Skype Video app setup error 0xA1080001 on Windows 10

Thursday December 31st 2015 at 12:00 PM

Microsoft Windows

Ever since the new ~~Skype integration~~ two separate Skype apps in Windows 10 arrived, I’ve never been able to actually the Skype Video Windows 10 app properly. I always get an error when trying to run the Skype Setup option in the Messages app. This error has been happening since I was running Windows 10 Mobile build 10581 in November and now more recently I upgraded my Dell XPS 9530 to Windows 10 Pro (Build 10586) and the same error followed me onto the PC. This leads me to think its a Microsoft related issue, but getting it acknowledged is proving to be difficult. I eventually got tired of waiting for Microsoft and decided to investigate to try and find out what’s going on.

The error message

The full error message that is displayed by the Skype app is below. This error message will also appear in the Messaging app when trying to run the “Skype Setup” option in the ellipsis menu, but its actually coming from one source (Skype Video app).

Skype is currently unavailable. Please try again later.

If you’re still having problems, find a solution using this error code: [0xA1080001]

A similar error message on Windows 10 Mobile devices too:

What does this error mean?

Truthfully, I am not fully aware of the actual meaning of this error code. As the Skype Video Windows 10 app is still in development not a lot of information about this error code in relation to Skype is available on the internet currently. However what I do know that this problem appears to be on Microsoft’s side. Nothing on the client side can seemingly be done to remedy the issue that I’m aware of. Here’s all the attempted workarounds I’ve tried which didn’t work.

Uninstall and reinstall the Skype Video app (Only possible on Windows 10 PC)
Sign out of Skype and back in again on each device
Unlink Skype account from Microsoft account and link it again (dangerous, don’t do it)
Try running the “Skype Setup” on a different network connections (Multiple WiFI, 4G etc.)
Restarting my Windows 10 PC/Mobile
Soft resetting my Windows 10 Mobile device
Hard resetting my Windows 10 Mobile device (Factory reset)

I pretty much exhausted every possible solution I could think of and nothing worked. This lead me to the conclusion that it is something to do with the Microsoft Account and hence a server side issue on Microsoft’s side.

This would appear to be the case because currently I have the following Windows 10 devices setup:

Dell XPS 9530 – Windows 10 Desktop (Build 10586)
Lumia 950 XL – Windows 10 Mobile (Build 10586.29)
Lumia 925 – Windows 10 Mobile (Build 10586.36)
Lumia 635 – Windows 10 Mobile (Build 10586.36)

While they are all very different in terms of hardware and platform there is one common denominator between them, they all have the same Microsoft Account attached to it, my Windows 10 PC is domain connected but my Microsoft Account is attached to my domain profile as well. So this confirms there is something going on with Skype on Microsoft’s side but getting acknowledgement of this issue has been tricky, so far no word from Microsoft. Here are examples of other reports about the issue:

What’s interesting about this error is that it appears to be affecting only some Microsoft Accounts and not all. The characteristics and reasons as to why this is the case remains a mystery for now.

Don’t bother asking Skype Support for help

I went through the Skype Support route a couple of times reporting this issue and the experience wasn’t exactly great. Interestingly, Skype Support are not currently geared up to support the Windows 10 app, they don’t even seem to be aware of it or understand it fully. In both cases they (Skype support agent) proceeded to remote desktop my PC and start messing with the Skype Desktop app, which I had to quickly point out this was not the problem. I even had one support agent tell me that the Skype Video Windows 10 app is BETA, almost using that as an excuse as to why it wasn’t working, which slightly annoyed me. Yes the Skype Video app might be BETA, but it should at least function! I would at least like to use the Skype integration functionality promised to me many months ago!

While both agents promised to pass this information onto their “higher level” support, I don’t have visibility of what that actually is so I remain sceptical on a solution arriving soon. I even tweeted Gabe Aul about it and got no response 🙁 *sadface*. Though he’s probably too busy responding to the people asking “When is the next build?” right?!

Workarounds

Currently, the only working solution is to use the Skype Desktop app for PC. While this can offer the same functionality in some areas, it is missing the Windows 10 Mobile integration, where by you can write SMS messages using the Messaging app on Windows 10 PC’s.

If you are experiencing this error on mobile you can still setup Skype to a certain degree so you can send Skype messages via the messages app and other areas, you still won’t be able to complete the “Skype Setup” option however.

From your Start screen:

Swipe left to your apps menu
Scroll down or hit the letter and jump to “S”
Open Skype Video, wait for the “Just a moment…” screen to finish loading
In the bottom right hand corner, tap the ellipsis (…)
Select “Settings”
Make sure “Use my Address Book” is selected
Toggle on the “Instant Messages” and “Incoming Calls” notification options
Finally, tap “Make this my Skype default”

If the address book option is greyed out. Make sure you are signed in with a Microsoft Account. If you are, sign out, close the app and repeat the process. Once you do this your Skype contacts should start appearing in the People app and you’ll be able to toggle between SIM and Skype in the Messages app on Contacts that are linked to a Skype profile

Microsoft, please fix this!

I hope someone at Microsoft picks up on this and fixes its soon! I’ve been having this issue since November and there is no official communication about it at all. I find this slightly shocking. I wouldn’t mind as much if someone from Microsoft at least spoke out and acknowledged the issue, even if it was going to take a bit longer to fix.

Anyone at Microsoft there?

I’ll let Adele close out this post: