Messenger Reviver 2 Discontinued
It is with a heavy heart that I announce that Messenger Reviver 2 has come to an end. 
On May 18th, 2017 Microsoft shut down the last Messenger server, preventing Windows Live Messenger from being revived any further.
MSN Messenger first came online July 22, 1999 making public access to the servers available for a total of 17 years, 9 months and 27 days. In the 2000s, Messenger dominated the instant messaging world, being used for text, voice, video, remote assistance, game invitations, and enjoyed both for business and personal use. Massive communities and long-lasting relationships were formed around all around the world on Messenger-related websites and tools like mess.be and Messenger Plus! Even today, despite hundreds of new messaging applications, still no client has yet to match the features and customization options of Windows Live Messenger.
Messenger MVPs – Jonathan and Kurt Robaer at Microsoft, 2007
I originally got involved with the Messenger community back in 2001 as part of the Windows XP beta “Associate Experts” program, and quickly became a Microsoft MVP for Messenger, a position I held for over 10 years. After Messenger officially “shut down”, I released Reviver to continue making Messenger connect to the Microsoft servers, and that has continued for over four years, with 98 versions of changes and fixes. The original versions of Reviver only required a small adjustment to Messenger itself, but later on DNS servers, proxy servers and even modifications to Windows itself were needed to keep Messenger working. I also expanded into versions on OS X/MacOS for Messenger:Mac and Adium, as well as aMSN. It’s been quite a ride!
Previously, I have not taken donations for my work but as this is the end of the Messenger Reviver 2 chapter, I feel comfortable now putting out my PayPal tip jar for any who feels Reviver has been useful to them over the years.
Back in 2015 when it first appeared that the Messenger servers might not be available for much longer, I recorded a video of myself going through all the available versions of Messenger discussing and comparing the various features as well as telling some stories about the software. I present it to you below or you can watch it on YouTube:
Although you can no longer use Messenger with the public Microsoft servers, you can continue using the older versions of Messenger on a new private server called Escargot. You can find contacts to add on this forum topic.
This blog, forum and chat will continue operating, so please stay subscribed for news and discussion on Escargot and other Messenger related topics.
You have a several options to continue to communicate to your contacts on what was formerly known as the .NET Messenger network. Of course, you can use Skype, but also Miranda-NG, Pidgin with EionRobb’s, SkypeWeb plugin, or SkypeWeb with other libpurple-compatible clients like Bitlbee. You can also use the web-versions of Skype at https://web.skype.com or on https://outlook.com.
A final version of Messenger Reviver 2 is now available that you can download as a memento which retains all the original features you can explore or even just open it up to play around with the Easter eggs.
If you have looked at the Reviver About screen previously, you would have seen many important people who made Reviver possible when it was first released. For the final release, I’ve also added the people who have been vital over the years I have been supporting and working on Reviver, and I would like to thank them here too: Emil, John, Tasos, Dean, Petri, Jeff, Mariano, Esteban, Peri, Alexis, dx, Jacko, Javier, and Raul, thank you for your friendship, endless discussions about Messenger, many late nights and supporting me and my projects.
Jonathan and Patchou in 2006
Additionally, I would like to thank Patchou for creating Messenger Plus! Plus! was the cornerstone of the Messenger community for many years, indispensable for adding missing vital Messenger features and responsible for many relationships and careers for so many people. Furthermore, I’d like to thank wtbw for always being available for reverse engineering assistance and pointers.
Thanks to Valtron for building the new private Messenger server and giving Messenger continued life.
Finally, a special thanks to all of you who have been users of Messenger Reviver 2 for so long. You have made this journey a great and memorable part of my life and I greatly appreciate all the kind words and support over the years. Please stay in touch! You can reach me on the new Escargot server by adding the user trekie@jonathankay.com, on Skype by adding trekie, my website, the forum, or here on this blog.
I think it’s appropriate to end with my favourite wink, the UFO, which can be both a hello and a goodbye.
