The Yahoo-owned company announced the shutdown on its support website, stating: “AOL routinely evaluates its products and services and has decided to discontinue Dial-up Internet.” The termination includes the AOL Dialer software and AOL Shield browser, both of which were optimized for older operating systems.
While dial-up may seem like ancient history, the service retained a surprisingly persistent user base. As noted by The Verge, a 2019 US census estimated that 265,000 Americans were still relying on dial-up connections. Many of those were likely in rural areas where broadband infrastructure remains limited.
AOL’s dial-up service launched in 1991 and became synonymous with internet access throughout the 1990’s complete with the iconic “You’ve got mail!: greeting and that unforgettable connection sound.
The Verge reported: AOL dial-up is ending on September 30th according to a statement posted on the company’s website. It marks the end of the service that was synonymous with the internet for many since its launch in 1991.
“AOL routinely evaluates its products and services and has decided to discontinue Dial-up Internet.” Reads the statement by the Yahoo-owned company. “This service will no longer be available in AOL plans. As a result, on September 30, 2025, this service and the associated software, the AOL Dialer software, and AOL Shield browser, which are optimized for older operating systems and dial up internet connections, will be discontinued.”
You might be surprised that the service was still operating. I’m not. At last count, a 2019 US census estimated that 265,000 people in the United States were still using dial-up Internet.
ABCNews reported: It’s the end of an era for AOL. After more than 30 years of connecting people to the internet through dial-up, AOL is hanging up its iconic service.
“AOL routinely evaluates its products and services and has decided to discontinue Dial-up Internet, the company’s website states. “This service will no longer be available in AOL plans.”
The change “will not affect any other benefits in your AOL plan,” the company stated. The service and dialer software will be discontinued as of Sept. 30, 2025.
The distinctive high-pitched dial tone, humming and whirring may sound like a distant memory of early internet days for some, especially with the advent of wireless modem connections that have replaced the conventional phone line technology.
America Online, the internet pioneer of the early 1990’s changed its name to AOL in 2006.
In 2017, it shut down the popular instant messaging service AIM, and the company was sold to Apollo Global Management in 2021, becoming the new Yahoo! Inc.