Skype to stop working 'within a few weeks'

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Back in February, I reported that Skype was being withdrawn from the Nokia Store 'for the last time', but that you could still sideload the Skype client and it would work 'for a while'. That 'while' seems to be drawing to a close, with some Skype users receiving the email quoted below. In summary, Skype for Symbian will stop working altogether 'within the next few weeks', however you managed to install it in the first place. Such service stoppages are perhaps expected, given the perilous state of 'Support' for the OS mid 2014.

Here's the email that was received from Skype support:

Skype apps for Symbian are permanently retiring

We've noticed that you are, or previously were, signed into Skype on a Symbian phone, and we're sorry to inform you that we are now permanently retiring all Skype apps for Symbian phones. As a result, within the next few weeks, you'll no longer be able to sign in and use Skype on any Symbian phone.

You can still stay in touch with friends and family using Skype on an Android device, Nokia Lumia phone or desktop computer. You can sign into them all using the same Skype account. The latest versions of Skype for all your devices are available at http://www.skype.com/download.

Hey, at least Skype didn't mention the iPhone!!

Any Symbian applications that access Internet-facing services should continue to expect the worst, of course, with zero support now from companies like Skype. While sad, given the installed base of older Symbian phones, in this case Skype was always a poor relation of the Android/iOS/WP versions, with no video calling support, so it's perhaps not a huge loss.

Still, another nail in the coffin for some people?

Skype in action