How to Recover Skype Recording

As we all know, Skype is one of the most common platforms for official online meetings. This platform allows you to record your meetings and then recover them later. This feature becomes extremely important when if you are looking for logging or future reference purposes. Several organizations benefit from this particular feature. However, technical glitches and data losses are unavoidable. It is frustrating for anyone to lose their valuable data. This can be due to anything. You may have misplaced it, deleted the recording manually, then changed your mind, or perhaps erased it accidentally. A technical glitch may have also removed your data, while a virus attack might have hidden it to extort or cause damage intentionally. Whatever the cause may be, we have a few methods to help you learn how to recover your Skype recording. Keep reading to find the best thing that suits you and work it out!

Finding Your Video Recording In Your Device

When you record a Skype meeting (either audio or video), it gets stored in your device once the meeting is over. The problem is, we don’t notice where these files get stored immediately. Therefore, we sometimes think our recorded files are not saved, and we look for solutions to recover files that are still present on our device. So, before working on recovering your lost files, the first step is to look for them on your device. Have you misplaced your files and are looking for a method to recover them? Then, this is the place for you.

There are actually two variants of Skype – Skype Standard and Skype for Business. Depending on the variant of Skype you are using, the default storage location of recordings change. However, if you have changed your location later, you cannot find them here anymore. Look for them in the place that we mentioned earlier. Let us now check the default locations one by one based on the variant:

Skype (Standard)

As you may know, the Skype Standard version is a free variant of Skype. Anyone can use it for free, and it uses the cloud service to store data. Ergo, all your data is stored in the cloud and not on your device. However, you can download a copy of your recordings in MP4 format. Open the chat history of the person whose recording you are looking for. You will find a link to all the recordings in chronological order. Click on the particular Skype recording link that you want to recover, and you can download the recording to your device. Also, remember that this link will remain in your chat history for 30 days since you recorded the meeting. After that, it gets permanently deleted.

Skype for Business

Unlike the Standard version, Skype for Business is used for organizations. Hence, if you are using the Skype account that belongs to your company or organization, you are using Skype for Business. So, if you don’t know where your previous Skype recordings are, here is how to find their location:

1. First of all, open your Skype for Business client application.
2. Click on the Settings, and then select Tools → Options from the list of options that appear below.
3. Now, move on to the Recording tab. You will find the folder or directory where your Skype recordings are stored.

Note. By default, all your recordings are stored in your usual audio or video directory. This method is effective at finding them if you have changed the preferred location manually. Now that you know the location of your recordings, you can easily navigate there and find the files.

If you still cannot find your files, you’ve likely lost them. Now, let us move on to two ways to recover a Skype recording.

Method 1 – Recover Skype Recording from Temporary Recordings

Sometimes, Skype records your meeting but fails to convert it into an MP4 video. Even when it does so successfully, does so, you may have deleted the file accidentally. In such cases, you can find a copy of the recorded file from the temporary recordings folder. Using this method, we will find these temporary recording files, then trigger Skype to make a new conversion. Skype will automatically convert this file into an MP4 video recording file, and you will get the recording you want! Keep reading to find how to do this –

1. First of all, open the File Explorer on your device.
2. Move on to this location: %UserProfile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Communicator\Recording Manager\Temporary Recording Files
3. You will find the temporary recording files of your previous meetings here. Copy all the contents of that folder.
4. Create a new folder at some other location (preferably on your desktop) and paste all the contents that you copied just now.
5. Start a new Skype for Business meeting with yourself (or anyone else if you prefer), and record the meeting. This process will now create a separate file or folder in the Temporary folder that we cleared before.
6. Open the Temporary Recording Files folder again, and delete all its contents this time.
7. Now, copy all the contents from the new folder (on the desktop, if you chose to do so) you created, and paste them in the new meeting folder inside the temporary folder.
8. Finally, open your Recording manager. The meeting you just selected will start recording now.

Using this method, you are triggering the recording manager to convert your meeting again. However, this method works only if your meeting is recent. If it is old, no temporary files likely exist. In that case, as well as when the conversion does not start after performing the steps above, you can try re-recording a second meeting. Alternatively, move on to the next method.

Method 2 – Contacting Skype Support Team

When you have tried out the above method and are not successful, then you can even seek help from the Skype support team. Just follow all the steps mentioned here, and you will get further assistance from Skype.

1. Visit the Skype Support page.
2. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and click on Contact Us.
3. From the list of options there, select the issue that fits recordings the closest.
4. Skype will offer you several support articles – ignore them.
5. Click on Chat with Skype customer support.

If none of this helps, post a question to the Microsoft forum or the Skype forum. A Skype expert will contact you shortly, and help you with the procedure further.