Topic Last Modified: 2013-09-23

This document was written to help Lync Server on-premise administrators set up Lync-Skype connectivity.  Lync-Skype connectivity is also a feature of Lync Online, which is part of Office 365. You can enable the Lync-Skype connectivity feature from the Lync Administration Center within the Office 365 portal.

For Office 365 Midsize Business, Office 365 Enterprise, Office 365 Education, and Office 365 for Government: Sign in to the Office 365 portal and navigate to the Lync Administration Center. Go to External Communications. Under Public IM Service Providers, click Enable. If you want to control individual user access to Lync-Skype Connectivity, you can do so by editing individual users’ External Communications settings.

For Office 365 Small Business Premium: Sign in to Office 365, and go to Admin > Service Settings > Instant messaging, meetings and conferencing. Turn on External communications. The External communications switch turns on both Lync-Skype connectivity and communications with other organizations that use Lync. Depending on when you started using Lync Online, the External communications switch in an "on" state may initially indicate only that communications with other Lync organizations is activated. To turn on Lync-Skype Connectivity, simply toggle the switch off and then back on again.