Saved password for autologin gets erased/reseted if a second instance of Skype is started

[Gianfranco Costamagna]

Binary package hint: skype

I click to save password, but I should put it every time I logon on my ubuntu 10.04

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 10.04
Package: skype 2.1.0.81-1ubuntu5
Uname: Linux 2.6.34-020634-generic x86_64
NonfreeKernelModules: nvidia
Architecture: amd64
Date: Thu Jun 10 18:47:11 2010
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 9.10 "Karmic Koala" - Release amd64 (20091027)
ProcEnviron:
 LANG=it_IT.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
SourcePackage: skype

[Gianfranco Costamagna (costamagnagianfranco)]

Now skype seems to be working...

Maybe the bug is fixed

[Jani Uusitalo (uusijani)]

I'm seeing this with Skype 2.1.0.81-1ubuntu5. Furthermore, there is no "remember password" option to choose, only a "sign me in when Skype starts". If I opt the latter, Skype does in fact remember the password because it uses it to sign in. So unless I want to sign in automatically, there seems to be no way to make it remember the password.

[Gianfranco Costamagna (costamagnagianfranco)]

please could you try to delete your .skype profile directory?

[Bob-El (boblanctot)]

Deleting the .Skype profile directory deletes everything, history and all. This seems to work okay and is less destructive.

If Skype keeps asking for the password;
 - close Skype
 - open /home/<user>/.Skype/<user_folder>/
 - delete the file profile###.dbb
 - restart Skype
 - type in password
 - click to save password
 - click login button

Skype should start and log you in directly thereafter.

Worked for me and my wife.

[W-barath-hotmail (w-barath-hotmail)]

Here's the contents of my version of skype-wrapper:

The reason Skype forgets the password is generally that the user clicks the skype start icon more than once during a session. This makes skype attempt to log in again. When it fails because it is already logged in, it resets the stored password.

This modified version of the startup script signals the existing running skype to exit before running a new one. It prevents loss of the stored password.

#!/bin/sh
if [ "$UID" != "0" ]; then
  if [ "$USER" != "root" ]; then
    killall -HUP skype
    sleep 1
  fi
fi

if [ ! -e ~/.Skype/shared.xml ]; then
  mkdir -p ~/.Skype
  cp /usr/share/skype/shared.xml ~/.Skype/shared.xml
fi

LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib32/libv4l/v4l1compat.so QT_PLUGIN_PATH=/usr/lib32/qt4/plugins /usr/bin/skype "$@"

I would have contributed this as code to the skype package, if I could have found any way to do so. I searched the site up and down for about 15 minutes and gave up, looked for a relevant bug to add my patch to.

[Gianfranco Costamagna (costamagnagianfranco)]

A new skype version (2.2.0.25 beta) is available from partner repository, could you try to reproduce the bug with the latest version and tell us if the problem is still there?

[W-barath-hotmail (w-barath-hotmail)]

New version of Skype no longer uses skype-wrapper, so it deleted my version and the link I copied from the gnome menu to the panel now reports (unsurprisingly) 'Could not launch application Failed to execute child process "skype-wrapper" (No such file or directory)'

New menu item does work, auto-login works first time.

Clicking Skype again brings up a second instance with warning "Sign in failed Another Skype instance may exist", which resets/erases the password, as usual.

So, putting above wrapper back in place, because my password is tough to enter correctly even knowing it.

[Tiffany Antopolski (mimico-tiffany)]

Where do I get this fix/patch and how do I apply it to my system?

[Gianfranco Costamagna (costamagnagianfranco)]

@Tiffany which problem are you referring for?