Cheap international phonecalls after the end of Skype

[northSaver]

I currently use a Skype subscription to phone my Mum's landline in the UK. It costs £2.40 per month for unlimited minutes. My Mum is technophobic and doesn't use a smartphone, so her landline is the only option. I also use it occasionally to phone UK businesses and HMRC.

Microsoft have just announced that they are retiring Skype this May, and as far as I can see their replacement service - Microsoft Teams Free - doesn't offer such a service. Is this correct, I wonder? If so, can anyone recommend an alternative service?

Thanks.

[RetireJapan]

Just saw this on Twitter. Someone recommended Viber.

[northSaver]

Thanks Ben, I'll give it a try. They do 100 minutes per month to the UK for $1.99, and unlimited minutes worldwide for $5.99. Since I probably do 100 minutes per week the worldwide one is the best option. It covers mobile too, which could be useful.

[Telebroker]

Just saw this on Twitter. Someone recommended Viber.

purple Viber is actually a Rakuten company. Have never used it though.

[northSaver]

I've just made my first call with Viber, to a UK landline, and it was great. Very clear, no echo and less delay than Skype. What's more, I couldn't use Skype with my phone due to an annoying microphone problem that only happened with Skype, so had to borrow my wife's phone each time. But Viber - no problem at all. All together a big improvement on Skype Thanks Ben for recommending it.

[TJKansai]

Skype is being folded into Teams. We need to figure out how that works now since we have some Skype credit (not much, but it goes a long way).

[ChapInTokyo]

Skype is being folded into Teams. We need to figure out how that works now since we have some Skype credit (not much, but it goes a long way).

I was worried about this as I have skype credit too. I can't recall where I read about this but it seems that for legacy Skype users with skype credit, the dial out function of Skype is still ok to use until you use up that credit amount. I guess that skype to skype calls however will no longer be available or something.

[ChapInTokyo]

Skype is being folded into Teams. We need to figure out how that works now since we have some Skype credit (not much, but it goes a long way).

I was worried about this as I have skype credit too. I can't recall where I read about this but it seems that for legacy Skype users with skype credit, the dial out function of Skype is still ok to use until you use up that credit amount. I guess that skype to skype calls however will no longer be available or something.

UPDATE: It seems that the Skype App will no longer work after May 5 but Microsoft will still honour existing skype credits on the Skype web portal. Not ideal, but I guess better than nothing.

What happens to Skype Credits after Microsoft Teams migration in May 2025
By Mayank Parmar -March 3, 2025
https://www.windowslatest.com/2025/03/0 ... -may-2025/