LONDON (AP) — Skype is dead. What now?

Microsoft’s shutdown of Skype on May 5 sent millions of users scrambling to find an alternative to the pioneering internet phone service.

Skype, which Microsoft bought in 2011, was beloved by a dwindling group of users who appreciated how it let them make cheap long-distance calls as well as communicate with other users through chat messages, voice or video calls.

Some liked its simplicity and ease of use — an advantage, for example, when setting up a communications app for an elderly parent living far away.

Or they just used it out of habit.

Skype was founded in 2003 and was among the first in a wave of communication services that used voice over internet protocol technology (VoIP), which converts audio into a digital signal.

Skype’s disappearance also inconveniences Americans and other expatriates living overseas who signed up because they needed an U.S.-based number to receive text authentication codes from, say, a bank back home. It was also handy for calling 800 numbers for free even if you weren’t living in North America.

Here is a guide for life after Skype:

What’s happening

Microsoft announced in late February that it was shutting down Skype on May 5 and shifting some of its services to Microsoft Teams, its flagship office videoconferencing and group collaboration platform.

Skype users can use their existing accounts to log into Teams and have the option to automatically migrate their contacts and chats.

If you had a Skype number or a calling subscription, it stopped automatically renewing on April 3.

If your account still has credit, you can access Skype’s dial pad from the web portal or Teams to make calls.

Skype numbers won’t immediately expire on May 5 so you’ll still be able to receive calls until your subscription expires. But you’ll have to use Teams or keep the Skype dial pad open on the web portal to receive them.

Porting your number(s)

If your Skype number hasn’t expired and you don’t want to lose it, you should transfer it to another provider.

Skype numbers can be ported to a phone carrier or any number of other VoIP services. But you’ll have to start the process through the new provider, not Skype.

Google Voice

Google users can access the online search giant’s internet phone service to make calls from a smartphone or a desktop web browser. You can get your own Google Voice phone number and use features like call forwarding and voicemail. Or you can port your number from another service like Skype, but it will cost $20.

Calls to U.S., Canadian or Puerto Rican numbers are free. Rates for other countries vary.

The free version of Google Voice is only available to U.S. residents physically located in the 48 contiguous states, so that means expatriate Americans can only use it if they registered before they moved overseas.

“You cannot sign up for a Google Voice number while outside the USA,” according to a help page. “Do not try to circumvent this by using a VPN.”

Viber

Owned by Japan’s Rakuten, Viber was long considered one of the closest competitors to Skype. One key difference is that Skype users don’t need a phone number and are identified by their usernames, while Viber users need a number to register for service.

Similar to Skype, Viber users can buy credit or packages to call phone numbers around the world but it’s no longer possible to get a Viber number to receive calls.

Zoom

The videoconferencing service that’s become a byword for online company meetings offers a calling service, Zoom Phone, and features like number porting and the ability to send and receive SMS text messages.

Take note that Zoom Phone isn’t free. There are various calling plans that involve a monthly subscription cost and extra fees for international calls.

Teams

Microsoft users have the option of making calls on Teams, dubbed Teams Phone. Like Zoom Phone, you’ll need to buy a subscription and pay extra for international calls.

But it’s not an option for regular people because Microsoft says Teams Phone isn’t for consumer use and is only available to small and medium-sized businesses.

Wireless Carriers

If you absolutely need a U.S. number but live overseas, sign up for service with a low-cost virtual wireless carrier that offers cheap cellphone plans or pay-as-you-go rates.

One provider, Tello, offers monthly plans for as little as $5 and says users can activate its service even if they’re living outside the U.S.

Because mobile virtual network operators like Tello are essentially wireless phone companies that piggyback off a bigger carrier’s physical network, you can’t use it to make calls on a computer or an app.

VoIP it

There are a slew of Skype pretenders offering phone calls over the internet, such as Zoiper, VoIP.ms, CallCentric, Mytello, and Virtual Landline. Many are aimed at business users.

Some are capitalizing on Skype’s disappearance. Hushed, which started as an anonymous calling app, bills itself as a Skype alternative. Users can buy a phone number from the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom or Puerto Rico or port their own number.

It warns that some of its numbers aren’t guaranteed to work with third-party verification text messages.

“We do not intentionally block anyone from receiving these codes, but it’s common that some services will prevent verification texts from being sent to certain phone numbers due to their own security policies,” Hushed says on its website.

Park your number

Maybe you can’t decide which calling service you want to switch to. If you want to save your current number, there are services to just park your number like NumberBarn.com and Parkmyphone.com.

They let you store a phone number for a monthly fee while relaying any text messages sent to that number. You can port the number to another service whenever you want.

Beware, you can only port in U.S. or Canadian phone numbers.

eSIMs

What about an international eSIM? They’re the virtual version of the mobile phone SIM card that you can buy and add to your phone when you’re on a trip to save on roaming fees.

They offer cheap data access rates so you can use the internet without worrying about racking up a huge bill when you get home.

