18

Since weeks ago I'm trying to install Skype on my computer. I imagined it would be a straight forward task but it is becoming a nightmare.

What I have tried so far:

Installing from command line with apt

The easiest one and the most likely anybody would try: sudo apt-get install skype

But I get this unfortunately:

Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
Some packages could not be installed.
This may mean that you have requested an impossible situation or if you are
using the unstable distribution that some required packages have not
yet been created or been moved out of Incoming. The following
information may help to resolve the situation:

The following packages have unmet dependencies:
  skype :
     Depends:
       skype-bin
     E: Unable to correct problems, you have held broken packages.

If I try sudo apt-get intall skype-bin I get:

 Some packages could not be installed. This may mean that you have
 requested an impossible situation or if you are using the unstable
 distribution that some required packages have not yet been created or
 been moved out of Incoming. The following information may help to
 resolve the situation:

 The following packages have unmet dependencies:  skype-bin:i386 :
    Depends: libqt4-dbus:i386 (>= 4:4.5.3) but it is not going to be installed
    Depends: libqt4-network:i386 (>= 4:4.8.0) but it is not going to be installed
    Depends: libqt4-xml:i386 (>= 4:4.5.3) but it is not going to be installed
    Depends: libqtcore4:i386 (>= 4:4.7.0~beta1) but it is not going to be installed
    Depends: libqtgui4:i386 (>= 4:4.8.0) but it is not going to be installed
    Depends: libqtwebkit4:i386 (>= 2.2~2011week36) but it is not going to be installed
    Recommends: sni-qt:i386 but it is not going to be installed
E: Unable to correct problems, you have held broken packages.

After that I tried with commands like sudo apt-get clean, sudo apt-get update, sudo apt-get autoclean and sudo apt-get -f install, among others, in order to fix any issue with packages dependency but it was completely unsuccessful.

I have followed the instructions explained here (How do I install Skype?) but it doesn't work either.


Installing from Software Center

If I try to install from Software Center I get exactly the same error than running sudo apt-get install skype from the terminal.


Installing with Ubuntu Tweak

Fails as well, I get the following error:

skype: Depends: skype-bin, but it is a virtual package.


Installing with Synaptic

I have also followed the instruction described here:

community.skype.com/t5 / Linux / Unable-to-install-due-to-unmet-dependencies-Skype-bin/m-p/1339650/highlight/true#M3329

Much of the same, doesn't work either.


Installing official Skype .deb

After downloading skype-ubuntu-precise_4.1.0.20-1_i386.deb from http://www.skype.com/en/download-skype/skype-for-linux/downloading/?type=ubuntu64 I tried to install it though Software Center but it displays the following error:

Cannot install 'lbqt4-dbus:i386'


Trying to fix apt

I have tried to fix any possible problem with packages by following this post (How do I resolve unmet dependencies after adding a PPA?) but didn't work.


Following Ubuntu Help instructions

If I try to follow the instructions explained in https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Skype I have problems when running sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386, I get the following:

dpkg: error: unknown option --add-architecture


I have also tried other approaches by following other posts and solutions I found but nothing of this worked for me. At this point I'm completely lost and I don't know what else I can do. I hope somebody can comes up with any solution.

This is the content of my sources.list, just in case:

# deb cdrom:[Ubuntu 12.04.2 LTS _Precise Pangolin_ - Release amd64 (20130213)]/ dists/precise/main/binary-i386/

# deb cdrom:[Ubuntu 12.04.2 LTS _Precise Pangolin_ - Release amd64 (20130213)]/ dists/precise/restricted/binary-i386/
# deb cdrom:[Ubuntu 12.04.2 LTS _Precise Pangolin_ - Release amd64 (20130213)]/ precise main restricted

# See http://help.ubuntu.com/community/UpgradeNotes for how to upgrade to
# newer versions of the distribution.
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu precise main restricted

## Major bug fix updates produced after the final release of the
## distribution.
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu precise-updates main restricted

## N.B. software from this repository is ENTIRELY UNSUPPORTED by the Ubuntu
## team. Also, please note that software in universe WILL NOT receive any
## review or updates from the Ubuntu security team.
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu precise universe
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu precise-updates universe

## N.B. software from this repository is ENTIRELY UNSUPPORTED by the Ubuntu 
## team, and may not be under a free licence. Please satisfy yourself as to 
## your rights to use the software. Also, please note that software in 
## multiverse WILL NOT receive any review or updates from the Ubuntu
## security team.
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu precise multiverse
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu precise-updates multiverse

## N.B. software from this repository may not have been tested as
## extensively as that contained in the main release, although it includes
## newer versions of some applications which may provide useful features.
## Also, please note that software in backports WILL NOT receive any review
## or updates from the Ubuntu security team.

deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu precise-security main restricted
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu precise-security universe
deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu precise-security multiverse

## Uncomment the following two lines to add software from Canonical's
## 'partner' repository.
## This software is not part of Ubuntu, but is offered by Canonical and the
## respective vendors as a service to Ubuntu users.
deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu precise partner
deb-src http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu precise partner

## This software is not part of Ubuntu, but is offered by third-party
## developers who want to ship their latest software.
# deb http://extras.ubuntu.com/ubuntu precise main
# deb-src http://extras.ubuntu.com/ubuntu precise main
deb http://archive.canonical.com/ precise partner
deb-src http://archive.canonical.com/ precise partner
4
  • when execute the third step, it reports error: $ sudo apt-get install skype Reading package lists... Done Building dependency tree Reading state information... Done Some packages could not be installed. This may mean that you have requested an impossible situation or if you are using the unstable distribution that some required packages have not yet been created or been moved out of Incoming. The following information may help to resolve the situation: The following packages have unmet dependencies: skype : Depends: skype-bin E: Unable to correct problems, you have held broken packages.
    – user163513
    Jun 1, 2013 at 3:09
  • After installing Ubuntu 12.04, if you tried to install Skype immediately, it may have failed for dependency of skype-bin. The easy way is to update your system via "Update Manager", then Skype could be installed through "software center" successfully. Good luck.
    – user163513
    Jun 1, 2013 at 13:00
  • possible duplicate of How do I install Skype? May 16, 2014 at 20:30
  • It's not a duplicate, despite the title of both questions are similar, the problems described have nothing to do. Furthermore, my question shows a big research effort while the other doesn't. May 18, 2014 at 16:59

5 Answers 5

13

A combination of Gx1sptDTDa and Alejandro García Seco worked perfectly for me.

  1. Open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T).
  2. Copy and paste this into terminal:

    sudo apt-get install libqt4-dbus:i386 libqt4-network:i386 libqt4-xml:i386 libqtcore4:i386 libqtgui4:i386 libqtwebkit4:i386 sni-qt:i386
    

    Press Enter.

  3. Then install Skype by pasting this:

    sudo apt-get install skype
    

Skype 4.2 is running on my fresh Ubuntu 12.04 LTE 64bit.

2
  • 4
    package skype not found in ubuntu 13.10
    – slier
    Nov 3, 2013 at 12:43
  • After step 2, download the Debian version and install it as any other package. Apr 6, 2014 at 4:12
7

>> For 32Bit

Terminal Commands:

wget  http://download.skype.com/linux/skype-ubuntu-lucid_4.2.0.11-1_i386.deb
sudo dpkg -i skype-ubuntu-lucid_4.2.0.11-1_i386.deb
sudo apt-get -f install;rm skype-ubuntu-lucid_4.2.0.11-1_i386.deb

>> For 64Bit

Terminal Commands:

sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
sudo apt-get install ia32-libs
sudo apt-get update
wget http://download.skype.com/linux/skype-ubuntu-lucid_4.2.0.11-1_i386.deb
sudo dpkg -i skype-ubuntu-lucid_4.2.0.11-1_i386.deb
sudo apt-get -f install;rm skype-ubuntu-lucid_4.2.0.11-1_i386.deb

After all of this run in terminal sudo apt-get install sni-qt:i386; This will restore the skype contact window

That's all, work done in maximum 5 minutes. I use Ubuntu on 64bit and this method to install Skype worked always perfectly.

