Why does Skype say the connection could not be established? Skype error: "Connection failed"

Useful tips

If the Internet connection in Skype is configured incorrectly, this leads to certain problems when the application operates. Calls are made with interference and errors, or the connection is completely lost. Next, we will try to describe in as much detail as possible what parameters can affect the quality of the connection.

Errors in setting up Skype connection to the Internet

Almost every user encounters such problems, and the operating system on which the device runs has absolutely no importance.

There are only two main reasons for this problem: Internet Explorer browser settings and the offline operating mode set in the network connection.

You should first check the status of the proxy. If everything is correct and this parameter works correctly, but Skype still has problems with the connection, then most likely the cause of the failure was a weak connection signal or lack of connection to the Internet.

Let's try to disable the proxy:

Launch Internet Explorer.
Press the Alt+X combination and wait for the settings window to appear.
Open Internet Properties and go to Network Settings.
If there is a checkmark next to the “Use proxy for local connections” command, you should uncheck it.
Don't forget to save your changed settings.
Press the Alt button.
In the menu that appears, click “File” and uncheck the “Tick off” next to the “Work offline” command.

Now you should check your connection settings by simply restarting the router. There may also be no connection due to the fact that the application was included in unwanted programs in your antivirus. If this happens, the software should be included in exceptions. You can read about how to do this in the manuals intended for your antivirus system.

While working with Skype, a message often appears stating that a connection cannot be established. Appearing at the wrong moment, the message breaks the connection, preventing you from finishing the conversation. Getting Skype back to work is easy. You need to understand the causes of the problem and perform a sequence of actions.

Reasons for the error

After entering your login and password, this data is sent to the server for verification. After confirming the data, the server informs the program on the computer that the data is reliable and authentication has been completed. If a connection error occurs, this means that the program cannot synchronize with the server and does not allow the user to access the network.

Among the reasons for the lack of connection are the following:

The version is outdated and no longer relevant.
The program is blocked by the Windows Firewall.
The computer is not connected to the network.
The provider has blocked Skype.
The program server is not responding.
The program has crashed.

Debugg

I will analyze cases in which a malfunction occurs in Skype.

Checking your Internet connection

The first thing to do if Skype is unable to establish a connection is to check your network connections. Launch any browser and try to access any website. If there is no Internet, we see a corresponding message.

Checking the program version

Microsoft regularly releases updates for its product. The company is interested in ensuring that users use only new versions of the product. Therefore, older versions are unstable and often crash. Information about the current version is available in the “Help” section. In the pop-up window, click About Skype.

In addition to the version, the manufacturer indicates the year the update was released. Versions released last year are considered out of date.

The update is made through the official website. Go to Skype.com and click “Download”.

Disabling the firewall

Another reason why Skype says “Connection could not be established” is because Windows is blocked. Firewall is a standard protection that is present in all versions of Windows. It blocks suspicious activity from the network. A firewall is a useful application, but its operation also affects the stability of useful programs and applications. In particular, it can cause problems with Skype. To check the impact of the firewall on the software, you need to temporarily disable it:

This can be done through the “Control Panel” by selecting “System and Security”.
In the new window, select “Windows Firewall”.
And then “Turn the firewall on or off.”
Disable the protection and save the settings by pressing the “OK” key.
After this, restart the program. If the problem is not solved, it is probably rooted in the antivirus.

Disabling antivirus

The antivirus has a list of programs that it blocks or prohibits access to the Internet through them. Skype sometimes falls into their number. If this happens, add the program to the antivirus exclusion list, and network access will be restored.

Router settings

Skype malfunctions are caused by incorrect operation of the router. To eliminate this possibility, do the following:

Open your router settings. To do this, write 192.168.0.1 (or 192.168.1.1) in the address bar of your browser (for example, Google Chrome).
Go to “Virtual Servers”.
In the “Description” field, enter the name of the program, enter 4960 in the “Port” field, indicate the standard IP for the network, with a difference in the last cell (for example, 192.168.1.85) and click “Add”.

There are many reasons for errors connecting Skype to the server: an old version of the program, incorrect operation of antiviruses and conflicts within the system. The error can appear on all versions of Windows - XP, 7, 10, Vista. There are several universal ways to solve the problem that help get rid of errors in 99% of cases.

What the error looks like:

Unfortunately, we were unable to connect to Skype. Check the connection.
Skype was unable to establish a connection.
Failed to connect to Skype.
Connection problems > There is a problem with the upper DNS system that is preventing you from connecting to Skype.
No connection to Skype > No connection to the Skype chat service (MSNP).

First, let's look at universal ways to correct the error, and then individual cases and preventive actions to prevent its reoccurrence.

How to fix the “Skype could not connect” error:

Reinstalling Skype with registration with Microsoft

Errors with connecting to Skype often appear after updating the program to a new version. There is also a version that Skype may conflict with the Internet Explorer browser, and new versions of Skype may require IE8 and higher.

Step by step solution:

Remove all versions of Skype installed on your computer.
Download and install the stable version of skype_7.14.0.106.exe.
After installation is complete, you need to exit the program or minimize the window.
Go to account.microsoft.com using any installed browser.
Use your Skype username and password to log in on account.microsoft.com.
Verify your Microsoft account using any mailbox.
Log out of Skype and log in again using your username and password.

