14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has started sending emails to users informing them that it will retire Windows Live Messenger on March 15, but not everyone is happy with this decision.
A synchronization problem between Skype and the Windows Phone People Hub has removed the contact lists of hundreds of users. Most of them have decided to express their disagreement with Microsoft’s decision to retire WLM on the official Skype forums.
“Go ahead and add me to the list of people who are disappointed in this forced merger. I'm having the same problem as everyone else (MSN messenger contacts don't exist in Skype or I'll have 200 Messenger contacts and only 2 in Skype),” one of the affected users explained.
“It’s unfair to us consumers, who rely heavily on these products, to be burdened by these issues. ‘Upgrade to Skype, your MSN contacts will be there.’ Taglines are supposed to be true,” he continued.
Microsoft is yet to release a statement on the matter, but given the number of complaints received in the last couple of hours, the company is most likely working on a fix as we speak.
According to Microsoft’s email sent to WLM users, which we also received this morning, the company will completely discontinue the app on March 15, so users will no longer be able to sign in.
“If you attempt to sign in, a notification will appear, and if you continue, you will be taken through our installer flow to install Skype and automatically uninstall Messenger at the same time,” the company explained.
The email then goes on to reveal a few “great features” available in Skype, while also adding that China will remain the only country in the entire world to still have WLM. The rest of the planet, on the other hand, will have to go for Skype’s integrated Messenger.