2
  • +1 upvote - I found this to work (64bit 12.04 Ubuntu - I tried Robi's answer first (and apt-get install skype have me package not found so I then did this answer from Dave ). So my steps are actuall a combination of Robi's and Dave's answers. Mar 28, 2014 at 10:04
  • I should add that I couldn't do step 1 of Dave's steps sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386 - I got: dpkg: error: unknown option --add-architecture but I was able proceed with all other steps from Dave (having done all but last step ( sudo apt-get install skype - package skype not found in ubuntu )of Robi's answer). Though I don't necessarily think that Robi's answer is a pre-requisite of Dave's - that wasn't what was intended I'm just trying to help by giving the exact steps that worked specifically for me. Mar 28, 2014 at 10:24
2

OK, I have found a solution for my problem. I have followed the steps described here: http://rumytaulu.wordpress.com/2012/10/26/cant-install-ia32-libs-and-ia32-libs-multiarch-how-to-fix-it/

After that, I have simply ran sudo apt-get install skype and... voila, it works!

I must say I it has a negative consequence. After running sudo apt-get dist-upgrade as described in the third step, I get the following if I run sudo apt-get autoremove:

Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
2 not fully installed or removed.
After this operation, 0 B of additional disk space will be used.
Setting up grub-efi-amd64 (1.99-21ubuntu3.9) ...
/var/lib/dpkg/info/grub-efi-amd64.postinst: line 684: grub-install: command not found
dpkg: error processing grub-efi-amd64 (--configure):
 subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 127
dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of grub-efi-amd64-signed:
 grub-efi-amd64-signed depends on grub-efi-amd64 (>= 1.99-21ubuntu3.5); however:
  Package grub-efi-amd64 is not configured yet.
dpkg: error processing grub-efi-amd64-signed (--configure):
 dependency problems - leaving unconfigured
No apport report written because the error message indicates its a followup error from a previous failure.
                          Errors were encountered while processing:
 grub-efi-amd64
 grub-efi-amd64-signed
E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)

Everything works fine fortunately, but now I would like to fix that issue with Grub packages, specially because it is related with Grub which is very critical. I just wonder if I can find further unexpected problems booting my computer...

Well I will update this answer if I manage to fix this undesired consequence. If anybody knows how to, please let me know.

UPDATE:

I managed to solve the issue with GRUB packages, described the issue and solution here: Unable to fix broken package system

2

Skype was a real pain for me to install on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS 32-bit. I tried most of the things listed here, but I only got it right installing via the Apps section of Ubuntu Tweak.

4
  • OK that's something I haven't tried yet. I will try it out and I'll let you know. Thanks. Apr 24, 2013 at 7:18
  • I was going to suggest Ubuntu Tweak, but MorganSBailey beat me to it. Well worth a try, plus it's a fantastic piece of software which does all kinds such as letting you install Applications, removal of cruft such as old Kernel entries etc.
    – scouser73
    Apr 24, 2013 at 10:31
  • I have installed Ubuntu Tweak and the Skype installation through it fails as well :S Thanks for the suggestion guys, it looks a great and useful app anyway. Apr 24, 2013 at 10:45
  • I have updated my question regarding my experience with Ubuntu Tweaks. Apr 24, 2013 at 10:49
0

I found a shockingly easy way to do this. Just run these commands in a terminal:

sudo apt-get install libqt4-dbus:i386 libqt4-network:i386 libqt4-xml:i386 libqtcore4:i386 libqtgui4:i386 libqtwebkit4:i386 sni-qt:i386

wget http://download.skype.com/linux/skype-debian_4.2.0.13-1_i386.deb

sudo dpkg -i skype-debian_4.2.0.13-1_i386.deb

The first one downloads the dependencies, the second one downloads the .deb package, and then the last one installs it. Simple!

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .