Nov 01, 2018 The Store app will list both a Skype version and an Application version. The desktop app will just list a Skype version number. When we wrote this, the version of Skype for desktop was slightly newer than the version of Skype available through the Store, so perhaps Microsoft also updates the desktop version more frequently.
One of the few apps so ubiquitous that its name has become a verb, Skype has been around since 2003, dominating the video call and messaging space globally (being available in 108 languages) for the majority of that time.
Originally developed in Estonia by Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis, Skype was purchased by eBay in 2005, and then again by Microsoft in 2011 for a whooping $8.5 billion.
Although Skype accumulated more than 600 million users by the end of 2010, it started slowly losing its appeal to a number of alternative messengers, such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Telegram, and Signal, all of which were mobile-centric right from the start and offered texting as well as video and audio calls.
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However, in 2017, Microsoft released a completely new version of Skype, reworked from the ground up to be run on Microsoft Azure infrastructure and redesigned with the latest trends of messaging in mind. In August 2018, Skype also added full end-to-end encryption to better meet privacy concerns of its users worldwide.
By now you might be wondering if Skype app for Mac is available and what’s the best way to download Skype for Mac. Simply follow this step-by-step guide to find out.
How To Use Skype On Mac Effectively
To begin, since Microsoft acquired Skype, they’ve created a few different Skype applications for Mac that cover interviews, video streams, classrooms, and most importantly Skype for Business.
While the regular version of Skype for Mac supports up to 50 participants at once, the business one can handle up to 250 and gives you additional features, such as joining through a URL, muting control, presenter selector, head-tracking video, and PowerPoint integration.
You can download Skype for Business Mac version and the basic Skype for Mac on the official Microsoft website. One caveat though is that you have to have an active MS Office 365 subscription to run the business edition, whereas the default one is free.
To get Skype on Mac:
- Visit skype.com
- Navigate to the Downloads tab for the regular Skype or Products > Skype for Business for the business one
- Click on Get Skype for Mac
- Double-click on the Skype download for Mac .dmg file
- Proceed through the installation process
Using Skype is as easy as any other messenger. All contact information is based around your username, so if you give it to someone they will be able to find you and add you to the list via search. Below the search field, you have Chats, Calls, and Contacts tabs. Going into any of them would switch the plus button below for creating a new chat, call, or adding a contact respectively.
Besides the basic functionality, all Skype chats support file attachments, money transfers, location sharing, call scheduling, and poll creation. There are also dozens of third-party bots and plugins that expand Skype capabilities even further.
So now that you know how to use Skype on Mac, let’s walk through a few widespread problems you might come across.
Troubleshoot Skype video not working
By far the most common problem you’ll have during conference (or personal) calls is Skype camera not working. There are generally a few ways to solve that. The easiest thing to do is just to use the camera icon to turn your camera off and back on again. If that doesn’t help, you can try dropping out of the call altogether and even restarting your Skype.
In case you see Skype video not working still, you need to check that the problem isn’t with your Mac’s camera. To do that:
- Launch Skype
- Click Skype in the menu bar and then Audio & Video Settings
- See if the camera is showing anything
- Alternatively, you can launch the default Photo Booth app and check there
If the camera isn’t working, you should take your Mac to the Apple store. If it is, then the problem is with Skype.
Before you try to reinstall Skype altogether, you can reset it to its factory settings first. You can do this manually:
- Go to Finder and type ~/Library into search
- Find all the Skype files and folders
- Delete all of them but the Skype itself
Another option when you want to do a factory reset is to use an optimization app like CleanMyMac X:
- In CleanMyMac X, navigate to the Uninstaller tab
- Choose Skype and select Reset
- Click on the Reset button
When none of that works, you just need to reinstall Skype. If you’re not sure how to uninstall Skype on Mac, use CleanMyMac X that you’ve tried when resetting the app to factory preferences. Simply removing Skype from Applications doesn’t delete all the supplementary files, whereas CleanMyMac X completely wipes out the app from your system.
To delete Skype with CleanMyMac X, go to the Uninstaller tab, select Skype, and click on Uninstall.
If you’re experiencing a problem with your microphone instead of a camera:
Go to System Preferences > Sound
Navigate to the Input tab
Say something and see if the “Input levels” change at all
If the input levels are fine, repeat the steps above to reset factory settings and reinstall Skype to fix the problem. If not, a trip to the Apple store might be necessary.
Combine all messengers in one
Nowadays it’s likely that Skype isn’t your only messaging app. You might need to use it at work or for calling relatives’ landlines overseas, but that means you probably chat with friends through something else.
The point is that most of us have three, five, 10, or even more messengers active on a daily basis, and that message overload can get pretty tiring and actually distract us from doing something of value.
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One of the solutions here might be to ditch your Skype app for Mac altogether and get an instant message aggregator such as IM+.