Unfortunately, you can’t port a Skype number to an international eSIM because of “the fundamental differences” between VoIP services and traditional mobile networks, said Pedro Maiquez, co-founder of eSIM provider Holafly. “Skype numbers are not tied to a mobile carrier’s physical infrastructure, making them incompatible with mobile eSIM solutions.”

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Before he died, Pope Francis donated one of his popemobiles to be converted into a mobile health unit to serve the children of Gaza, officials said Monday.

The Jerusalem and Sweden branches of the Vatican’s Caritas charitable federation released photos of the repurposed vehicle on Monday. There is no word, though, on when it might be put to use. The donation was announced on the same day that Israel approved plans to seize the Gaza Strip and to stay in the Palestinian territory for an unspecified amount of time.

“When the humanitarian corridor to Gaza reopens, it (the popemobile) will be ready to give primary healthcare to children in Gaza,” Caritas Jerusalem said in a statement.

The vehicle will be outfitted with equipment for diagnosis, examination, and treatment. Caritas said it would have testing equipment, suture kits, syringes and needles, oxygen supply, vaccines, and a refrigerator.

“This vehicle represents the love, care and closeness shown by His Holiness for the most vulnerable, which he expressed throughout the crisis,” the secretary general of Caritas Jerusalem, Anton Asfar, said in a statement.

During Israel’s war in Gaza, Francis became increasingly outspoken in his criticism of the Israeli military’s harsh tactics while also demanding the return of hostages taken by Hamas on Oct. 7. Last year, he urged an investigation into whether Israel’s war amounted to genocide -– a charge Israel vehemently denies.

He repeatedly spoke out about the plight of people in Gaza, and had a nightly ritual that he even maintained while he was in the hospital in February with pneumonia: he would call the lone Catholic church in the Gaza Strip to see how people huddled inside were coping.

Francis died April 21 at age 88.

NEW YORK (AP) — The deadline to get a REAL ID is fast approaching after years of postponements and delays.

Starting May 7, your license or identification card will need to be REAL ID-compliant to fly domestically in the U.S.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like there will be another delay in the deadline this time. So, if you’re confused about how to get a REAL ID, why you even need one in the first place, and what happens if you don’t have one by May 7, here are some things to know:

What is a REAL ID?

It’s a federally compliant state-issued license or identification card that the DHS says is a more secure form of identification. Besides needing a REAL ID to fly domestically, you will also need one to access certain federal buildings and facilities.

Why is this happening?

When the REAL ID Act was signed into law in 2005, it enacted a recommendation from the 9/11 Commission that the government set security standards for state-issued driver’s licenses and IDs.

“REAL ID is a coordinated effort by the federal government to improve the reliability and accuracy of driver’s licenses and identification cards,” John Essig, the Transportation Security Administration’s Security Director for airports in the New York City region said in a press release on April 3. “The improvements are intended to inhibit terrorists’ ability to evade detection by using fraudulent identification.”

The REAL ID Act was supposed to begin rolling out in 2008, “but has faced repeated delays due to state implementation challenges and the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Nina Ruggiero, senior editorial director for Travel + Leisure. “The combination of varying state processes and shifting deadlines has added to the overall confusion around REAL IDs and likely led some travelers to take the deadlines less seriously.”

How do I know if I already have a REAL ID?

If you’ve gotten a new ID in the last few years, it could already be REAL ID-compliant.

“I also hear from travelers who are confused as to whether or not they already have a REAL ID,” Ruggiero said. “Some people who have recently renewed their license may already have a compliant ID and not know it,” so you may want to double-check yours before starting the process.

A REAL ID-compliant driver’s license has a symbol ( in most states, a star ) in the top corner of the card.

If you live in Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Vermont or Washington, it’s possible you could have an “enhanced″ ID card instead, which permits you to cross land and sea borders into Mexico and Canada from the U.S. It does not, however, allow you to fly into either of those countries.

Enhanced IDs will have an American flag icon, as well as the word “enhanced” at the top of the card.

If I don’t have a REAL ID, how do I get one?

The requirements vary by state, so you will need to visit the website of your state’s driver’s licensing agency to find out the specific steps, including whether you’ll need to make an appointment at a DMV and what documentation you’ll need when you get there.

What happens on May 7? What if I don’t have a REAL ID by then?

If you don’t have a REAL ID by the deadline and you’re planning to board a domestic flight, you will need to bring your passport or another TSA-approved form of identification when you travel.

Otherwise, you could face “delays, additional screening and the possibility of not being permitted into the security checkpoint,” warns TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein.

The deadline has already been pushed back so many times. Could it be delayed again?

In mid-April, a group of state senators from Kentucky asked the agency to delay implementing the new requirements yet again. They said the state has limited appointments available to people seeking the new cards and that there has been a rush to meet the May 7 deadline.

However, TSA spokesperson Dan Velez told the AP that the agency does not intend to delay the REAL ID deadline again.

As of late April, 81% of travelers at TSA checkpoints were presenting acceptable identification, including a state-issued REAL ID, according to DHS.