start a port. Skype Numbers could receive calls only until their existing subscription ran out.
How Skype ended
- August 29, 2003: Skype is first released.
- October 13, 2011: Microsoft completes its $8.5 billion purchase of Skype.
- February 28, 2025: Microsoft announces Skype will retire.
- May 5, 2025: Skype is retired; users are pointed to Microsoft Teams Free.
- May 1, 2026: Skype subscription service ends.
- June 15, 2026: Deadline to request a Skype data export.
Why Skype ended
Microsoft chose to fold Skype into Microsoft Teams. It retired Skype on May 5, 2025, and offered the free version of Teams as the replacement, using the same sign-in. Contacts and chats carried over. Phone features were wound down in stages: new Skype Numbers and credit sales stopped, subscriptions ended May 1, 2026, and the data export window closed June 15, 2026.
How to find who holds an old number now
- Check an old bill or payment record. It names the company that billed you last.
- Run the number through a carrier lookup tool. It shows the carrier that holds the number today.
- Call that carrier and ask for the account number and transfer PIN.
- Start the port from the new carrier. Never cancel the old line first.
Your right to keep a number
Number portability is federal law, not a carrier policy. The rule is the FCC’s: Portability: Keeping Your Phone Number When Changing Service Providers.
How we verified Skype
BestCellular.com tracks active carriers and defunct ones. We keep both, because people still search for brands that no longer exist. Every fact on this page comes from the sources listed below, and we leave a detail out when no source states it. Where sources disagree, this page says so. If you can document a correction, tell us and we will check it against the sources.
Tracked and active are different counts on this site. Skype counts in our tracked total, not in our active total, so it does not appear in tools built for live carriers.
Questions about Skype
Is Skype still available?
No. Microsoft retired Skype on May 5, 2025. You cannot buy new Skype subscriptions, Skype Numbers or Skype Credit. Existing credit can still be used for calls through the Skype Dial Pad web app.
Which network did Skype use?
None. Skype was not a cell carrier. It was an internet calling service that ran over any data connection. It also sold calls to regular phone numbers and Skype Numbers that could receive calls.
What happened to Skype users?
Microsoft moved them to Microsoft Teams Free. Users sign in with their Skype account, and contacts and chats transfer automatically. Paid subscriptions ending after May 1, 2026 were cancelled and turned into Skype Credit, or refunded on request.
Can I keep my Skype Number?
Possibly, by porting it. Microsoft says to contact your new carrier directly to start the port. A Skype Number keeps receiving calls only until its current subscription period ends, and renewals stopped after April 3, 2025.
Sources
Checked October 13, 2026.
- Skype (Wikipedia): Launch August 29, 2003; Microsoft purchase completed October 13, 2011; retirement announced February 28, 2025; shutdown May 5, 2025.
- Skype is retiring in May 2025: What you need to know (Microsoft Support): Skype Number, credit, subscription, porting and data export dates through June 15, 2026.
Best Cellular. “Skype: What Happened,” BestCellular.com. https://bestcellular.com/skype/
Free to reuse with credit. Licence, sources and the full dataset. All defunct carriers are listed on carriers that shut down.
Live carriers to look at instead
No carrier took over Skype’s customers. These carriers publish their network and run today.