While Zoom is more of an enterprise solution, Skype is still popular with general consumers. It’s clean, offers smooth video calls, has useful features, and is available on a variety of platforms and devices. Microsoft has also brought Skype to Chromebooks with its new web-first approach. And that’s not all. There are multiple ways to keep Skype for Chromebook running smoothly. So, in this article, we bring you a detailed guide on how to set up and run Skype on a Chromebook, along with some helpful tips along the way. With that in mind, let’s see how you can use Skype on your Chromebook in 2021.
3 Ways to Run Skype on Chromebook (2021)
There are three specific ways to run Skype on your Chromebook. The first is the Web App, which is the best way to access Skype on a Chromebook. After that we have Android and Linux apps. We will discuss all the methods, but let’s start with the web application first.
Get Skype to Work for Chromebook: Web App
In addition to offering native apps, Microsoft has brought its award-winning video conferencing app to the web. You can now seamlessly access Skype on a Chromebook using the Chrome browser. comes with call notifications, screen sharing supportand the latest Skype Meet Now feature. Simply put, you will not miss any of the main features of the desktop app. Now having said that, let’s move on to the steps.
1. Open web.skype.com on Chromium and sign in with your Microsoft account.
2. After that, you will be instantly taken to the main dashboard, which is quite similar to the desktop application. You can chat, video callStart a group call and more with Skype Meet Now.
3. As you can see, now Skype on Chromebook supports screen sharingfloating window, real-time subtitles and much more.
4. To receive video call and message notifications, I recommend enabling notification from the padlock icon in the address bar. After saying this, You need to keep Skype open in the background to receive notifications. To make it easier to manage notifications and Skype in general, you can create a standalone application from the following step.
5. Click on the 3-dot menu and go to “More Tools”. Here, click “Create Shortcut”. Finally, enable “Open as a window” and click “Create”. Now Skype Web will act more like an app, with a separate icon in the launcher. You can even pin Skype to the Rack.
Use Skype on Chromebook: Android App
If you have Play Store support on your Chromebook, you can use the Android variant of Skype on your Chromebook. It worked pretty well in my tests, but you don’t have access to some desktop features like below background blur and real-time subtitles.
Still, since this is an Android app, you have full support for notifications and Skype Meet Now support, which is great. You get Skype notifications even when the app is not open in the background. Also, the Android app has offline support so you can access Skype chats without an active internet connection. Best of all, you can chat and stay on the video call screen with the new update.
one. Open Play Store On your Chromebook and install Skype (Free).
2. Now, sign in to your Microsoft account and you will be able to access most of the features of Skype Desktop. If you want an Android app, I can say it’s very good. all time notification and offline support.
Get Skype to Work for Chromebook: Linux App
Among all versions of Skype, the Linux app seems more like a solid desktop app on a Chromebook. Almost everything works pretty well and No terminal tweaking required. It can receive notifications even if the app is closed in the background. But there is a problem, and a glaring one.
Linux still doesn’t have access to webcam on Chromebook due to virtual machine restrictions and finally, Skype cannot use webcam. The microphone works just fine out of the box, so there it is. To put it bluntly, the Linux app is a really good option on a Chromebook if you want Skype for voice calls and chats.
1. First of all, install Linux on your Chromebook by following the linked guide. If the Linux option is not available in Settings, this is on your Chromebook. Support for Linux.
2. Next, Skype download page and Select “Get Skype for Linux DEB” from the drop-down menu. It will download the Skype installer in DEB format to your Chromebook.
3. After downloading the installer, open the “Files” app and Double click on it to install Skype on your Chromebook. Next, hit the “Install” button.
4. Finally, after installation, You will find Skype under the Linux folder inside the launcher. Open it and sign in to your Microsoft account. It may ask you to create a keychain. Basically, Skype encrypts your password on Linux so that no apps can access it. You can add an extra layer of security if you want.
5. Finally you are done. Now Skype will start and you get all desktop features except video support.
Note: If Skype does not start at startup, click on “File” and exit the program. Reopen and Skype should work fine now.
Install Skype on Chromebook and Enjoy Seamless Video Calls
So, these are the three ways to run Skype on Chromebook without much trouble. As I said above, the web app is the best, but you can also use the Android or Linux app if those options fit your bill. Other than that, keep in mind that you have to manually open Skype once to receive notifications after each reboot, as there is no option for “Startup applications” like Windows does. Anyway, that’s it for us. If you run into any issues, let us know in the comment section below. We will definitely try to help you.
