Sometimes users may experience such an error that Skype could not establish a connection. Why is there such a problem with Skype?
The fact is that when you start after entering the login and password, the program sends data to the server, where information about all users is stored.
If such an account is found, login is performed, otherwise the program simply does not log into the account.
But the error "Could not establish a connection" means that the program cannot contact the server at all - the program sends a signal, but does not arrive at the server.
Therefore, the account menu in Skype does not open.
So, what does the error “Unable to establish a connection” mean, we have already figured out, now it’s worth understanding what to do.
Solution #1. Internet connection check
First, you should check if there is an internet connection at all. Maybe Skype isn't the problem. This can be done by opening a website in a browser, for example, Google.ru.
If the site does not start either, then you should check whether there is enough money on your account to use the worldwide network or call the technical support of the company whose client you are.
Solution #2. Check program version
Another elementary problem is that the old Skype is installed.
To check your version, you need to select the "Help" item in the toolbar and click on "About Skype".
In the window that appears, you can see the version (underlined in green in the figure below).
Therefore, you need to try to turn it off, at least for a while.
To do this, go to the same "Control Panel", where select the "System and Security" item.
After that, you need to click on the "Windows Firewall" item.
Now it remains to check the boxes "Turn off Windows Firewall" - 2 times (circled in red in the figure) and click the "OK" button.
Now you need to try to start Skype and if the program again writes: "The connection could not be established", you can try further methods.
Solution #4. Disable antivirus
To exclude this option, you should go into your antivirus program, search in the settings, for example, for "parental control" or other additional functions of the Skype antivirus.
To exclude this option, you should temporarily disable the antivirus - if Skype works with the antivirus program turned off, then the problem is in it.
As for how to disable the antivirus, it all depends on the specific program.
In Kaspersky Anti-Virus, this is done as follows: you need to right-click on the Kaspersky Internet Security icon and select "Exit" (underlined in green in the photo below).
This approach is applicable to almost every modern antivirus.
It is possible that the antivirus automatically added Skype to the list of blocked programs. How to fix this problem?
It all depends on the specific antivirus. If it is possible to reset its settings, do so. You can also remove the antivirus.
This is done in exactly the same way as described above for Skype.
Solution #5. Router settings
If Skype writes "Could not establish a connection", the reason may be in the router settings. To remove this error, do the following:
- Go to router settings. To do this, type 192.168.0.1 in the address bar of the browser (depending on the router, this address may change, see the information in the documentation).
Advice! You should enter the router settings through the Google Chrome, Mozilla or any other browser, but not through Opera - the settings work very rarely through this browser.
- Depending on the router, the appearance of this window may be different. If nothing has changed in the router settings before, then the login and password will be the same - “admin”. Enter and click "Login".
- After that, you need to find the item "Virtual servers". Depending on the router model, this item may be in different menus. For one of today's most popular DIR-300NRU routers, the search looks as shown in Fig. No. 12.
There you need to go to the “Firewall” item in the menu on the left, and then “Virtual servers”.
- After going to the "Virtual Servers" item, you need to find the "Add" button. We remind you: the name of the lines may be different depending on the model of the router. There, in the "Name" field, we write skype or whatever we want (underlined in red in the photo above).
In the field "Port" ("External port" - underlined in green) we write, for example, 4960. We save the received settings. To do this, we find on the page the button "Save", "Change" or something similar. - Now you need to open Skype and go to the settings menu there. To do this, go to the "Tools" item in the top menu of the program and go to "Connection problem ...".
- Here in the field "Use port" we write the port specified by us in the settings of the router. We indicated, as we remember, 49660. Click "Save" (circled in green in the figure below) and try to log in again.
Specifying the port in Skype settings
Convenient usage algorithm, just log into the program under your account and start communication. All functions will be available to you, except for paid ones. At the same time, the account is the same for all devices.
But, as with any other program, there are various problems with Skype. Consider the errors that occur at the authorization stage.
Program problems
First of all, it is worth checking whether you are entering the correct data for authorization. You won't be able to sign in if the Skype servers are busy or down. This problem sometimes occurs with users, unfortunately, there is no way to fix it. It remains to wait for the moment when the connection is restored. But you can check the status of the Skype servers.
There are many resources on the Internet that provide such information. One of the most common is Down right now. The page shows a connection status graph. Events at the current moment are displayed on the far right segment with the signature Now. The Up state means that the servers are working, Down - the servers are unavailable.
