According to this post, skype versions older than 4.3 are unable to connect as of today (2014-08-01). Though it could have just been a temporary outage of the skype servers, I was able to connect after updating skype.

First get rid of the old skype from repo:

sudo apt-get purge skype

Second, delete your ~/.Skype folder

rm -R ~/.Skype

Then download skype-ubuntu-precise_4.3.0.37-1_i386.deb from http://www.skype.com/en/download-skype/skype-for-linux/?intcmp=blogs--generic-click--skype-4-3-for-linux and execute it as a deb package:

sudo dpkg -i skype-ubuntu-precise_4.3.0.37-1_i386.deb

I had the same problem and the problem is that Skype 4.2 is no longer available. The solution is to install a fresh version of Skype 4.3 which is already available for users.

Here is what to do :

Step 1: Remove the old version of Skype (4.2 or older)

cd ~ && rm -r .Skype    
sudo apt-get remove skype skype-bin:i386 skype:i386
sudo apt-get install sni-qt:i386

Step 2: Install Skype version 4.3

For 32-bit Operating Systems: follow these steps

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install gdebi
wget download.skype.com/linux/skype-ubuntu-precise_4.3.0.37-1_i386.deb
sudo gdebi skype-ubuntu-precise_4.3.0.37-1_i386.deb

For 64-bit Operating Systems: follow these steps

sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install gdebi
wget download.skype.com/linux/skype-ubuntu-precise_4.3.0.37-1_i386.deb
sudo gdebi skype-ubuntu-precise_4.3.0.37-1_i386.deb

That's it. Happy Skyping :-)

I found a solution, worked in my Ubuntu 14.04, Just:

1. Open “Software & Updates” and enable Canonical partners repository under Other Software tab.
2. In the terminal do: sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get install skype

here the Source!

Have a Grate day!

There is an easy workaround if you need to use Skype older than 4.3:

1- Install Skype 4.3.0.37, launch it, tick the "log me in automatically" box and log in. Exit (and end the process if still active)

2- Download Skype 4.2.0.11 deb package from https://launchpad.net/skype. Don't install it but extract the "Skype" binary file under /usr/bin

3- replace the /usr/bin/skype file with the 4.2.0.11 version (you'll need root privileges)

4- start skype and it will log in automatically

Hope this solution will last because some webcams or products (Asus SV1T for examples) are only compatible with old versions of Skype!

It is not your machine problem. Skype servers are down. This is not country specific.

I would like to add an official report, but Skype support is horrible.

UPDATE: it seems that Skype decided to shutdown the sopport for old versions (lower than 4.2). Update your client to be able use it.

I was unable to call and receive calls from people using skype 4.3 for linux: the message error was Unable to connect

Removed skype installed from repository

sudo apt-get purge skype

and installed skype beta

https://www.skype.com/en/download-skype/skype-for-computer/

sudo dpkg -i skypeforlinux-64.deb

Tested in Ubuntu 16.04 and 17.04

actually(and I discovered this quite randomly) the icon atop the desktop, displays the skype icon....which turns out to be the problem. I kept getting the same error message as you guys were getting, even after installing the latest version of Skype(4.3) But I had forgotten to quit Skype using that icon up there! After doing that, Skype performed flawlessly once more! I hope this helps someone.

Just , run this :

sh skype1404

Obviously, Download script before :

    wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/abdennour/miscs.sh/master/skype1404
    chmod u+x skype1404

NOTE : whatever HW plateform (32 or 64), it works و الحمد لله