AOL's dial up net takes its last bow, noting completion of an era

Hegseth rails against 'woke,' lays out standards in speech to top generals

Government shutdown updates: US military accounts stop updates

Sniper opens fire on Dallas ICE facility, killing 1 detainee, wounding 2: DHS

Hegseth rails against 'woke,' lays out standards in speech to top generals

Sniper opens fire on Dallas ICE facility, killing 1 detainee, wounding 2: DHS

Government shutdown updates: US military accounts stop updates

All victims accounted for as investigators probe motive in LDS church shooting, fire

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ABC NewsLiveVideoShowsShopInterest Successfully AddedWe'll notify you here with news aboutTurn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? OffOnStream onAOL's dial up internet takes its last bow, marking the end of an eraIt’s official: AOL’s dial-up internet has taken its last bowByWYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS AP business writerOctober 1, 2025, 11:00 AM0:59FILE - An AOL logo is seen in the company's office in Hamburg, Germany, Jan. 12, 2010. (AP Photo/Axel Heimken, File)The Associated PressNEW YORK -- It's official: AOL's dial-up internet has taken its last bow.AOL previously confirmed it would be pulling the plug on Tuesday (Sept. 30) — writing in a brief update on its support site last month that it “routinely evaluates" its offerings and had decided to discontinue dial-up, as well as associated software “optimized for older operating systems,” from its plans.Dial-up is now no longer advertised on AOL's website. As of Wednesday, former company help pages like “connect to the internet with AOL Dialer” appeared unavailable — and nostalgic social media users took to the internet to say their final goodbyes.AOL, formerly America Online, introduced many households to the World Wide Web for the first time when its dial-up service launched decades ago, rising to prominence particularly in the 90s and early 2000s. The creaky door to the internet was characterized by a once-ubiquitous series of beeps and buzzes heard over the phone line used to connect your computer online — along with frustrations of being kicked off the web if anyone else at home needed the landline for another call, and an endless bombardment of CDs mailed out by AOL to advertise free trials.Eventually, broadband and wireless offerings emerged and rose to dominance, doing away with dial-up's quirks for most people accessing the internet today — but not everyone.A handful of consumers have continued to rely on internet services connected over telephone lines. In the U.S., according to Census Bureau data, an estimated 163,401 households were using dial-up alone to get online in 2023, representing just over 0.13% of all homes with internet subscriptions nationwide.Popular ReadsHegseth rails against 'woke,' lays out standards in speech to top generalsSep 30, 12:40 PMGovernment shutdown updates: US military accounts stop updates14 minutes agoSniper opens fire on Dallas ICE facility, killing 1 detainee, wounding 2: DHSSep 24, 6:39 PMWhile AOL was the largest dial-up internet provider for some time, it wasn't the only one to emerge over the years. Some smaller internet providers continue to offer dial-up today. Regardless, the decline of dial-up has been a long time coming. And AOL shutting down its service arrives as other relics of the internet's earlier days continue to disappear.Microsoft retired video calling service Skype just earlier this year — as well as Internet Explorer back in 2022. And in 2017, AOL discontinued its Instant Messenger — a chat platform that was once lauded as the biggest trend in online communication since email when it was founded in 1997, but later struggled to ward off rivals.AOL itself is far from the dominant internet player it was decades ago — when, beyond dial-up and IMs, the company also became known for its “You’ve got mail” catchphrase that greeted users who checked their inboxes, as famously displayed in the 1998 film starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan by the same name.Before it was America Online, AOL was founded as Quantum Computer Services in 1985. It soon rebranded and hit the public market in 1991. Near the height of the dot-com boom, AOL's market value reached nearly $164 billion in 2000. But tumultuous years followed, and that valuation plummeted as the once-tech pioneer bounced between multiple owners. After a disastrous merger with Time Warner Inc., Verizon acquired AOL — which later sold AOL, along with Yahoo, to a private equity firm.AOL now operates under the larger Yahoo name. A spokesperson for Yahoo didn't have any additional statements about the end of AOL's dial-up when reached by The Associated Press on Wednesday — directing customers to its previous summer announcement.At the time Verzion it sold AOL in 2021, an anonymous source familiar with the transaction told CNBC that the number of AOL dial-up users was “in the low thousands" — down from 2.1 million when Verzion first moved to acquire AOL in 2015, and far below peak demand seen back in the 90s and early 2000s. But beyond dial-up, AOL continues to offer its free email services, as well as subscriptions that advertise identity protection and other tech support.Related TopicsTechnology NewsSponsored Content by TaboolaPopular ReadsHegseth rails against 'woke,' lays out standards in speech to top generalsSep 30, 12:40 PMSniper opens fire on Dallas ICE facility, killing 1 detainee, wounding 2: DHSSep 24, 6:39 PMGovernment shutdown updates: US military accounts stop updates14 minutes agoAll victims accounted for as investigators probe motive in LDS church shooting, fireSep 29, 5:25 PMABC News Live24/7 coverage of breaking news and live eventsABC News NetworkPrivacy PolicyYour US State Privacy RightsChildren's Online Privacy PolicyInterest-Based AdsAbout Nielsen MeasurementTerms of UseDo Not Sell or Share My Personal InformationContact Us © 2025 ABC News

