AOL has officially discontinued its dial-up internet service as of September 30, 2025, marking the end of an era.
The company announced last month on its support site that it regularly evaluates its offerings and decided to terminate dial-up, along with software tailored for older operating systems. As of Wednesday, AOL’s website no longer promotes dial-up, and related help pages, such as “connect to the internet with AOL Dialer,” are unavailable.
Once a pioneer as America Online, AOL introduced countless households to the internet in the 1990s and early 2000s. Its dial-up service, known for its distinctive beeps and buzzes over phone lines, was a hallmark of early online access—complete with frustrations like disconnections when someone used the landline and a flood of promotional CDs offering free trials.
While broadband and wireless internet have largely replaced dial-up, a small group of users still relied on it. According to 2023 Census Bureau data, approximately 163,401 U.S. households—0.13% of those with internet subscriptions—used dial-up exclusively.
Although AOL was a leading provider, other smaller companies continue to offer dial-up services. The shutdown reflects the ongoing decline of dial-up and the fading of other early internet relics.