AOL Ends Dial-Up Internet Service After 34 Years of History

Cue the nostalgic door slam sound: AOL has announced it will discontinue its dial-up internet service on September 30, 2025, officially logging off a legacy that shaped the dawn of online life for millions. Once a household name, AOL’s signature screeches and “You’ve got mail!” notifications turned family living rooms into gateways to the digital world.

Dial-Up’s Heyday

In its prime, AOL reigned as the U.S.’s largest internet provider. By the late ’90s, it claimed over 20 million subscribers, and so many Americans got online through free trial CDs that seemed to arrive in every mailbox and cereal box. Dial-up gave access at up to 56kbps—blazing fast then, but now eclipsed by gigabit broadband speeds.

Why Was Dial-Up Still Around?

The question is understandable: “Dial-up still exists?” The answer, until now, was yes, mostly in rural areas where high-speed alternatives remain spotty or unaffordable. By 2015, AOL’s dial-up base had shrunk to about 2 million users, and by 2021, to the “low thousands.” Even in 2019, 265,000 U.S. households still relied exclusively on dial-up to stay online.

The affordable cost and reliability kept dial-up alive for a dedicated group—especially where broadband infrastructure lagged. But with the rapid expansion of faster networks, AOL decided to pull the plug after a routine evaluation, closing the door on an era of internet history.

End of an Era

With this announcement, AOL will discontinue not only its dial-up service but also the AOL Dialer software and AOL Shield browser, which supported older operating systems and slow connections. The company—now under Yahoo—will say goodbye to a chapter that began in 1991, outlasted Time Warner and Verizon mergers, and became a symbol of internet nostalgia.

For some, the dial-up goodbye is bittersweet. It’s more fitting to memorialize AOL’s last log-off with a moment of chaotic beeps, static, and modem tones, just as families once did while waiting to get online.

What’s Next?

Dial-up may vanish from AOL’s offerings, but a handful of providers still keep this low-tech mode alive for those without broadband access. For the rest, it’s time to party like it’s 1999—using lightning-fast wireless, cable, fiber, and satellite connections that have redefined online life.

September 30, 2025 will mark the final sign-off for an internet OG—and the definitive end of dial-up as an American institution.