Listening to voicemails

Missed calls, like other Skype events, are flagged for your attention in the New Events tab (which is the second tab from the right) of the notification bar. Click on this tab to see recent missed events, including voicemail messages that have been left for you, as shown in the following figure.
Clicking on a voicemail event in the New Events tab of the notification bar takes you to the History tab, as shown in the next figure. Voicemails that you have not yet listened to are flagged by a red dot with a star. By clicking on the green round button with an arrow on it to the right of the voicemail item, you can listen to your voicemail using the audio-out device you have configured for Skype (for example, headphones or speakers).

How to Direct Call to Voicemail?

To have unanswered incoming calls directed to your voicemail, simply put a tick in the box opposite Send Unanswered Calls to Skype Voicemail. If you want to control how and when calls are redirected to voicemail, click on the Advanced Settings link alongside Send Unanswered Calls to Skype Voicemail. This generates a window in which you can customize how your voicemail behaves, as shown in the following figure.

How to add personalized message to voicemail?

By default, you are given a rather bland “The person you are trying to call is not available …” prerecorded message. This is what callers hear when they are redirected to your voicemail. However, you can replace the prerecorded message with a personalized greeting of up to sixty seconds in duration.
Go to Skype: Tools: Options …, and in the window that appears, click on Call Forwarding & Voicemail. A settings window appears, as shown in the next figure.
Look under the heading “Welcome Message” at the bottom of this page. To record a personalized greeting for your voicemail, click on the middle square button with the red circle on it. Speak into your microphone (or headset or handset) to record your greeting and then either click on the same red button again to cut the recording short, or let the recording run to the end of its allotted 60 seconds. You can now review your greeting by clicking on the green square button with an arrow on it. Now, when callers are directed to your voicemail, they will hear your personalized greeting message.
If you’re not satisfied with the greeting, you can either rerecord it by hitting the middle red square button again and repeating the recording procedure, or you can click on the red square button with a circular arrow on it to reset your greeting to the default message.

How to Get Skype VoiceMail?

The easiest way to get Skype Voicemail if you are not a SkypeIn subscriber is to click on the My Account tab (which is the tab on the far right, and might have a SkypeOut credit balance amount on it if you are already a SkypeOut subscriber) of the Notification Bar in the Skype softphone. This displays a group of links, one of which is for Skype Voicemail, as shown in the following figure. Click on the link for Skype Voicemail. You will be asked to sign in to your Skype account, which requires the same username and password that you use to sign in to the Skype softphone. After signing in, you’ll see the Buy Skype Voicemail web page.
Choose a subscription period, 3 months or 12 months, and the click on the Buy this button for your choice and complete the payment process.

How to Get SkypeIn?

The easiest way to get a SkypeIn dial-in number is to click on the My Account tab (which is the tab on the far right) of the Notification Bar in the Skype softphone. This displays a group of links, one of which is for SkypeIn, Click on the link for SkypeIn. This opens a browser window and presents you with a form to sign in to your Skype account, which requires the same username and password that you use to sign in to the Skype softphone. Next, you are presented with a web page giving an overview of your account.
In your account overview page, click on the link Buy SkypeIn Number. This displays a page from which you can choose a country for your dial-in number. After you select a country, you need to choose an area code prefix. You are then presented with predefined numbers for that area code. Search among the available codes until you find one that strikes your fancy, and click on it. Choose a subscription period: 3 months costs 10 ($12), and 12 months costs 30 ($36).
Next, click on the Buy selected number button, which takes you to Skype’s payment page. Follow the prompts to purchase your number.
After payment is complete, go to your Skype softphone and again click on the My Account tab (which is the tab on the far right) of the notification bar.
You should see something like what’s shown in the next figure, indicating that your newly minted dial-in number and voicemail account have been activated. Tell your friends, family, and colleagues what your new number is, and you’re ready to receive calls from regular and mobile phones. If you want additional SkypeIn dial-in numbers, just repeat the procedure described in this section.

How to Pick SkypeIn Number?

When you get a regular phone number from your local telephone company, you are typically only given the option of getting a number with the local area prefix of your geographic location. That is, you are restricted to dial-in numbers for the area where you live. This is not the case with SkypeIn numbers. With SkypeIn there’s nothing stopping you from having a London, England, number, even if you live in New York. Even better, there’s nothing stopping you from getting SkypeIn numbers for London and New York; and, based on your needs, dial-in numbers dotted around the globe. Welcome to the new world of Internet telephony!
At the time of this writing, SkypeIn numbers were available for the following countries: United States, United Kingdom, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, Brazil, and Hong Kong. Within each of these countries you are typically given the choice of several area codes to choose from. You can choose any country and available area code within that country for your SkypeIn number; you will have to choose from a predefined list of numbers for the digits that follow the area code. By choosing the country and area code carefully, you can have a SkypeIn number that best meets your needs—for example, to allow toll-free local calls for friends and family. Indeed, following this logic, you can pick and choose several SkypeIn numbers to minimize the hassle and cost of calls for your most frequent callers. This way, for example, you can have a local dial-in number for your home in New York and a dial-in number in Seattle for the convenience of your mom and dad living in the Seattle area.

How To Have Cheap SkypeOut Rate?

Many SkypeOut calls can be made at Skype’s low global rate of $0.021 (0.017 ) per minute. However, SkypeOut rates do vary by destination and the type of phone being called, and they are often more expensive when a call is made to a mobile phone. Before calling a new number, you can check the SkypeOut rate by using Skype’s Dialing Wizard, at www.skype.com/products/skypeout/rates/dialing.html. Using the Dialing Wizard you can check the SkypeOut rate for a number before making the call, which can avoid a costly mistake, as a handful of SkypeOut rates are $1.20 (1 ) or more per minute!