Using Skype for Business

Owned by Barb Yantha
Last updated: Aug 16, 2024 by Robby Szolgyemy
5 min read

Below are some tips and pointers to resources that you can use as you begin to explore Skype for Business.

Please note, calling 911 from a Skype for Business (S4B) is only recommended if you are working in your on-campus office; S4B should not be used to call 911 from home/other locations.

On this page:

  1. Launching Skype for Business

  2. Logging in

  3. Skype and Skype for Business can co-exist

  4. Testing your call quality before you call

  5. Choosing a headset or webcam

Launching Skype for Business

For those using Windows, Skype for Business (also known as Lync) is part of Microsoft Office. You will find a shortcut in the Microsoft Office group under the Start Menu of your PC.

For Mac users, you can download the latest version of Skype for business for the Mac directly from Microsoft. : https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=54108  

Logging in

All faculty, staff and graduate accounts using a campus-managed Windows machine are automatically activated with the Skype for Business license and S4B should start up and log you in automatically.

If you are unable to sign in please contact the IST Service Desk for support.

Skype for Business is not enabled for undergraduate students. It is recommended that students use Microsoft Teams for communications.

If you are on a Mac or a stand-alone Windows machine, you will need to enter your sign-in/email address, username and password. (Your UWaterloo username is your 8 character username i.e.j25rober@uwaterloo.ca)

  • Sign-in/email address: use your UWaterloo username @uwaterloo.ca

  • Username: use your UWaterloo username “NEXUS\” prefix (e.g. NEXUS\username)

  • Password: use your password

Skype and Skype For Business can co-exist

At this time, this functionality is only available for Windows clients running Office 2013 or higher and is not available to Mac clients. 

A lot of people use Skype. If you are using Skype to communicate with people, you can continue to use it and Skype for Business. 

How to to add a Skype contact to your Skype for Business contacts list:

  1. Enter their skype name in the Contacts search window and click on the Skype Directory tab.

2. You can then find the person you are looking for in the long list of matches from Skype (narrow it down by adding location or other details).

3.Once you find the correct contact, you can hover over the contact and click the button to add them to your list in the group of your choice:


You can add the person to different contact groups and set the privacy relationship you feel is appropriate.

4. After you add the contact to a group, the Skype contact will need to accept your request.

 

For Windows users only: If the new Skype contact reports that they have only the option to send you messages by SMS, you will need to make one other change in the Alerts options:

  1. To get to the Option menu, click on the gear/setting icon in the upper right.

  2. Select Alerts from the list of options on the left side

  3. On the right you will see a section at the bottom for Contacts not using Skype for Business.

  4. Enable the option Allow anyone to contact me (the default setting is “Allow invites but block all other communication”).

Note: this only works on Office 2013 or higher for Windows at this time until any updates to the Mac client re-include this functionality.

Test your audio settings

  1. Click on the gear button on the right hand side to open the Options menu.

     

  2. In the Options menu, select Audio Device from the list of options in the left-hand menu. You can test your speaker by clicking on the green Play button. When you select a working microphone, you will see the volume level indicator.

     

  3. If your speaker or microphone is not working, check your computer sound settings:

    1. Open Control Panel on your computer (by searching for Control Panel in the Search field in the bottom left of your task bar and Click on Control Panel).

       

    2. Search for Change sound card settings. A window with your listed Sound devices will be presented.

       

  4. Double click on the device you would like to use and ensure it is enabled. You can adjust the volume under the Levels tab.

Testing your call quality before you call

It can be really frustrating when you start a call and the person at the other end can't hear you or you can’t hear them. To prevent this from happening, it's easy to test your audio set-up and call quality before you call. Here's how (works for Windows and Mac):

  1. In the contact search area, enter Audio Test Service

  2. When you find the contact, initiate an audio call

  3. Skype for Business will initiate a call to the system "Audio Test Service"

  4. You will be prompted to record a short message

  5. The message will then be played back for you

  6. If you like what you hear, you're all set

  7. If not, you can adjust the Audio device, microphone and/or speaker volume in the settings

Choosing a headset or webcam

There are a number of good headsets, webcams and speakerphones that we have tested. Our recommendations are listed here.

Choosing a headset is a very individual decision. In addition to how the headset feels on your head, you should also check the length of the warranty and the connection type (audio jack or USB). For computer/laptop use, we strongly recommend USB devices. Bluetooth devices are convenient but the sound quality can be adversely affected if they are used in areas where there are many other Bluetooth and/or Wi-Fi devices. 

Of course, you are not limited to the recommended devices but we DO recommend limiting your search to the list of devices certified by Microsoft.

If in doubt, please ask us for advice before you buy.

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