How to Use Skype for Web in Mozilla Firefox and Opera Browsers

[The AchieVer]

How to Use Skype for Web in Mozilla Firefox and Opera Browsers 

Microsoft rolled out the new Skype for Web with a plethora of improvement, but also with changes that took many by surprise.

For example, the only supported platforms are Windows 10 and macOS, while the service only works in Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge.

For many, this is something that more or less makes sense, as Microsoft Edge is now in the process of migrating from the EdgeHTML engine to Chromium. Since Microsoft is betting all-in on Chromium, many believe this method is actually a way to support the new engine, especially because Firefox, which is currently the top alternative to Google Chrome, is blocked from connecting to Skypefor Web.

But despite Microsoft’s restrictions, you can still use pretty much any browser to connect to Skype for Web, as long as you change the user agent to simulate one of the two mentioned above.

As a result, even if you’re a user of Mozilla Firefox or Opera, two of the blockers which officially are blocked from accessing Skype for Web, you can connect to Skype for Web just fine.How to use Skype for Web in Mozilla FirefoxAs said earlier, the whole workaround comes down to changing the user agent in the browser you’re using. While you can do this in Firefox manually, the process is much more complex than in other browsers, so instead of doing it manually, we’re going to rely on an extension called User-Agent Switcher.

Note: there are several other extensions that do pretty much the same thing in Firefox, and you can obviously use any of them as long as it lets you change the user agent to one of the two browsers mentioned above.

Once you install this extension, it adds a new button in the Firefox toolbar to let you choose a new user agent. Click this button and then look in the desktop section for any of the following two entries:

Windows / Edge 17
Windows / Chrome 73
 

 

 

The version of the two browsers will change when new releases are out, but you still need to choose between the latest builds of Edge and Chrome for Windows.

Once you select a new browser, just refresh the Skype for Web page and everything should work exactly like it should. Remember to reset the configuration when you’re done or only make changes for the Skype for Web page.How to use Skype for Web in OperaWhile the method described above works for Opera browser too, as dedicated extensions to change the user agent here also exist, you can do the whole thing manually much easier this time.

Opera comes with dedicated options to change the user agent without installing a third-party extension, and although the path isn’t really the most straightforward, you’ll eventually be able to switch to Chrome or Edge.

First and foremost, in Opera browser launch the Developer Tools menu or simply press Ctrl + Shift + I on the keyboard. Next, navigate to the following path:

Menu > More tools > Network conditions
 

 

 

In the lower part of the screen, uncheck the option Select automatically next to User agentand using the drop-down menu below, choose one of the next three:

Chrome – Windows
Chrome – Mac
Edge – Windows

Again, refresh the Skype for Web page and the service should now work correctly. When you close the browser, you need to make the same changes again if you want to use Opera to access Skype for Web or just install a third-party extension that remembers your settings.

 

 

 

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