Skype issues

[wafool]

Let me start by saying that I work in an IT department, I know a thing or two about these here computers.

I've been going back and forth with Skype following all their suggestions but I think they aren't looking at this as a wide spread issue, so I thought I'd turn to the community and see how many people are having the same issue.

I have the Verizon Moto-Droid. I only have the data plan (My work gives me a discount on Verizon plans and my work also provides me with a dumb phone for making phone calls. Droid was simply to keep me connected where my dumb work phone couldn't.)

So with the data plan, Skype was the way to make skype to skype phone calls for when I wanted to actually talk on my droid, and immediately issues came up. In the Skype reviews in the market I see at least a couple other people mention my issue.

I have installed the Skype app on my droid. I have installed the Skype client on a bunch of computers. All the installations on the computers were brand new installs with no pre-existing Skype files to interfere. I have installed the PC client of Skype on 3 Win XP computers, 2 Vista computers, and 1 Win 7 computer. The 2 XP and one of the Vista PC's are computers that I've built and are on my home network. 1 XP, 1 Vista, and the Win 7 PC are computers at work, my girlfriends laptop, and my work laptop. All of these computers have the same exact problem: Once the call connects, the PC client crashes. The PC client can call any of the other PC clients on any of these computers and it all works perfectly. If any of these PC clients connect to the Droid, they crash.

The microsoft error reporting screen comes up. While that screen is up, the Droid client can hear whats going on over on PC's side. PC's side cannot hear the Droid client. Once you hit close on the microsoft error reporting, the PC client closes and thats the end of that. Seeing as how this has happened on 6 different computers, all with different hardware and 3 different operating systems, I can't imagine that I am the only one with this issue. I also can't imagine user error since installing the Skype client is like 3 clicks and a login.

So, anyone here know of this issue or what causes it and how to fix it?

 

[ohioDroid]

I don't use the actual Skype app, because my understanding is that it will not work if you turn off the 3G service and use only WiFi.

However, there is an app called Fring that does do that. If you register online with them and set it up with your Skype account, you can run Fring on your phone and make calls to Skype contacts. And I like that it works on WiFi.

All that said, I haven't tried making a call with the official Skype app, but I have with Fring and the computer users I spoke to didn't experience any odd issues.

 

[wafool]

Wow, thanks a million dude. That works perfectly. That said, the issue must be on the Droid side of the Skype app that causes the PC client to crash. Seems crazy, but Fring is making calls to and receiving calls from the PC client flawlessly. I had no idea there was already another app that had Skype addon capability.

This will do for now, and I guess I will let the Skype helpdesk guy I've been going back and forth with know that they have some oddball problem on their Droid app and that he can stop telling others with this issue to butcher their desktop registry with skype entries.

 

[theecigarman]

ohioDroid, Thanks for the insight! This fring is just what I was looking for. The VZW app just didn't make sense to me. Why would I want to use skype if I can't do it over wifi? :shocked:

I sure am glad wafool was having issues..... Thanks to both of you!

 

[possessedskier]

I use the Verizon Skype app every day to make Skype to Skype calls to my brother's Windows 7 laptop in Haiti. His PC client has never crashed while talking to my Droid. I've also made several other Skype to Skype calls to Windows and Linux PC's and never had their Skype clients crash.