IM+ allows you to combine dozens of popular messaging apps together, from Skype to Slack to Instagram, and manage them all through the same interface. With IM+ you can categorize every messaging service as either Home or Work and set common rules for notifications and online status for both.
Limit instant messaging overload
Sometimes, even when you’ve consolidated all your messaging into a single app, distractions get the best of you and you end up spending hours chatting instead of concentrating on your work.
Even when you don’t catch yourself being distracted, those one-off replies here and there tend to add up to more than you’d think. To see how much time exactly you spend on social media, you need an unobtrusive time tracker like Timing.
Timing observes how you spend time on your Mac in the background and then shows you detailed reports for every app or website launched and every project worked on. You can even use Timing to invoice your clients or log hours at work. But mostly, you’ll have the most accurate representation of where your time goes during the day, and after you gain knowledge you can come up with the action plan.
Now that you know how to install and how to how to uninstall Skype on Mac, you can use it for work and chats with friends effortlessly. And if there’s ever a problem, just factory reset the app with CleanMyMac X. Additionally, unite all your messengers in one with IM+ and keep an eye on your productivity through Timing.
Best of all, CleanMyMac X, IM+, and Timing are available for a free trial through Setapp, a platform of more than 150 best-in-class Mac apps that could take on any problem and make your days as productive as they can be. Is it time for a conference call?
-->When you upgrade your Skype for Business users to use Teams, you have several options to help you make it a seamless process for your users. You have the option to make coexistence and upgrade settings for all of the users in your organization at once, or you can make settings changes for a single or set of users in your organization. Note that older versions of Skype for Business clients may not honor these settings. For more information about Skype for Business client versions, go to the Skype for Business downloads and updates page.
You can get a better understanding of the modes that are available to you by reading Understand Microsoft Teams and Skype for Business coexistence and interoperability or Coexistence with Skype for Business.
Important
Having the option to upgrade doesn’t necessarily mean your organization is ready for this change. For the best user experience, confirm that Teams meets your collaboration and communication requirements, make sure that your network is ready to support Teams, and implement your user readiness plan before upgrading users to Teams.
Set upgrade options for all users in your organization
Using the Microsoft Teams admin center
In the Microsoft Teams admin center, in the left navigation, go to Org-wide settings > Teams upgrade.
At the top of the Teams upgrade page, modify the following options as desired.
Set the Coexistence mode.
- Islands - Use this setting if you want users to be able to use both Skype for Business and Teams simultaneously.
- Skype for Business only - Use this setting if you want your users to only use Skype for Business.
- Skype for Business with Teams collaboration - Use this setting if you want your users to use Skype for Business in addition to using Teams for group collaboration (channels).
- Skype for Business with Teams collaboration and meetings - Use this setting if you want your users to use Skype for Business in addition to using Teams for group collaboration (channels) and Teams meetings.
- Teams only - Use this setting if you want your users to use only Teams. Note that even with this setting, users can still join meetings hosted in Skype for Business.
Set Notify Skype for Business users that Teams is available for upgrade. If you turn this on, it will tell the Skype for Business users that they will soon be upgraded to the Teams app.
Set the Preferred app for users to join Skype for Business meetings. This setting determines which app is used for joining Skype for Business meetings and is honored regardless of the value of coexistence mode.
- Skype Meetings app
- Skype for Business with limited features
Set whether to Download the Teams app in the background for Skype for Business users. This setting silently downloads the Teams app for users running Skype for Business on Windows. It is honored only if coexistence mode for the user is Teams only or if notifications of pending upgrade are enabled in Skype for Business.
Click Save after you make your changes.
Set upgrade options for a single user in your organization
Skype App For Computer
Using the Microsoft Teams admin center
- In the left navigation, go to Users, and then select the user from the list.
- On the Account tab for the user, under Teams upgrade, click Edit.
- You can set the Coexistence mode. Choose from the following options:
- Use Org-wide settings - Use this setting if you want the user to use the settings in the Org-wide settings.
- Islands - Use this setting if you want the user to be able to use both Skype for Business and Teams.
- Skype for Business only - Use this setting if you want the user to use Skype for Business.
- Skype for Business with Teams collaboration - Use this setting if you want the user to use Skype for Business in addition to using Teams for group collaboration (channels).
- Skype for Business with Teams collaboration and meetings - Use this setting if you want the user to use Skype for Business in addition to using Teams for group collaboration (channels) and Teams meetings.
- Teams only - Use this setting if you want the user to use only Teams. The user will still be able to join Skype for Business meetings.
- If you select any Coexistence mode other than Use Org-wide settings, you have the option to enable notifications in the user's Skype for Business app that upgrade to Teams is coming soon. You can enable this notification for the user by turning on the Notify the Skype for Business user option.
- Click Save after you make your changes.