Jonathan Kay
Hello there, MSN butterfly!
Posted on May 19, 2017, in Messenger, MSN Messenger, News, Personal, Skype. Bookmark the permalink. 126 Comments.
Jonathan Kay, MessengerGeek 
Thank you, Jonathan, for the all effort you put all these years to keep our beloved Messenger alive. I’ve discovered your Messenger Reviver only 7 months ago and it was a blast being able to use Messenger again, after 3 years. It’s really sad that it had to end…
Thank you Matt, I appreciate it 🙂
Just read the message today as I woke up this morning. Already had a feeling of the worst when Messenger didn’t respond anymore after two days. Sigh. No mind, it was eventually going to happen sooner or later. That is what I always knew.
That said, I thank you and everyone else that made Messenger able to be used again. I enjoyed using the chat program for years on end, and when Microsoft pulled out the plug (a big mistake!) I was devastated. Then you came with a light of shining hope and gave us back Messenger, even if it was just for borrowed time of a extra four years. Despite that, it was the effort of you and many others to keep fighting, making those four years worth it in the long run, despite knowing that the end was going to come sooner or later.
This is no different from losing a loved one to a stubborn disease. Many would want the loved one to survive and live on as usual, but ultimately, if its just too much, sometimes, you just need to let go and have that loved one rest in peace.
So thank you and everyone else once more that managed to prolong the life of Messenger as long you have could possibly done.
Thank you Shane, your comparison helped put the situation in a better perspective for me and made me feel better 🙂
It does seem quite like losing someone close to you.
No problem. WLM was a big part of many lives, so its not strange to compare it to the passing of a loved one. That said, I have seen the topic regarding Escargot. It sounds great, but for now, seeing it has only recently been developed, I will wait until its a bit better and the server is more grown. But it has potential, and so I will keep a eye out for it.
Thank you for everything My dear Professor Jonathan!!! Your greek friend Alexis! 🙂
You’re very welcome Alexis, thanks for all your community efforts over the past years 🙂
You are absolutely right Jonathan about MSN Messenger. I recall the Messenger forums being busy with angry customers when MS dropped the software. When you have 100s of millions using your software the decision was illogical. I wonder if anyone at MS looks at the mobile market now and realizes MSN Messenger would have dominated the market.
MSN Messenger was worth billions of dollars and an ivory tower executive turned turned it into a loss of consumer confidence. These highly paid executives no longer understand how one piece of free software made everyone feel welcomed by the MS family.
It makes as much sense as ripping off the email software a Win7 customer paid for as a part of the operating system.
Hey Dennis. I’ve been thinking about writing up an article discussing some of the missed opportunities with Messenger, because there’s really quite a lot as you’ve noted.
I feel confident after years of contemplation, that the decision to shut down Messenger was made purely for the short-term money gain, particularly after the Skype purchase. I guess no one there got the memo that instant messaging has never made money (to the best of my knowledge) and isn’t supposed to – Messenger was always intended to push services and products, whether it be Hotmail, MSN services, Windows, Xbox, or whatever else.
I’ve unfortunately forgotten the numbers, but according to my information at the time, there was a significant drop in Messenger use after they dropped it for Skype. People didn’t switch to Skype, they switched to other non-Microsoft services.
Just comes to see how Microsoft managed things. Seeing as how much they pushed Win10 the last year or so, they could have made a version of WLM for Win10 with newer features included. I can only hope Skype gets good updates such as Colored fonts and exporting and editing chat logs in Word or such. Those two things were vital to me for a long time, and is what made WLM, especially the 2009 version work nicely for me.
There are a lot of varying stats on MSN Messenger usage. It was widely used world-wide. MS did try to build a mobile app but gave up due to connection problems with Facebook. Whether you can find the number of users is a big question.
Sad news, but it was bound to happen eventually.
Thanks for creating Reviver and keeping the setting sun on the horizon for just a moment longer!