If you cannot access Skype with a stable connection, then the problem lies in the damage to the program files. First, delete the profile file, which is located in the system folder. You can open it through the Run utility (Win + R). Copy the code %appdata%\skype. In this directory, find the folder with the name of your account and delete it. 
It also contains the shared.xml file. It contains configuration data for the program to work. Sometimes it happens that they are the ones preventing you from logging into Skype. To check, copy this file to any folder, and then delete it.
The functionality of the messenger is directly related to Internet Explorer. Browser settings may be lost due to a software glitch. In this case, they need to be restored to factory values. Open IE, press Alt. Now tools will appear on top of the program, click on "Tools - Properties ...". You can reset the settings in the "Advanced" category. 
If these steps don't help, try uninstall skype completely and download its latest version from the official site skype.com/ru.
System problems
Problems when logging into Skype can be associated not only with the program, but also with the computer itself. Most often, errors occur due to lack of network connectivity. Check if the Internet connection is working in the browser.
Convenient usage algorithm, just log into the program under your account and start communication. All functions will be available to you, except for paid ones. At the same time, the account is the same for all devices.
But, as with any other program, there are various problems with Skype. Consider the errors that occur at the authorization stage.
Program problems
First of all, it is worth checking whether you are entering the correct data for authorization. You won't be able to sign in if the Skype servers are busy or down. This problem sometimes occurs with users, unfortunately, there is no way to fix it. It remains to wait for the moment when the connection is restored. But you can check the status of the Skype servers.
There are many resources on the Internet that provide such information. One of the most common is Down right now. The page shows a connection status graph. Events at the current moment are displayed on the far right segment with the signature Now. The Up state means that the servers are working, Down - the servers are unavailable.
If you cannot access Skype with a stable connection, then the problem lies in the damage to the program files. First, delete the profile file, which is located in the system folder. You can open it through the Run utility (Win + R). Copy the code %appdata%\skype. In this directory, find the folder with the name of your account and delete it.
It also contains the shared.xml file. It contains configuration data for the program to work. Sometimes it happens that they are the ones preventing you from logging into Skype. To check, copy this file to any folder, and then delete it.
The functionality of the messenger is directly related to Internet Explorer. Browser settings may be lost due to a software glitch. In this case, they need to be restored to factory values. Open IE, press Alt. Now tools will appear on top of the program, click on "Tools - Properties ...". You can reset the settings in the "Advanced" category.
If these steps don't help, try uninstall skype completely and download its latest version from the official site skype.com/ru.
System problems
Problems when logging into Skype can be associated not only with the program, but also with the computer itself. Most often, errors occur due to lack of network connectivity. Check if the Internet connection is working in the browser.
Today, Skype is one of the most popular programs that helps people not only from different cities, but even from different countries, communicate with each other via the Internet. But, as with any other program with Skype, crashes, glitches and so on can occur. One of the most frequently encountered problems with this program is the lack of connection. You don't want to be without communication. How to be in this case? Of course, try to cope with all the errors that arise in the course of working with the program.
What is the reason?
So, naturally, in case of problems, any user wants to find out why there is no connection to Skype? There may be several reasons for this:
Next, check if any programs are blocked there, if the parental control function is enabled, etc. In the settings, everything should be clean, if you have not made certain changes to them a little earlier. The next step is to go to the NAT settings, open a port for the program. At the end, save all changes, reboot the device. Now you can run the program, go to the connection section in the program settings and set the port. What are the correct connection settings you should register in Skype, you will learn in this. Save, reload.
These reasons are the most common when there is no connection to Skype. Often, the connection can be restored by resorting to the first point - updating the program and cleaning the computer. Personally, literally today I had a problem with logging into Skype, the program wrote: the connection could not be established. I quickly deleted it through the taskbar, cleaned up everything unnecessary with CCleaner. Voila, everything works. The history of correspondence is not lost, everything is fine.
Exceptional Cases
Sometimes it happens that the problem lies elsewhere. For example, you are using an old version of the browser, or it is simply damaged. You can fix this problem in minutes by updating to the latest version. Many complain that when you start the program on the monitor, everything turns white and white, of course, there is nowhere to enter the login, the password becomes nowhere. To solve this error, add the /legacylogin parameter to the Skype shortcut. After that everything should work.
Now, I hope you know how to reconnect in Skype. Good luck!