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AOL's dial up internet takes its last bow, marking the end of an eraIt’s official: AOL’s dial-up internet has taken its last bowByWYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS AP business writerOctober 1, 2025, 11:00 AM0:59FILE - An AOL logo is seen in the company's office in Hamburg, Germany, Jan. 12, 2010. (AP Photo/Axel Heimken, File)The Associated PressNEW YORK -- It's official: AOL's dial-up internet has taken its last bow.AOL previously confirmed it would be pulling the plug on Tuesday (Sept. 30) — writing in a brief update on its support site last month that it “routinely evaluates" its offerings and had decided to discontinue dial-up, as well as associated software “optimized for older operating systems,” from its plans.Dial-up is now no longer advertised on AOL's website. As of Wednesday, former company help pages like “connect to the internet with AOL Dialer” appeared unavailable — and nostalgic social media users took to the internet to say their final goodbyes.AOL, formerly America Online, introduced many households to the World Wide Web for the first time when its dial-up service launched decades ago, rising to prominence particularly in the 90s and early 2000s. The creaky door to the internet was characterized by a once-ubiquitous series of beeps and buzzes heard over the phone line used to connect your computer online — along with frustrations of being kicked off the web if anyone else at home needed the landline for another call, and an endless bombardment of CDs mailed out by AOL to advertise free trials.Eventually, broadband and wireless offerings emerged and rose to dominance, doing away with dial-up's quirks for most people accessing the internet today — but not everyone.A handful of consumers have continued to rely on internet services connected over telephone lines. In the U.S., according to Census Bureau data, an estimated 163,401 households were using dial-up alone to get online in 2023, representing just over 0.13% of all homes with internet subscriptions nationwide.Popular ReadsHegseth rails against 'woke,' lays out standards in speech to top generalsSep 30, 12:40 PMGovernment shutdown updates: US military accounts stop updates14 minutes agoSniper opens fire on Dallas ICE facility, killing 1 detainee, wounding 2: DHSSep 24, 6:39 PMWhile AOL was the largest dial-up internet provider for some time, it wasn't the only one to emerge over the years. Some smaller internet providers continue to offer dial-up today. Regardless, the decline of dial-up has been a long time coming. And AOL shutting down its service arrives as other relics of the internet's earlier days continue to disappear.Microsoft retired video calling service Skype just earlier this year — as well as Internet Explorer back in 2022. And in 2017, AOL discontinued its Instant Messenger — a chat platform that was once lauded as the biggest trend in online communication since email when it was founded in 1997, but later struggled to ward off rivals.AOL itself is far from the dominant internet player it was decades ago — when, beyond dial-up and IMs, the company also became known for its “You’ve got mail” catchphrase that greeted users who checked their inboxes, as famously displayed in the 1998 film starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan by the same name.Before it was America Online, AOL was founded as Quantum Computer Services in 1985. It soon rebranded and hit the public market in 1991. Near the height of the dot-com boom, AOL's market value reached nearly $164 billion in 2000. But tumultuous years followed, and that valuation plummeted as the once-tech pioneer bounced between multiple owners. After a disastrous merger with Time Warner Inc., Verizon acquired AOL — which later sold AOL, along with Yahoo, to a private equity firm.AOL now operates under the larger Yahoo name. A spokesperson for Yahoo didn't have any additional statements about the end of AOL's dial-up when reached by The Associated Press on Wednesday — directing customers to its previous summer announcement.At the time Verzion it sold AOL in 2021, an anonymous source familiar with the transaction told CNBC that the number of AOL dial-up users was “in the low thousands" — down from 2.1 million when Verzion first moved to acquire AOL in 2015, and far below peak demand seen back in the 90s and early 2000s. But beyond dial-up, AOL continues to offer its free email services, as well as subscriptions that advertise identity protection and other tech support.Related TopicsTechnology NewsSponsored Content by TaboolaPopular ReadsHegseth rails against 'woke,' lays out standards in speech to top generalsSep 30, 12:40 PMSniper opens fire on Dallas ICE facility, killing 1 detainee, wounding 2: DHSSep 24, 6:39 PMGovernment shutdown updates: US military accounts stop updates14 minutes agoAll victims accounted for as investigators probe motive in LDS church shooting, fireSep 29, 5:25 PMABC News Live24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events

