Skype not working or opening on Windows 11

When some people think of video calling, they think of Skype. Although it now faces stiff competition from the likes of Teams, Google Meet and Zoom, even more so when we’re all locked in our homes, Skype brought the wave of connecting us with our loved ones via a video-chatting platform. It is a platform for personal interaction and a helping hand in the professional spheres of life, too.

Skype not working or opening on Windows 11

Users have repeatedly reported bugs in Skype, and today, we are here to put one of them to rest: the issue where it keeps crashing and stops working on Windows 11/10. There are several probable causes behind this, so we will discuss each and how they can be rectified.

1. Change Skype privacy settings
2. Delete Skype AppData
3. Check Microphone & camera permissions
4. Repair or Reset Skype
5. Completely Uninstall and reinstall Skype.

Skype does not open or make voice and video calls

1] Change Skype privacy settings

A very common reason Skype doesn’t open your system is that it hasn’t been granted permission to access your computer’s webcam. This can be easily rectified by visiting your computer’s settings and configuring it otherwise. Before making any changes, ensure the Skype application isn’t running in the background.

• Open your computer settings.
• Look for privacy and select Camera under the App Permissions header in the left sidebar.
• Skype is among the apps that can operate your computer’s webcam. If the privacy settings are really what’s been causing the issue, then Skype must not have access to it.
• Enable access for Skype, close the settings window, and try launching Skype.

2] Delete Skype AppData

You need to first boot Windows in Safe Mode with Networking.

• Press the Windows + R key combination to open the run dialog box and type ‘msconfig.exe’ in the empty space before pressing enter.
• This will open the System Configurations.
• Here, click on ‘Boot’ from the options on the top.
• Under Boot, you will find Boot options that would ordinarily be disabled.
• Please enable it and further select Network.
• Click on Apply and further select ‘OK’ to implement these settings.

Boot your device and try launching Skype and check if the issue has been resolved. You shouldn’t quit just yet if this doesn’t help.

• Open the Run dialog box with the key combination as told above and in the space type ‘%appdata%’.
• In the Window that this command opens, search for a folder named Skype.
• Right-click on the Skype folder and rename it as ‘Skype_2’.
• Close the window and check if Skype is working properly.

Related: Cannot make a call on Skype.

3] Check Microphone & camera permissions

Check if the privacy settings are as they should be. Open the Start Menu, select Settings > Privacy.

Go to Microphone and enable “Let apps use my Microphone,” then go to Camera and enable “Let apps use my camera hardware.”

4] Check Windows Defender firewall settings

Additionally, you can check if Skype is allowed through the Windows Defender firewall. Do this by going to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Defender. Click on the option that says “Open Windows Defender Security Center” and navigate to “Firewall & network protection.”

Scroll down to “Allow an app through firewall” and set Skype as an allowed app if this hasn’t been done already.

5] Repair or Reset Skype

Windows 11

To reset the Skype app-

1. Go to Settings
2. Open Apps & Features
3. Locate Skype
4. Click Advanced Options.
5. Scroll down to Repair, if you don’t want to lose your data
6. If that does not help, Choose Reset.

Windows 10

• Open Settings > Apps
• Locate Skype
• Click on Advanced options
• First use the Repair button and see
• If that does not help use the Reset button.

6] Completely Uninstall and Reinstall Skype

If none of the above-recommended solutions work, the last resort is to uninstall Skype and reinstall it on your computer completely. To avoid corruption and system damage, make sure that Skype isn’t running in the background while you uninstall it.

Open the Task Manager by pressing Ctrl+Shift+Esc, and if Skype is running, right-click on it to ‘End Task’.

• Press Windows + ‘I’ keys together to open your Windows settings.
• Click on Apps and from the list of installed applications on your PC, search for Skype.
• Click on it and further select Uninstall.
• Confirm the process and close the window.

Having done that, press the Windows and ‘R’ key together to open the run dialog.

Type in ‘%appdata%,’ search for the Skype folder and delete it.

Similarly, navigate to C:\Program Files (x86), find the Skype folder and delete it.

Next, open the Registry Editor by typing ‘regedit’ in the run dialog box. Select file and click on Export to create a backup of your Registry files.

Then, from the Edit option, click on Find and search Skype.

Right-click on the key that this search directs you to and delete it. Repeat the process again and again till all the keys related to Skype have been deleted.

Once the list of keys has been exhausted, close the Registry Editor.

Now restart your computer and install the latest version of Skype from the Windows Store or their official website.

We hope that one of the solutions above helped you rectify your problem with Skype on your Windows computer and that you can now run the application without any hiccups. Users are advised to follow all the instructions precisely to avoid harming their computers.

Related reads:

1. Skype Audio or Microphone not working
2. No video, No Audio on Skype.