Thank you for your kind words Bizzie, much obliged 🙂
Hello Jonathan, well.. I was afraid about this, but this day will eventually come, liking me or not. MSN is part of my history, intimately and virtual. How many years turn on the PC and the opening the MSN first. Even in the oldtimes, Skype and MSN is two different things to me. MSN had call/webcam support, but I think the skype is better on this. The rest, MSN is better at everything. When MS released MSN 11/12, I refused to leave my MSN 9.0 (for me, its the best). If I remember as well, it was your tool that give me more time on 9.0. I’m not sure but, if it was, I’m so fucking fully thankful. It save me so many times..
When MS announced the “end” of MSN, I was bad and didn’t knew your tool. I thought that they turned down the servers in that date, and I leave any attempt to look for a “sollution” going to Facebook/Skype. (It has its own value but will never be able to deliver the MSN experience.)
Just in last month, and I was missing so hard MSN that I discover your work. MSN Reviver + MSN Plus, oh jesus. Thanks to you, I was able to experience that good old feeling again, even if it was to talk only with my brother. Even though the MSN community today is not even a third of what it was before, know that I recognize and appreciate your journey so far. Unfortunately, I am currently unemployed. Because I want to contribute to you in some way, as a form of thanks. I will remember you when I receive my first or second salary.
I hope you will move your efforts to the Escargot project, and continue to contribute to MSN if it is possible and feasible.
Escargot project has the foundation to continue to grow. Although I like many things on MSN, few are available in version 7.5. (Provided by Escargot) If they bring MSN 9/12, it will be perfect.
Anyway, my brother and I are totally grateful to your work. Good luck in life and what to decide to do.
Ctn MG.
You’re very welcome 🙂
One of the final initiatives the Messenger team was working on was a project they called “Skype killer”. They were distinctly going after Skype and Messenger 2011 was the first part of that. In fact 2011/2012 and had excellent video calls up to the Skype standard – HD support, improved UI in a call and relay servers so that it would always connect. Unfortunately most of us rejected that version because they also elected to remove display names, ink and other features as well as their social networking “feed” panel concept. Little did those on the team know that the management was planning on (and then proceeding with) the Skype purchase and eliminating their jobs all together.
That said, you’re remembering correctly, the original Messenger Reviver 1 in 2012 was all about keeping Messenger 2009 running.
With regards to Escargot, I’d personally be happy if it was able to work all the way to Live Messenger 8.5 as a lot of the core functionality of 2009 is available in that version, with the exception of MPOP support – that is, the ability to sign in from multiple locations. Hopefully! 🙂
Hello, Jonathan! I would like to say thank you for continuing the msn while you could. You did indeed a great service to me a and a friend of mine; we are both brazilians. We would like to continue using the MSN though, trough the oldest versions. We are trying to install the 7.5 version, but the program doesn’t allow us to do so; it keeps tellings us that we still have a new version of the Messenger in our computers, altough we already had deleted it. Could you help us one more time to solve this problem?? Please! Answer if it’s possible. And sorry for the bad english.
Thank you,
Ana
Olá Ana!
You’re very welcome :). I may have a better solution to this in the future, but my recommendation right now is to make use of the prepackaged 7.0 version. All you need to do is download the file and extract the contents to a location of your choice, like the Desktop. Then just open up the folder with the files, double-click the msnmsgr.exe file and sign in to Messenger.
I do recommend you use the 7.0 version for now, a few bugs have shown up with 7.5 and there isn’t that much of a difference. Let me know if you have any further problems!
Thank for your fast answer!
Unfortunately it’s also not working )= The problem now is that it doesn’t recognize any account I try to log in. It didn’t work for my friend either. Sorry if I may being inconvenient for insisting, but I really want it to work… I don’t want to use Skype. )=
Also, I’ll try to deposit some money in your paypal. =) I don’t have an international card anymore )= But I’ll try anyway, because I’m sincerily greatful for you help all this time.
Thank you!
Just to make sure, did you make new accounts? The new server is separate from the Microsoft one and each user needs to create a new account. You create new accounts at the bottom of the page on https://escargot.log1p.xyz.
hola jonathan, no me abrel el msm 7, me dice que la contraseña no es correcta¿ que hago? saludos
¿Creaste una cuenta en la página de Escargot? Para iniciar sesión es necesario usar la clave que pusiste al crear la cuenta en el servidor Escargot, no la clave de tu MSN.
si, cree una cuenta en escargot y puse la clave, que era la misma que tenia antes en el messenger y no me deja. gracias
me sale el error” signing in to MSN messenger failed because the service is temporally unavailable. please, try again. later. 80070194
puse mi cuenta de messenger de toda la vida y el. password la clave que puse en escargot que es la misma que la que tenia en messenger
¿Instalaste el MSN 7 y le aplicaste el patch o descargaste la versión comprimida que ya viene con el patch para usar con el servidor Escargot? Como Jonathan sugirió, es mejor la segunda opción. En la respuesta al comentario de Ana Cláudia (arriba de tu comentario), Jonathan dejó el link para descargar la versión “parchada”, sólo hay que descomprimir el archivo y ejecutar el msn, sin necesidad de instalación.
HOLA, instale el patch para usar con el servidor, y nada, me da el error ese. gracias
¿Probaste también con la versión portable que ya inculye el patch?
Si aún con esa versión no puedes iniciar sesión, desconozco cuál puede ser el problema. Podría ser el Firewall que está bloqueando el MSN, quizá la hora y la fecha en la computadora. Podrías también probar borrando las cookies en el Internet Explorer.
si, lo intente, me podrias decir los pasos a seguir? instale el messenger, el 7, puse mi cuenta de hotmail y la contraseña y me salió ese error.
Yo no usé el instalador, descargué la versión portable que ya tiene el patch. En “How do I chat?”, en el punto 2, en letras pequeñas dice: Prepatched downloads with polygamy (multi-instance) are available: 7.0, 7.5. Descargué la versión 7.0 que es la que mejor funciona de las más nuevas. En “Create an account”, puse mi mail y una clave distinta a la de mi cuenta, lo que es recomendable porque son independientes. Descomprimí el archivo descargado, ejecuté msnmsgr.exe y usé el mail con la nueva clave.
pero al hacer la cuenta, el mail que es @hotmail.com o @email.es?gracias
Al registrarse tiene que ser @hotmail.com o @live.com o cualquier dominio de cuentas de msn, es decir, tiene que ser exactamente la cuenta de MSN que se usará para inciar sesión en el msn. En la página dice @email.com, pero es sólo como ejemplo.
he seguido todos los pasos y me sigue dando el error” me sale el error” signing in to MSN messenger failed because the service is temporally unavailable. please, try again. later. 80070194″ crreo que voy a desistir
Deberías probar con otra versión, la 5 o la 6.
¿ con la 5 o la 6 hay que bajarse algun parche=?
Todas las versiones se pueden usar el MSN Switcher.
consegui abrir el msm 5, pero cual es mi sorpresa que no tengo contactos por lo que no vale de nada!
Vogliamo MSN messenger di nuovo funzionante, a noi skype ci fa schifo, facciamo qualcosa,una petizione…facciamo ritornare msn messenger.
I stopped using Messenger when it was officially unplugged but, anyway, thanks for the work you have done, are doing and will probably do.
After reading your post, I’m looking to the future: how can we preserve the legacy of Messenger for future generation? Preservation of today’ software is necessary and, for Messenger, we need to act now. Indeed, it seems nobody did this years ago when Messenger was discontinued and all the people involved with it just deleted everything and moved on. Nowadays, this blog is among the latest place talking about Messenger.