This method helps not only when resetting or errors in account activation, but also when trying to launch Skype on a new computer for the first time.

Command line solution

If Skype is unable to connect due to problems with the Skype.exe file, a simple step-by-step setup will help get rid of the problem once and for all. The method has been tested and works on Windows 7, 8, 10, Vista and XP. If the problem is different, these actions still shouldn’t make things worse.

Sequencing:

Completely close the program: right-click on the Skype icon on the Windows dashboard and select “Quit Skype.”
Click "Start", then "Run".
Enter “%appdata%\skype” (without quotes) in the window that opens.
Click "OK".
In the window that opens, find the shared.xml file (or just shared if the extensions are not displayed).
Delete the file by right-clicking on it and selecting the appropriate item.

After this, you can start Skype again - the program should correctly establish a connection to the server. If this does not help, move on to the next solution.

Solution using /legacylogin

First you need to exit the program if it is open. Clicking on the “cross” in the corner only minimizes Skype, so right-click on the Skype icon on the dashboard and select “Quit Skype” or “Exit”.

Open the task manager (Ctrl+Alt+Del) and make sure that there is no skype.exe worker process.
If the skype.exe process is still active, you need to right-click and select “End process”.
Open the folder C:\Program Files\ or C:\Program Files x86\ (for 64-bit versions of the system) on the local disk.
Find and open the Skype folder, find and open the Phone folder in it.
Right-click on the Skype.exe file and select “Send to Desktop (create shortcut)” or “Send to Desktop”.
Open the desktop, find the created shortcut, right-click on it and go to the “properties” section.
In the “Properties” folder, select the “Shortcut” folder.
In the shortcut folder there will be a field ""C:\Program Files\Skype\Phone\Skype.exe" or "C:\Program FilesX86\Skype\Phone\Skype.exe" for 64-bit versions of Windows.
You need to click on this field and add /legacylogin with a space after the quotes.

The finished result should look like this: in the Target field there will be "C:\Program Files\Skype\Phone\Skype.exe" /legacylogin. If everything is so, you need to click “OK” to save the changes. After this, Skype should start normally from the newly created shortcut.

No internet connection

The simplest problem is the easiest to solve. There may be no Internet for the following reasons:

The tariff has ended. Pay for your provider's services.
The network cable has come loose from the PC or router. Check if everything is connected completely. If not, that's why Skype won't connect. Reconnect the cables if necessary.
The router is frozen. Turn it off for a few minutes and then turn it back on. The connection should resume.
If your computer is connected via Wi-Fi, try connecting it via a wired connection. The wireless network may be heavily loaded or have low bandwidth due to the router or interference from other access points in neighboring apartments. In this case, there is internet, but it is very weak, and Skype either won’t connect at all or takes a very long time to connect.
The wireless network on the laptop is disabled by hardware. Many laptops have a special key or combination that, when pressed, turns Wi-Fi on or off. If you accidentally press this button, then most likely the network has disconnected. Press the key again to turn the network back on. Usually this is one of the function keys F2-F. It shows an icon in the form of an antenna.
The ISP cable is damaged. In this case, you should contact the technical support of your provider and submit a request to restore the cable.

As a rule, in all of the above cases there is no Internet connection at all. But what if Skype does not see the Internet? Everything else works, but Skype itself does not work, although the Internet is constantly connected and works properly? In this case, the problem is with the client itself.

Outdated version of Skype

If you were unable to log into the network and you haven't updated Skype for a long time, then this could be one of the reasons why Skype won't connect to the Internet. The legacy client simply does not pass verification on Microsoft servers due to incompatibility or discontinuation of support for some components and displays an error when trying to log in. In this case, installing the latest version will help. However, we recommend that you completely remove the old one first. To do this, launch Control Panel and open Programs and Features.

Find Skype in the list of programs, select it and click the “Delete” button. The program will be removed from your PC.

Now you need to clean the registry, because if you don't do this, an error may occur during installation. This can be done using the CCleaner program.

Next, you need to download the current version to your computer. This can be done by following the link https://www.skype.com/ru/download-skype/skype-for-computer/. Click the "Download Skype for Windows" button and save the installation package. Open it and follow the installer's instructions. After this, Skype should work normally.

Note: In many cases, completely uninstalling and then reinstalling can solve this problem. Even if you have the latest version of the program installed.

If you are still unable to connect to Skype after this, proceed to the next step.

Internet Explorer browser configuration is incorrect

The problem with client performance can also occur due to a glitch in IE. Therefore, the Skype connection settings to the Internet may be incorrect. To fix this, you need to reset your browser settings to factory settings. This is the simplest and most effective option. To reset:

Launch IE and open the main settings (Internet Options).

In the "Advanced" tab, click the "Reset" button.

Check the box to remove personal data and click Reset.

Restart your browser.

After this, Internet Explorer settings will be set to default. Try logging into Skype again. If after this you are still unable to log into the network, proceed to the next step.