AOL's dial up internet takes its last bow, marking the end of an eraIt’s official: AOL’s dial-up internet has taken its last bow

It’s official: AOL’s dial-up internet has taken its last bow

ByWYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS AP business writerOctober 1, 2025, 11:00 AM

0:59FILE - An AOL logo is seen in the company's office in Hamburg, Germany, Jan. 12, 2010. (AP Photo/Axel Heimken, File)The Associated Press

FILE - An AOL logo is seen in the company's office in Hamburg, Germany, Jan. 12, 2010. (AP Photo/Axel Heimken, File)The Associated Press

FILE - An AOL logo is seen in the company's office in Hamburg, Germany, Jan. 12, 2010. (AP Photo/Axel Heimken, File)

NEW YORK -- It's official: AOL's dial-up internet has taken its last bow.AOL previously confirmed it would be pulling the plug on Tuesday (Sept. 30) — writing in a brief update on its support site last month that it “routinely evaluates" its offerings and had decided to discontinue dial-up, as well as associated software “optimized for older operating systems,” from its plans.Dial-up is now no longer advertised on AOL's website. As of Wednesday, former company help pages like “connect to the internet with AOL Dialer” appeared unavailable — and nostalgic social media users took to the internet to say their final goodbyes.AOL, formerly America Online, introduced many households to the World Wide Web for the first time when its dial-up service launched decades ago, rising to prominence particularly in the 90s and early 2000s. The creaky door to the internet was characterized by a once-ubiquitous series of beeps and buzzes heard over the phone line used to connect your computer online — along with frustrations of being kicked off the web if anyone else at home needed the landline for another call, and an endless bombardment of CDs mailed out by AOL to advertise free trials.Eventually, broadband and wireless offerings emerged and rose to dominance, doing away with dial-up's quirks for most people accessing the internet today — but not everyone.A handful of consumers have continued to rely on internet services connected over telephone lines. In the U.S., according to Census Bureau data, an estimated 163,401 households were using dial-up alone to get online in 2023, representing just over 0.13% of all homes with internet subscriptions nationwide.Popular ReadsHegseth rails against 'woke,' lays out standards in speech to top generalsSep 30, 12:40 PMGovernment shutdown updates: US military accounts stop updates14 minutes agoSniper opens fire on Dallas ICE facility, killing 1 detainee, wounding 2: DHSSep 24, 6:39 PMWhile AOL was the largest dial-up internet provider for some time, it wasn't the only one to emerge over the years. Some smaller internet providers continue to offer dial-up today. Regardless, the decline of dial-up has been a long time coming. And AOL shutting down its service arrives as other relics of the internet's earlier days continue to disappear.Microsoft retired video calling service Skype just earlier this year — as well as Internet Explorer back in 2022. And in 2017, AOL discontinued its Instant Messenger — a chat platform that was once lauded as the biggest trend in online communication since email when it was founded in 1997, but later struggled to ward off rivals.AOL itself is far from the dominant internet player it was decades ago — when, beyond dial-up and IMs, the company also became known for its “You’ve got mail” catchphrase that greeted users who checked their inboxes, as famously displayed in the 1998 film starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan by the same name.Before it was America Online, AOL was founded as Quantum Computer Services in 1985. It soon rebranded and hit the public market in 1991. Near the height of the dot-com boom, AOL's market value reached nearly $164 billion in 2000. But tumultuous years followed, and that valuation plummeted as the once-tech pioneer bounced between multiple owners. After a disastrous merger with Time Warner Inc., Verizon acquired AOL — which later sold AOL, along with Yahoo, to a private equity firm.AOL now operates under the larger Yahoo name. A spokesperson for Yahoo didn't have any additional statements about the end of AOL's dial-up when reached by The Associated Press on Wednesday — directing customers to its previous summer announcement.At the time Verzion it sold AOL in 2021, an anonymous source familiar with the transaction told CNBC that the number of AOL dial-up users was “in the low thousands" — down from 2.1 million when Verzion first moved to acquire AOL in 2015, and far below peak demand seen back in the 90s and early 2000s. But beyond dial-up, AOL continues to offer its free email services, as well as subscriptions that advertise identity protection and other tech support.

NEW YORK -- It's official: AOL's dial-up internet has taken its last bow.

AOL previously confirmed it would be pulling the plug on Tuesday (Sept. 30) — writing in a brief update on its support site last month that it “routinely evaluates" its offerings and had decided to discontinue dial-up, as well as associated software “optimized for older operating systems,” from its plans.