The video in this post is a good testimony of how Messenger was working. The server emulator is also another good thing (if the code is open source and the software downloadable) because it will allow researcher to reuse Messenger and to understand how it was working.
The next thing would be to preserve materials about Messenger. I started collecting Plus! and Messenger versions among others. During the video, I saw you have many versions on your hard disk drive (including betas): they should be preserved. [You can upload the betas to the great BetaArchive.com board and get access to 70tb of betas well sorted and preserved for the future.]
It would be also a really good idea to preserve the technical documentation about Messenger and its protocol. I posted many information on the new server topic about activites inner working.
I am thinking about collecting as much stuffs as possible and upload them in anm Internet Archive collection.
I think this is an excellent idea Tristan 🙂 I know you have already mentioned this on the forum, so let’s talk more about this later on there about how we can best go about this.
I am so so sad MSN messenger is really shut down
Messenger is a KEY tools that started Me and my husband relationship
We love custom emo icon very much
Thank you very much for all your works all this years, making we can enjoy Messenger a little bit longer =)
Hi Louisa. I think it’s pretty neat to hear stories like this, I’m glad it was useful to you for so long 🙂
Hello, Jonathan.
First of all, thank you so much for all these years keeping the MSN in our lives. I have done the download of MSN 7.0 from Escargot and it works very well, but I really would like use the Plus with it. I have tried but doesn’t work, because Plus don’t recognise the MSN. So, there is some way to use Plus with MSN 7.0 from Escargot?
Thanks a lot!
Mei
Hi Mel, you’re very welcome 🙂 For Plus! use, you’ll need to use Messenger Plus! 3 which you can download from the MessengerGeek server. Be sure to unselect the ‘sponsor program’ when you install.
Thank you for all your effort in keeping the messeger working… was a good time, you are heroes :’)
Thanks bashichan 🙂
Thank you for letting me revive wonderful memories of my adolescence!
You’re very welcome Frankie 🙂
Just wanted to add my thanks and appreciation for all the hardwork and passion you poured into this project. Seems silly to be mourning the loss of a peice of Micro$oft software of all things. I was there at the start and saw it through to the bitter end some 18 years later. You didn’t beat us Microsoft, you just took your ball and went home!!!
Much love and success in your future projects, Jonathan 🙂
Thanks Rob, I really appreciate it 🙂 i think we outlasted the very developers who created the software 😉
hi , I downloaded msn 7.5, I made an account and I invited my friends, I’m chatting, I love it. But I have a problem, I do not see the photo of my friends, my friends do not see mine, can fix it?. thans^^
Make sure that this following option is enable: Open MSN and go > Tools > Options > Personal > “Show my display picture and allow the others see it”. / Tools > Option > General > “Show display pictures from others” and “Show display pictures of contacts in main window”.
Is enabled but I still can not see the image of my friends nor they neither mine, sorry for my bad English I’m Spanish, you can see the image of your friends?
Yes, my brother is offline now to take a screenshot. But this morning, it was everything right for us.
Your friends have those options enabled too?
Relax about English, I’m Brazilian. haha
Por el momento, en la versión 7.5 no se ven las imágenes de los contactos ni los emoticones personalizados. En la versión 7.0 sí se ven, en la mayoría de los casos.
He probado en la version 7.0 y tampoco puedo ver imagenes ni ellos ven las mias y tenemos ordenadores distintos
¿Usas el MSN portable con el patch o la versión instalada y MSN Switcher?
Como dije, en la mayoría de los casos funciona, pero a algunos no parece funcionarles.
He probado de las 2 maneras y no veo la foto, en las personas que les a funcionado tienen una actualizacion o algo? es por el windows, me parece raro que a unos funcione y a otros no
En mi experiencia, con el MSN 7.0 (sólo usé la versión con el patch, nunca la instalada) puedo ver las imágenes de los que usan la misma versión que yo. No puedo ver las imágenes de los que usan el 7.5. Creo que el problema podría ser que el MSN 7.5 no envía apropiadamente o el servidor no intepreta las imágenes, ni los emoticones personalizados y tampoco no es posible enviar archivos.