DNS settings failure

The DNS service allows the operating system to use DNS names (readable website addresses) and places them in a cache. If the cache is full or does not work correctly, then name translation will not be performed when loading any page. That's why you couldn't connect to Skype. The error “Server not found” will be displayed. Resetting the DNS cache helps solve the problem. To do this, press the “Win+R” key combination and enter “ipconfig /flushdns” in the “Run” console line. Press enter and you will see a command prompt window with a message that the cleanup was successful. Restart your computer for the changes to take effect and try logging into Skype again.

Skype is blocked by a proxy server

Most often this happens when Skype is used on work computers connected to a business or office network. In such networks, security is of great importance, so all incoming and outgoing connections are made and filtered through a special computer with a configured proxy server. Accordingly, without knowing the correct settings, the user cannot use any of the programs except those authorized by the administrator. To allow Skype to connect to your network, you will need to obtain proxy settings from your network administrator or ISP.

Now you know what to do if Skype says “the connection could not be established.” The above tips in most cases completely solve the problem. However, if you still cannot connect to Skype, then the problem may lie in the operating system itself. In this case, you should think about reinstalling it.

What to do in this case? Why can this even happen? Answering these questions is not so easy. Especially considering that the application most often fails on computers. Nevertheless, today we will learn how to deal with the problem under study. So what should you pay attention to first?

Internet connection

Skype failed to connect? What to do? The first thing you need to do is check that you have a network connection. Its absence leads to the appearance of the mentioned message.

In general, this alert indicates that Skype cannot connect to the application server. The program sends a signal, but does not reach the server. Accordingly, it is impossible to work with the application.

To check, you can open your browser and try to access any website. Did not work out? This means there is something wrong with the Internet! This was the reason for the failure.

Problems with your Skype Internet connection may be caused by:

debt to pay for network access;
failure of the provider;
accidents and technical work on transmission lines;
OS crashes.

You can try to restart the Internet and modem. As soon as network access is restored, an error like “Skype cannot establish a connection” will not appear.

Old versions

The next scenario is that the user has an outdated version of Skype. Such applications are no longer supported by developers over time.

Got the message "Skype could not connect"? What to do? Now is the time to look at the software version and update it if necessary.

To do this you will need:

Open the Skype authorization window.
Go to "Help" - "About Skype".
Look at the application version and the year the build was created.
If necessary, open skype.com and download the latest version of the application from there.
Install Skype and try to connect again.

Important: it is better to remove the old version of the software. To do this, it is recommended to open "Start" - "Control Panel" - "Add or Remove Programs" - "Uninstall...".

Firewall

But these are not all the options for the development of events. Skype does not have an Internet connection sometimes due to the built-in firewall. It appeared in Windows with the Windows 7 version. To correct the situation and log into Skype, the mentioned service will have to be disabled.

To do this you will need:

Go to "Control Panel". The corresponding item is located in the start menu on the left side of the screen.
In the "View" section, set "Category".
Select "System and Security".
Click on "Windows Firewall".
In the left menu, click on "Turn firewall on or off."
Set "Disable" everywhere.
Click on "Save/Ok".

Now you can try to launch Skype again. If the problem is the firewall, then the application will start working at full capacity. Still, a notification appears on the screen. What should I do next?

Antivirus

It is possible that the installed antivirus is interfering with the application. It’s not for nothing that developers recommend turning off this software when initializing programs and when starting some utilities. Maybe Skype files are recognized as malicious for one reason or another.

How exactly to disable the antivirus? It all depends on what PC security application a person has installed. Most often, it is enough to right-click on the software icon in the Windows tray and select “Exit” there.

Equipment

Sometimes it is impossible to establish a connection in Skype due to the modem/router. For example, if it fails or a settings reset occurs. Unfortunately, users forget about this point.

More precisely, the following instructions will help:

In the browser, type 192.168.0.1. The number may change. It can be clarified in the router documents.
Log in to the system. Usually the default password and login is admin.
Go to "Virtual Servers".
Click on the "Add" button.
In the "Name" section write Skype, in the "Port" (final) - 4960, for example.
Click on "Save".
Open Skype.
Go to "Tools" - "Connection problems...".
Specify the port specified in the router settings in the "Use Port" window.
Click on "Save".

Resetting Skype settings

Skype failed to connect? What to do in this case? The last tip is to reset the application settings.

How to bring your idea to life? Have to:

Open "Start".
Type %appdata% into the search bar.
Login to the mentioned folder.
Open the Skype section.
Select all documents and delete them.
Launch Skype and log in using your username.

All of the above methods turn out to be quite effective in practice. But you shouldn't dwell on them.

Extreme measures

Skype has no internet connection? Didn't all the proposed methods solve your problems? Under such circumstances, you can act differently.

How exactly? You should try:

Perform a complete reinstallation of the program.
Roll back the operating system to a time when Skype was working normally.
Check your computer for viruses, remove the computer infection and log into the messenger.

The most radical way is considered to be a complete reinstallation of the OS and formatting the hard drive. Fortunately, this technique is rarely needed. Can't connect in Skype? From now on it is clear how to act in the event of such an error. She's not as dangerous as she seems. The main thing is to understand why the failure occurred. This is not always easy to do!