Install Latest Skype for Linux on Debian/Ubuntu/Fedora/OpenSUSE

The brand new Skype for Linux app was released by Microsoft a few days ago. Currently it’s in alpha stage which has a new responsive UI, group IM and calls. Group video and calling phone numbers will come in upcoming releases.

Other features in this release are as follows:

• The ability to send files and photos
• Web link previews: shows a preview of the content in a web link.
• YouTube player: preview YouTube videos you send or receive
• @mention notifications
• Typing indicator shows you or your contacts are typing.
• a whole new range of new emoticons

Deb and RPM package are provided for Linux users to download and install.  However, in some parts of the world, you might find that you are being redirected to your country specific Skype website which probably doesn’t have the latest Skype for Linux download link.

Yes, you can use a proxy server or VPN to help you get an US IP address and download the client. But for those who do not have access to US IP address, here’s how to install Skype for Linux directly from the official repository. The following steps are tested on Debian 8, Ubuntu 16.04, Fedora 23 and OpenSUSE Leap 42.1.

Install Skype for Linux Alpha on Debian/Ubuntu

Make sure you have apt-transport-https installed

sudo apt install apt-transport-https -y

Download Skype for Linux GPG key and import it to your Debian/Ubuntu system.

curl https://repo.skype.com/data/SKYPE-GPG-KEY | sudo apt-key add -

Run the following command to add Skype for Linux repository.

echo "deb https://repo.skype.com/deb stable main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/skypeforlinux.list

Finally update local package index and install Skype for Linux.

sudo apt update 
sudo apt install skypeforlinux -y

Start Skype for Linux alpha from Unity Dash.

Install Skype for Linux Alpha on Fedora 23

Add the official Repository with:

sudo dnf config-manager --add-repo=https://repo.skype.com/data/skype-stable.repo

If the above command failed, then manually add the repo by creating a repo file.

sudo nano /etc/yum.repos.d/skypeforlinux.repo

Paste the following line in this file.

[skype-stable]
name=Skypeforlinux - stable
baseurl=https://repo.skype.com/rpm/stable/
enabled=1
skip_if_unavailable=1
gpgkey=https://repo.skype.com/data/SKYPE-GPG-KEY
gpgcheck=1

Press Ctrl+O to save the file. Ctrl+X to close the file. Then install Skype client.

sudo dnf install skypeforlinux -y

Note that on Fedora 24 Skype has dependency problem.

Install Skype for Linux Alpha on OpenSUSE

Add repository with this command:

sudo zypper ar -f https://repo.skype.com/rpm/stable skypeforlinux

Update repository information and install the Skype client.

sudo zypper update
sudo zypper install skypeforlinux

Skype for Linux Screenshots

Login using a standard Skype account or Microsoft account.

Sound test

Let’s check out its version number. It’s version 1.1.0.21.

This alpha release only provide 64 bit support. 32 bit Ubuntu users can check out this tutorial to install the old Skype Linux version.

What do you think of this Skype for Linux update? Leave your comments below. If you found this post useful,  subscribe to our free newsletter or follow us on Google+, Twitter or like our Facebook page.