Dial-up is now no longer advertised on AOL's website. As of Wednesday, former company help pages like “connect to the internet with AOL Dialer” appeared unavailable — and nostalgic social media users took to the internet to say their final goodbyes.

AOL, formerly America Online, introduced many households to the World Wide Web for the first time when its dial-up service launched decades ago, rising to prominence particularly in the 90s and early 2000s.

The creaky door to the internet was characterized by a once-ubiquitous series of beeps and buzzes heard over the phone line used to connect your computer online — along with frustrations of being kicked off the web if anyone else at home needed the landline for another call, and an endless bombardment of CDs mailed out by AOL to advertise free trials.

Eventually, broadband and wireless offerings emerged and rose to dominance, doing away with dial-up's quirks for most people accessing the internet today — but not everyone.

A handful of consumers have continued to rely on internet services connected over telephone lines. In the U.S., according to Census Bureau data, an estimated 163,401 households were using dial-up alone to get online in 2023, representing just over 0.13% of all homes with internet subscriptions nationwide.

Popular ReadsHegseth rails against 'woke,' lays out standards in speech to top generalsSep 30, 12:40 PMGovernment shutdown updates: US military accounts stop updates14 minutes agoSniper opens fire on Dallas ICE facility, killing 1 detainee, wounding 2: DHSSep 24, 6:39 PM

Hegseth rails against 'woke,' lays out standards in speech to top generalsSep 30, 12:40 PM

Hegseth rails against 'woke,' lays out standards in speech to top generals

Government shutdown updates: US military accounts stop updates14 minutes ago

Government shutdown updates: US military accounts stop updates

Sniper opens fire on Dallas ICE facility, killing 1 detainee, wounding 2: DHSSep 24, 6:39 PM

Sniper opens fire on Dallas ICE facility, killing 1 detainee, wounding 2: DHS

While AOL was the largest dial-up internet provider for some time, it wasn't the only one to emerge over the years. Some smaller internet providers continue to offer dial-up today. Regardless, the decline of dial-up has been a long time coming. And AOL shutting down its service arrives as other relics of the internet's earlier days continue to disappear.

Microsoft retired video calling service Skype just earlier this year — as well as Internet Explorer back in 2022. And in 2017, AOL discontinued its Instant Messenger — a chat platform that was once lauded as the biggest trend in online communication since email when it was founded in 1997, but later struggled to ward off rivals.

AOL itself is far from the dominant internet player it was decades ago — when, beyond dial-up and IMs, the company also became known for its “You’ve got mail” catchphrase that greeted users who checked their inboxes, as famously displayed in the 1998 film starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan by the same name.

Before it was America Online, AOL was founded as Quantum Computer Services in 1985. It soon rebranded and hit the public market in 1991. Near the height of the dot-com boom, AOL's market value reached nearly $164 billion in 2000. But tumultuous years followed, and that valuation plummeted as the once-tech pioneer bounced between multiple owners. After a disastrous merger with Time Warner Inc., Verizon acquired AOL — which later sold AOL, along with Yahoo, to a private equity firm.

AOL now operates under the larger Yahoo name. A spokesperson for Yahoo didn't have any additional statements about the end of AOL's dial-up when reached by The Associated Press on Wednesday — directing customers to its previous summer announcement.

At the time Verzion it sold AOL in 2021, an anonymous source familiar with the transaction told CNBC that the number of AOL dial-up users was “in the low thousands" — down from 2.1 million when Verzion first moved to acquire AOL in 2015, and far below peak demand seen back in the 90s and early 2000s. But beyond dial-up, AOL continues to offer its free email services, as well as subscriptions that advertise identity protection and other tech support.

Popular ReadsHegseth rails against 'woke,' lays out standards in speech to top generalsSep 30, 12:40 PMSniper opens fire on Dallas ICE facility, killing 1 detainee, wounding 2: DHSSep 24, 6:39 PMGovernment shutdown updates: US military accounts stop updates14 minutes agoAll victims accounted for as investigators probe motive in LDS church shooting, fireSep 29, 5:25 PMABC News Live24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events

Hegseth rails against 'woke,' lays out standards in speech to top generalsSep 30, 12:40 PM

Hegseth rails against 'woke,' lays out standards in speech to top generals

Sniper opens fire on Dallas ICE facility, killing 1 detainee, wounding 2: DHSSep 24, 6:39 PM

Sniper opens fire on Dallas ICE facility, killing 1 detainee, wounding 2: DHS

Government shutdown updates: US military accounts stop updates14 minutes ago

Government shutdown updates: US military accounts stop updates

All victims accounted for as investigators probe motive in LDS church shooting, fireSep 29, 5:25 PM

All victims accounted for as investigators probe motive in LDS church shooting, fire

ABC News Live24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events