Hay alguna clase de solucion a eso? Y otra pregunta..siento ser tan preguntona xD Se podrá utilizar messenger 8 o WLM 2009? con escargot? Muchas gracias por atenderme, de verdad.
Supongo que la solución sería que, hasta que lo arreglen en el servidor, todos usen el 7.0, con mis amigos no tenemos problemas.
Según la página de Escargot y lo que se dicen en el foro, está planeado darle soporte hasta el Windows Live Messenger 8.5, la versión 2009 de momento no está planeado, supongo dependerá de qué tan complicado se implementar las versiones anteriores. Yo espero por la versión 8.1, ¡es mi favorita!
Lo mismo te digo, la mía tambien xDD , gracias por tu informacion y por tu ayuda, espero que lo pongan pronto.^^
Hey Jonathan, I’m not working my MSN 7.5. Error: Your firewall is blockin that program. How I can solve this? Thanks!
Hi Túlio, try the 7.0 version instead, it has less problems and easier to understand how to use it with the escargot server.
I knew it was just a matter of time, I knew it was already gone since months and years… still I can’t help feeling sad. MSN has been a part of me, since I have started using the internet. It has been the only software I have always and immediately installed on any computer I have had (including every formatting, restarting, etc). It has been the main protagonist of my graduation thesis at the University (subject: the personalization levels in the Instant Messaging story). It really has been a part of me. Tonight, I’ll be a bit sad…
Thanks A LOT for your work and effort, Jonathan. I remember the days when MSN was meant to be shutted off, while absently exploring Yahoo Messenger I discovered your Reviver. It meant great news to me! It has mean some more years of MSN. I’m really grateful and I’ll keep following you in your work. I’ll probably head to Excargot as soon as I can… so thank you very much!
Thanks ivan for your kind words. I would like to read your thesis if it’s available, it sounds absolutely fascinating. I seems that despite far superior computing power and bandwidth available now, personalization and customization is very much missing in today’s messaging software and services. I believe that personalization, plus the professionalism of Microsoft’s software (APIs for third-parites to use, international support, good performance) and just a little of sillyness is what made it so successful.
I’d be very happy to have you take a glance on my thesis! The main problem is, it’s in Italian… so tell me if you’d still like to! By the way, I agree with you; technology has growth so much, but personalization has been resetted multiple times – especially in the IM world. As an user, I expected to have several new options to customize my accounts and messaging services. But after Facebook came in the way, everyone seemed to prefer the super-basic chat, just for the sake of being in the same service of everything else. I think that’s the turning point of IM, I’ve dedicated a paragraph to this part. Instead of a service that creates a network (MSN linking to Hotmail, to groups, to accounts, to Live Space, etc.), people have switched to a network that provides all the services at one time (Facebook including games, photo share, chats, social feed, all in the same page). Personally, I like to have different softwares of websites that are able to provide one or two services, but in an excellent way (personalization is involved). I never minded having MSN, Facebook, Skype, Live Space, gaming accounts, forums, and one account for each. Now Facebook does everything itself – but it’s not the same excellent service as before.
It’s my understanding that Google and Microsoft made use of EU documents that had been translated into all the EU languages to build their translation products (Google or Bing Translate), so it should be fairly good at translating formal documents. So yes, I’d certainly like to give it a go through the translators and see what I can understand from it 🙂
My email is trekie99@hotmail.com.
To the best of my knowledge, no IM service has ever made a profit and seems to be losing proposition financially. From my perspective, this makes IM an add-on to promote your other services or software, and certainly that’s what Microsoft made use of Messenger for in a lot of different ways. Unfortunately when they lost the battle to the simplicity of Facebook, I think they pretty much bought Skype and gave up, seeing no financial incentive. Just random thoughts 🙂
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