SKYPE ISSUES (NOT SURE IF DR ISSUES)

potus

Active member
Dec 27, 2015
549
90
28
Good day,

I just need a little advise/confirmation here.
I use Skype a lot to communicate for business and also personally, mostly short written messages and some calls.
Two days ago Skype stopped sending and receiving messages on my phone.....I checked for updates...all perfect here. I played with it for a while, but could not get it going. I had an outside appointment and took my Tablet with me, hoping that resolved the issue. But, to my surprise, the same applied.
I am using Claro and Tricom (Altice).
The twist however is that on my home computer all works perfectly......
Is there maybe a disruption for handheld devices in the Country?

PS. All other Apps work perfectly.
 

SKY

Gold
Apr 11, 2004
13,470
3,604
113
Just use Whatsapp, way better than Skype ever was. Also free. Available on Android and Apple. Also on your PC.
 

potus

Active member
Dec 27, 2015
549
90
28
Just use Whatsapp, way better than Skype ever was. Also free. Available on Android and Apple. Also on your PC.

I actually agree.....I use WhatsApp as well. But, unfortunately Skype is the prevailing use of communication in my Industry.
 

SKY

Gold
Apr 11, 2004
13,470
3,604
113
I had the same problem as you years ago. Junked it at that time.
 

Mauricio

Gold
Nov 18, 2002
5,607
7
38
Sounds stupid but check if you are logged in. Lately I’m logged out all the time from Skype for some reason (and other Microsoft products) and especially with Skype it’s not always clear if you are ‘online’ or not. 
 

potus

Active member
Dec 27, 2015
549
90
28
Sounds stupid but check if you are logged in. Lately I’m logged out all the time from Skype for some reason (and other Microsoft products) and especially with Skype it’s not always clear if you are ‘online’ or not. 

Yup....first thing I checked....going out and in again several times........I am just puzzled.
 

KateP

Silver
May 28, 2004
2,845
6
38
Might be Altice. A friend is changing to Claro along with a bunch of her friends because the service is crazy slow. 4 bars on 4G but slow as molasses.

Sent from my BLN-L24 using Tapatalk
 

potus

Active member
Dec 27, 2015
549
90
28
Might be Altice. A friend is changing to Claro along with a bunch of her friends because the service is crazy slow. 4 bars on 4G but slow as molasses.

Sent from my BLN-L24 using Tapatalk

I am also using a Claro modem......same deal exactly.
 

lifeisgreat

Enjoying Life
May 7, 2016
3,271
1,162
113
I actually agree.....I use WhatsApp as well. But, unfortunately Skype is the prevailing use of communication in my Industry.


Check if your phone took any updates around your trouble started , if you find one uninstall update see if that works ..
 

sabra

New member
Jun 16, 2007
360
6
0
Since 3 days we have problems with Skype like described below.

"Limited instant messaging service; affects Skype for Windows Desktop
STATUS
active
We believe that we have fixed the causes of the incident and are reviewing the fix.
Updating time: 6. February 2018,15:11 von Leonas
Starting time: February 6th 2018,15:10am
End Time: February 6,2018,01:00 AM
Affected Services: Instant messages
Affected products: Skype for Windows Desktop
BESCHREIBUNG
Some users may have problems with instant messages (chat). There may be delays when sending or synchronizing messages.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
workaround
We have found that unsubscribing from Skype and signing in to Skype should fix this for most users.
The above text has been translated by machine, here you can find the original text in English: WORKAROUND
We have determined that log out from Skype and login to Skype in should fix this for most of users."

Link: https://support.skype.com/de/status/59142925

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator

I did logout and login, no result.

I am using Claro.
 
Feb 7, 2007
8,005
625
113
Might be Altice. A friend is changing to Claro along with a bunch of her friends because the service is crazy slow. 4 bars on 4G but slow as molasses.

Sent from my BLN-L24 using Tapatalk
Switched to Claro last May after 12 years in Orange and never looked back. With Smart plans all Claro to Claro calls are free and do not count towards your minutes usage. Free roaming across all of the Americas is the cherry on the top.

One thing though, even Claro is getting a bit worse, if you are unlucky to be in 3G coverage area instead of 4G, your internet will be way slower than it used to be. You will be lucky to get 1 mbps down. *** Same for congested areas. And trying internet on 2G is futile in DR on any carrier. But if you are on 4G in good coverage area, you will be good on Claro. I have a tower one and half block from my place and I get 70 mbps download on 4G in speed test.

