Microsoft is now forcing people to upgrade from Skype Classic to Skype 8
The end of Skype Classic (or Skype 7, if you prefer) has been on the cards for a while now, much to the annoyance of legions of users. Microsoft has been keen to encourage Classic users to migrate to Skype 8, but many have held out. Now Microsoft is forcing their hands.
When the company announced that support for Skype 7 and below was terminating at the beginning of November, Microsoft said that "you may be able to use older versions for a little while". Three months down the line, Skype Classic users are being forced into upgrading to Skype 8.
See also:
- Microsoft opens up Skip Ahead so you can try early builds of Windows 10 19H2
- Time's up! Microsoft is flipping the IE 10 kill switch in 2020
- Microsoft adds real-time captions and subtitles to Skype -- PowerPoint to follow
- Microsoft is sending Skype classic to the software graveyard in November
People using the latest version of Skype Classic -- Skype 7.41.0.10101 -- are finding themselves greeted by a dialog box which gives them the option of either updating to Skype 8, or exiting Skype. There is no other option.
The message reads:
Update Skype today
It looks like Skype hasn't been updated for some time. It's free, only takes a minute and comes with the latest features and security updates.
What happens if I don't update now?
The next time you sign out or restart your computer, you'll need to update Skype before you can sign back in.
Microsoft's decision to force the upgrade on users is not going down well, but it seems there is no way to avoid it other than (as reported by BleepingComputer) downgrading to Skype 7.36.0.101 -- although this has to be downloaded from sources other than Microsoft.
Image credit: Bernardo Ramonfaur / Shutterstock