AOL is discontinuing its dial-up internet service on September 30, 2025, ending a 34-year era that began in 1991.
Once a pioneer that brought millions online with its iconic “You’ve Got Mail” greeting, AOL’s dial-up service connected users via telephone lines at speeds up to 56 kilobits per second, a stark contrast to today’s gigabit broadband.
The service, along with its AOL Dialer software and AOL Shield browser, will be retired due to its obsolescence in the face of modern fiber, cable, and 5G connections.
At its peak in the 1990s, AOL had over 18 million subscribers, offering a “walled garden” internet experience through free trial CDs and features like chat rooms and instant messaging.
By 2015, its user base had dwindled to about 2.1 million, and by the early 2020s, only a “low thousands” remained, mostly in rural areas with limited broadband access.
The decision follows AOL’s routine product evaluations, as stated on its website, and will not affect other AOL plan benefits like free email accounts.
AOL, now owned by Yahoo under Apollo Global Management since 2021, previously shuttered its AIM messaging service in 2017. The move marks the end of a nostalgic chapter, with the dial-up’s screeching connection tones fading into internet history.