Your Skype Number after Skype: what ended, what you can claim, what replaces it

What happened to Skype Numbers?

They ran out. Calling and Skype Number subscriptions stopped renewing automatically on April 3, 2025 and ran to the end of their paid period; any still running on May 1, 2026 were cancelled, and the last numbers ended in May 2026 ^[3]. Until then a Skype Number rang in the Skype web portal, with the browser open, or in Teams (free) ^[3]. No new numbers are sold ^[3].

A Skype Number was an ordinary phone number with a country and area code you chose ^[8]. That is why losing one hurts: the digits sit in other people's contacts and in the settings of your other accounts.

Microsoft Support, read on November 1, 2026. I found no last day for refund requests.

The rest of the shutdown is in my timeline of how Skype was retired.

Can you still port a Skype Number?

No. Microsoft's porting page now opens with a notice that Skype Number port-out requests are no longer available ^[1]. A port was always started by the new provider, not by Microsoft ^[1], and it had to happen while the number was live. If yours wasn't moved before your subscription ended, the digits are lost to you.

• Ported in time: the new provider started the port ^[1], so it now runs the number and answers questions about it.
• Swedish numbers: these were scheduled to end on December 31, 2025 and could be ported out before then; Microsoft says eligible customers may get refunds, or vouchers for other Microsoft services where a refund isn't possible ^[3].

Microsoft has no consumer route back: Teams Phone 'is not available for consumer use' ^[1], and free Teams has no paid calling plans ^[3].

Can you get a refund for a Skype Number or Skype Credit?

Sometimes. Subscriptions that ran past May 1, 2026 were converted into Skype Credit, and Skype customer support will refund them instead if you ask ^[3]. Skype's general refund page is stricter: no refunds for Skype Numbers, because they are in use from the day they're bought, and unused credit only within 14 days of purchase ^[9].

Read on November 1, 2026. In the EU, refunds after the 14 days are at Skype's discretion ^[9].

Asking Skype support for a refund

1. Note your credit balance and which subscriptions ended, and don't spend the converted credit: Skype says it can't refund paid products once they've been used ^[9].
2. On Microsoft's Contact Skype support page, choose the issue about payments, billing or paid services ^[10].
3. Ask for a refund 'instead of keeping Skype Credit', which is Microsoft's own wording ^[3].

How do you use leftover Skype Credit in a browser?

In the Skype Dial Pad, which Microsoft still runs on the web at calling.web.skype.com and inside Teams (free) ^[2]. It opens only for accounts with active credit, a subscription or a Skype Number ^[2]. Credit goes inactive after 180 days without use ^[4], so if yours has sat idle that long, reactivate it before you look for the Dial Pad.

1. Sign in at calling.web.skype.com with the account that holds the credit ^[2]. On November 1, 2026 the address still loaded a page titled Skype Dial Pad ^[11]; I did not sign in.
2. If a pop-up sends you to My Account, reactivate the credit there; it can take up to 15 minutes ^[2][4].
3. Enter the number and select Call ^[2].

You can't add credit, set up caller ID or send SMS any more ^[3]. Once the balance is spent, the prepaid services that replaced Skype Credit take over; UK mobile minutes, for example, start at $0.10 on Yolla and $0.12 on TwinPhone ^[12][13].

Which number can replace a Skype Number?

A new number from a service whose web app rings in a browser tab, as the Skype web portal did. Your old digits can't come along, so choose by two things: the country the number must be in, and where you live. Google Voice is only available in the US ^[14], and TextNow is meant for people living in the US or Canada ^[15].

Published prices, read on November 1, 2026. Calls to all five ring in a web app ^{[17][29][19][30][31]}.

• You live in the US or Canada: TextNow is free in both; Google Voice is free in the US only, and setting up a Google Voice number takes phone verification and an ID check.
• You live elsewhere and your callers are in the US or Canada: a TwinPhone number, or a Zadarma US number. A TwinPhone number rings only while your balance covers a minute; otherwise callers hear busy ^[19].
• You need a number in another country: Sonetel (business use only) or Zadarma (a business phone system).

Pick the number in the area where most of your callers are, so they pay a local rate, as they did with a Skype Number ^[8]. What people see when you call out differs by service, as my caller ID guide explains. And keep a mobile for emergencies: TwinPhone can't dial emergency numbers ^[21], the free Google Voice plan can't either ^[32], and Sonetel's terms rule out emergency calls ^[26]; why 911 and browser numbers don't mix has the detail.

What to do about people who still dial your old number

Tell them yourself. Call forwarding and voicemail ended with Skype on May 5, 2025 ^[3], so you can't leave a forward or a greeting on the old line that points callers to the new number. Then change the number everywhere it's written down, in this order.

1. Message the people and businesses who call you most.
2. Update accounts that list the Skype Number for contact or recovery, starting with your bank and email. If one rejects the new number, why apps refuse VoIP numbers explains the usual reason.
3. Change your email signature, website and business listings.

Frequently asked questions

Related reading

• Services

  Is Skype still a thing? What happened after Skype shut down in May 2025

  Is Skype still a thing? No: it shut down on May 5, 2025. I traced what came next: the move to Teams (free), the data deadlines, Skype Credit and Skype Numbers.

• Explainers

  What Wi-Fi Calling is, and how it differs from a browser call

  What carrier Wi-Fi Calling is, how it differs from VoIP and browser dialers, what it costs, whether it works on a laptop, and when to use which one.