Skype for Desktop 8.x MSI setup for Enterprise deployment

A few days ago I found out that the previouly hidden link used to download Skype as MSI setup is broken. The last available version was Skype 7.41.101. The latest 8.x versions (8.28.0.41) seem no longer available as official MSI package. This means enterprise deployment is made impossible as EXE setups cannot deployed via Active Directory GPO deployment. Originally when Skype 8.0 was released it was planed to discontinue the Skype 7 ("Skype Classic") support per 1^th September 2018, but they extended the deadline to 1^th November 2018, until some customer requested features are added back to 8.x. It is not clear if these missing features also include the MSI setup. The learning curve that customers cannot ignored seems not very strong; if we keep the past mobile client fiasco in mind.

Contacted Skype support and they confirmed that MSI setup is not available and they named it no longer supported. They pointed to other solutions like Skype for Business and noted that this team may know where the required MSI is, but they cannot help if it comes to end user Skype.

We need to make sure the meetings can take place. Being surprised in weeks or months by a no longer working Skype client is not really an option. A solution is required as there was news around from a Skype employee named Babs that stated the old Skype Classic 7.x will still work for now, but may break in near future. The current deadline for 7.x is 1^th November 2018. You need to install 8.x before this date.

Downloaded latest EXE setup and took a look what setup this is now and found out they changed from great WiX Toolset to suxxx InnoSetup sh**. That is the reason why there may not exists a MSI setup today. Luckily there is Inno Setup Unpacker available to extract the content of the InnoSetup. With the extracted binaries a MSI setup can created, but I'm sorry this cannot shared here as the Skype client is not open source. So this is only the description how you can re-package the setup from EXE to MSI. This documentation creates a native full-fledged MSI setup and NOT a bad MSI to EXE wrapper that creates ~100 new issues. The audience to this article is more likely developers or expierenced system admin level and not end users.

I hereby also allow Skype team to take over my code and use it to publish their own MSI via Skype website so I can remove the setup here. I just made your homework to keep us up and running.

In the meantime (March 2019) Microsoft released it's own Skype MSI installer. A review of the Microsoft installer has yielded this is just a wrapper that executes the shit EXE setup they already provide. This is not a full-fledged MSI setup like the one provided here and you are still unable to disable automatic updates. I strongly suggest you use the setup here and not this crap from MS. The Microsoft setup is not for giving you control back about updates. It is only to allow you a central one time deployment and after the first deployment you are in the same troubles with updates running under user context as before. The Skype Team seems not understanding anything about setups.

Creating the MSI setup:

1. Download Skype for Desktop to SourceDir folder.
2. Download innounp.exe to SourceDir folder.
3. Run powershell script .\ExtractSetups.ps1 in SourceDir folder to extract the setup(s) you downloaded.
4. Now we have the setup script Skype\SourceDir\8.28.0.41\x86\install_script.iss in our hands. A short review yielded the setup is lukily very easy. Only the application files need to be installed and two shortcuts created.
5. With WiX Toolset and some expierence it is not that difficult to repackage the Skype client now. If you'd like to make the new setup looking like the old 7.x you need to create Skype images. If you create these image files you can use the Main.WithSkypeLogos.wxs. Deployment wise the logos are not required.
   1. Create a file Resources\WixUIDialogBmp.bmp of white background in 493 × 312 pixel size and embed Skype\SourceDir\8.28.0.41\x86\embedded\WizardImage0.bmp - aligned left.
   2. Create a file Resources\WixUIBannerBmp.bmp of white background in 493 × 58 pixel size and embed Skype\SourceDir\8.28.0.41\x86\embedded\WizardSmallImage0.bmp - aligned right.
   3. Now you can extract the orginal icon with an icon extractor of your love and save the ICO file in Resources\skype.ico
6. You should have latest Wix Toolset installed. It will be automatically found if the %WIX% environment variable has been set by setup (default).
7. You should install Windows SDK for Desktop C++ amd64 Apps feature from latest Windows SDK 10.
8. If a (newer) Skype version need to be build you only need to download the new version to the folder Skype\SourceDir and run .\SourceDir\ExtractSetups.ps1 again to extract the new version.
9. Now edit Build.cmd and change the versions in first 4 lines of Build.cmd. Do not change anything below these lines, please. The background about this is - the Skype {app} folder is automatically crawled by WiX heat.exe and creates all required XML files to compile the MSI later.
   1. Version 8.28.0.41 ends with:
       

      SET PRODUCT_MAJOR_VERSION=8
      SET PRODUCT_MINOR_VERSION=28
      SET PRODUCT_MAINTENANCE_VERSION=0
      SET PRODUCT_PATCH_VERSION=41

10. Run Build.cmd to create the MSI file.
11. MSI setup will appear in Skype\ReleaseDir\Skype-x86-8.28.0.41.en-us.msi and the multilingual version as Skype\ReleaseDir\Skype-x86-8.28.0.41.msi. As a suggestion - use the en-us version for deployment.

Notes:

• The build script is prepared for multilingual setups, but for enterprise deployment we only need english setups. The application itself is multilingual - just the setup is english, but can be translated by adding more translation files to Lang folder.
• These MSI setup files are configured with original Skype 7.x update GUID to allow you an direct upgrade from 7.x to 8.x. An uninstall may not required when you deploy via Active Directory, but recommended.
• There is no known easy way to disable automatic update. Your users may get annoyed by an update they cannot install because of lack of admin permissions. So you may need to deploy the latest version asap when a new version gets released.
  1. You may customize your hosts to redirect the skype download URLs to localhost 127.0.0.1 and thereby block the download. Not really maintainable and suxxx a lot.
  2. You can block the download URL in your company firewall, but this may requires to break into every SSL channel. Not so funny and often difficult / impossible.
  3. Finally Eddie Jackson found an experimental way to completly turn-off updates by changing the source code of Skype, see Skype for Desktop – Disable Auto Updates what sounds like the most reliable solution as of now.
• If Skype 8.x is in your autostart and ask you as admin - Skype need to make changes to the system - STEP BACK - if you may press YES, it is automatically upgraded in background without MSI and you end up with two Skype entries in Programs and Features. SUXXX auto upgrade. Investigating how we can hard block the download and run of the EXE.
  1. With a software restriction group policy you can block Skype-Setup.exe with a path rule and nobody can install it by fault. But this solution does not stop the download and waste of disk space.
• There is no support available, but if you have feedback - you will be heard.

History:

• 27.11.2018 Verified/tested that latest Skype release v8.34.0.78 works well with the installer.
• 01.11.2018 Verified/tested that latest Skype release v8.33.0.50 works well with the installer.
• 21.10.2018 Re-scheduled RemoveExistingProducts to solve a serious upgrade bug that caused removal of all application files. Added workaround for downgrading api-ms-win-*.dll files in v8.30.0.50 and later. Added .MST files to disable desktop or startmenu shortcuts.
• 09.10.2018 Fixed incorrect README about required SDK 10 features and switched to latest SDK version as pre-configuration.
• 07.10.2018 Changed to SDK 10 as it is the latest and changed required paths. Extended README.txt with some missing details. Switched to NoLogo version by default.
• 01.09.2018 Fixed MUI setup and added German translation as example.
• 25.08.2018 Created documentation and shared all scripts and XML files required to create Skype for Desktop MSI setup.