I am a semi-new linux convert using Ubuntu 6.06. I am headed on the road tomorrow and thought I might give skype a shot on this machine as a way to freely speak with my wife and kids back home. I installed a couple nights ago it and was pleased to find that it worked perfectly on the first run. I called my house as a test, then called my mom to remind her how cool I am for being able to talk through my computer. Then the coolness abruptly ended. From that point on, any call I have tried to make immediately returns "call failed", which I might add is not an exceptionally helpful message when it comes to diagnostics. I saw some posts regarding wav files (the hangup.wav was renamed in my installation), but evern replacing all the wav files with a known working wav file on my system made no difference. Is this some obvious known issue that I am experiencing? Any advice would be appreciated.

Solution is simple: get you money back and switch to another provider like http://www.openwengo.com it has one big plus: it's working. Yes! and other pluses like IM systems support, etc. After almost 10 hours noone answered your question, so they don't care. You are not alone, look that people are saying about Skype linux in other threads.

As much as I hate posts like the above one, I was in the identical place as dschuk (Linux semi-newbie, new ubuntu 6.06 install, Skype worked once, then failed with no help). I switched to OpenWengo and I am very happy so far. Haven't compared rates.

It seems that the trouble has to do with the way Skype handles the sound system. I had the same trouble at first. If I terminated a call, the next call would fail. Shutting Skype down, and starting it again fixed the problem until the next time I hung up. The new beta version fixes the problem altogether, as it uses Alsa, but there were sound quality issues that need to be fixed before I can rely on it.

As it stands, I am back to using the 1.2.x version of Skype, and either let the other party hang up first (no problems), or I restart Skype if I hang up first. As I see it, the problems will be fixed in time, and meanwhile, Skype offers the best sound quality of all the others I have tried to date, it offers encrypted conversations, and offers Skype-in numbers at very cheap rates. Someone posted an ad for a competing product here, but it doesn't appear that they offer incoming phone numbers at all. I prefer open source software as a rule, but having an incoming phone number for a few Dollars a year, with great sound quality is just too good to walk away from.

PS Zolookas, it's "no one", not "noone". Noone is a time of day with an extra e.

Volk

solution like "switch to openwengo or gizmo or ..." is not a solution. when most users are Windows users (I admit, that is alsmost not an argument) and 99% use Skype and 1% MSN ... that's not a solution.

@dschuk:
1. are you able to connect to echo123?
2. is someone ales able to call you?

M.

my version of skype is 1.2.0.18_API. My problem is that i can connect and i manage to have writing chats but my sound device isn't used by Skype. The echo/sound test service isn't connected. I can't call anyone or being called by anyone. If i call someone, there is a sound error and if someone calls me, i receive the call but there is no sound. There is a question mark and not a green logo in front of this echo/sound test service contact. The audio device selected is /dev/dsp. There is such a file in my ubuntu system of file, but i don't know how to tie it with my current sound device, which is sometimes the microphone and the loudspeakers of my laptop and some other times my headset with microphone integrated... (my native language isn't english, so fell free to correct my errors or ask me if it's not understandable) With any other software, my sound device is well and switch automatically from the loudspeakers to the headset. Thank you in advance for your help.
[edit] some friend of mine helped me the solution can be found there : http://doc.ubuntu-fr.org/applications/skype

I'm having the same problems, I think. For a while Skype worked. Then, one day I got all these "problem with sound device" errors but I read some threads and they all said to try restarting skype. I found that i could make one call and then I'd have to restart. Didn't matter who hung up first.

But then today I had the problem and It wouldn't go away. I'm running 1.2.0.18_API on Ubuntu Dapper Drake with Gnome.

I've been reading all these threads about sound card conflicts and whatnot and they aren't helping, or they aren't making a lot of sense.

I'm frustrated, I tell you.

Thanks Volk,

I am using Mepis Linux 6 (based on Ubuntu) and Skype version 1.2.0.18_API and I had the same problems as you. Your solution really helped me, I did not realize that only when I clicked the hang up button that it messed up Skype and that I would need to shut it down completely and restart it again before I could make another outbound call.

Now I simply tell the person to hang up first and then I go about my business. Thanks for the workaround!

-- Boo-k00

PS: Amanda: Try downloading Mepis Linux 6 (fits on one CD-R) and the installer also doubles as a live CD. You can run the live CD that has skype on it and see if you get the same errors. Mepis Linux is famous for the best hardware detection. I couldnt get skype working on Fedora Core 5 or on SUse 10.1 but it works great on Mepis other than the error I just mentioned. Ubuntu not as good on hardware detection and configuration. Mepis uses same repos as Ubuntu and Debian-based