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Skype customers around the world have been locked out of the popular VoIP service this morning because of what the company describes as "peer-to-peer network issues".
The service has been down all morning UK time, with connectivity returning for irregular short periods and then dropping off, according to users.
A Skype company blog carried an apology today for the connectivity issues.
"Due to peer-to-peer network issues there are problems with Skype login. This issue is being investigated. We will give new updates when the issue has been resolved. We apologise for any inconvenience," said the entry.
Since going to press Skype has issued the following statement: "UPDATED: Some of you may be having problems logging in to Skype. Our engineering team has determined that it's a software issue and hopes to have this resolved quickly.
"Meanwhile, you can simply leave your Skype client running and as soon as the issue is resolved, you will be logged in. We apologize for the inconvenience."
Do you agree?
Skype is Swell !!
Nothing is 100% reliable --so be prepared for the unexpected as well !!
Posted by Louis, 16 Aug 2007
Thanks for the info!
Thanks for informing!
Skype could have informed it's clientele!
Updated the older version to a new one and nothing happened ... wasted a lot of time.
Posted by Juha, 16 Aug 2007
Big pain in the ass
i rely on Skype for my business and when it goes down, it causes big problems.
This shows one of the main flaws of p2p vs. the ol' copper wire.
Posted by mike lewis, 16 Aug 2007
Ironic
I found it ironic that when I clicked on this article from Google News, the page timed out - the world seems to be flush with technical problems today.
Posted by Hank, 16 Aug 2007
Peer to peer issues?
I don't ever remember hearing anything from the "old" AT&T about peer to peer or any other network issues. I just heard a dial tone.
Posted by Peter Crowell, 16 Aug 2007
Skype down inGermany
Arrived today in Berlin and for the first time was going to rely on Skype as my primary phone service and left my Lingo adapter at home in the USA. Big mistake!! Does this happen often? For me, never again. I need something reliable.
Posted by Rich, 16 Aug 2007
skype bad
Even without this collapse I have problems with skype. It needs a better competitor to take their plave
Posted by mark shane, 16 Aug 2007
Skype is Good, Skype is Great
Having used Skype for two years without a problem, this comes as no surprise. It was bound to happen. I replaced four other instant messengers with Skype because they were down at least once a month. Yahoo's connection problems are notorious, as are ICQ's. I feel naked without my Skype, but I am confident service will be restored soon.
Posted by Kat, 16 Aug 2007
Skype 'PR' Disaster
I understand things can go wrong... but like many I use Skype for business as well as personal use. It just takes 1 person to send out a blast email informing users that there are problems and for that matter to also keep us updated as to the progress. I have wasted several hours yesterday doing system restore and reloading the Skype software thinking it was a problem with my computer. After hunting around the Skype website I did find a short paragraph explaining that there were problems signing in.
Not good enough Skype, you could have handled this better.... You obviously have plenty of geeks working in the background, but you should also use this experience to fix-up the front line by informing your loyal users in a manner that would be expected. After all you have 6 to 8 million users regularly signed in, think how many people you are letting down. If it takes much longer it is going to go down as a massive PR disaster for you by not responding with bulletin updates. You have everyone's email so get blasting.... Oh and for that matter stick a great big banner on the Skype home page so it is easy for everyone to understand what is going on.
Bury your heads and people will turn away, there are alternative services to Skype that so far we never had to use. It may be that many users will find an alternative to Skype and enjoy the experience and never come back to Skype.
So do what you can to keep us informed, don't make us hunt for information. Then at least we can feel you are doing something about it and more importantly that you actually care about your loyal users!
Posted by ohmygod, 17 Aug 2007
Skype down in USA
Skype has been down now for two days stated August 15.
Posted by Rob Kufta, 17 Aug 2007