*** though there is possibility which I just realized, that it is quite possible that Claro had taken part of its 3G frequency spectrum and added it (converted to additional) to 4G spextrum, as its 3G and 4G both use band 4 (1700/2100 MHz). Taking away spectrum from 3G in favor of 4G LTE would obviously make 3G run slower.

Also, if you use data in 4G, and yo get incoming or outgoing call, both voice and data is switched over to 3G, putting more pressure on 3G spectrum. In some countries calls and data are always carried in 2G instead of 3G when a call enters in while using LTE data, but Claro carries them in 3G.
 
Last edited:

cbmitch9

Bronze
Nov 3, 2010
845
8
18
Sorry. But Skype is crap. Like you, I have it just in case one of our clients use it but they all complain about it. the only one of our clients who do not complain about Skype is Microsoft :nervous:
 

Cdn_Gringo

Gold
Apr 29, 2014
8,671
1,133
113
I did two Skype calls yesterday, one video to the UK and one voice only to a landline on the west coast of Canada, both functioned fine (home internet service). Sure Skype has its problems with privacy and sometimes reliability but usually these technical glitches are attributable to bandwidth and packet routing problems.

Especially on the cellular network, congestion and varying signal strength can cause all sorts of headaches. I have found that a with a network connection of 3 Mb/s or less a good Skype connection can be a hit and miss proposition. I have no doubt believing that ISPs and the cell companies actively throttle bandwidth by usage type to try and keep webpages and email flowing during times of high use and congestion. With Orange it sometimes takes so long for the weather app to update that the weather changes while email collection seems much more responsive.

A traceroute run on specific connections (in the past when I cared enough to look) has shown lots of hops within the DR as packets are routed (imo needless) around the island before heading across the pond.
 

SKY

Gold
Apr 11, 2004
13,470
3,604
113
Skype is a thing of the past. Whatsapp buries Skype for reliability.
 

Mauricio

Gold
Nov 18, 2002
5,607
7
38
Skype is a thing of the past. Whatsapp buries Skype for reliability.



It all depends. My parents prefer to sit and stare at a computer screen I stead of using a smartphone. 

Skype (for business) allows you to share creen etc., for online meetings WhatsApp is obviously no option. Apps / services like hangout do that job also ofcourse, but I don’t think Skype’s business model is based on personal accounts.
 

chico bill

Dogs Better than People
May 6, 2016
12,573
6,326
113
Switched to Claro last May after 12 years in Orange and never looked back. With Smart plans all Claro to Claro calls are free and do not count towards your minutes usage. Free roaming across all of the Americas is the cherry on the top.

One thing though, even Claro is getting a bit worse, if you are unlucky to be in 3G coverage area instead of 4G, your internet will be way slower than it used to be. You will be lucky to get 1 mbps down. *** Same for congested areas. And trying internet on 2G is futile in DR on any carrier. But if you are on 4G in good coverage area, you will be good on Claro. I have a tower one and half block from my place and I get 70 mbps download on 4G in speed test.

*** though there is possibility which I just realized, that it is quite possible that Claro had taken part of its 3G frequency spectrum and added it (converted to additional) to 4G spextrum, as its 3G and 4G both use band 4 (1700/2100 MHz). Taking away spectrum from 3G in favor of 4G LTE would obviously make 3G run slower.

Also, if you use data in 4G, and yo get incoming or outgoing call, both voice and data is switched over to 3G, putting more pressure on 3G spectrum. In some countries calls and data are always carried in 2G instead of 3G when a call enters in while using LTE data, but Claro carries them in 3G.

I thought Claro - 2G GSM was (850 & 1900 PCS) while 3G was B5 (850) UMTS, while LTE is Band 4 (1700/2100) - I don't think they are sharing 3G & 4G Frequencies.
But you are right - internet on 2G is really suitable for voice and text only - internet data no.
 

potus

Active member
Dec 27, 2015
549
90
28
Funny thing.....without any changes at all to phone or modem Skype started working fine again.......very strange, but it is normal again now for several days. No other App had any issues at all.
 

chico bill

Dogs Better than People
May 6, 2016
12,573
6,326
113
Funny thing.....without any changes at all to phone or modem Skype started working fine again.......very strange, but it is normal again now for several days. No other App had any issues at all.
NSA finally got its monitoring of your calls to stop interfering