For millions of early internet users, AOL was the gateway to the digital world — complete with “You’ve got mail” greetings, buddy lists, and the unforgettable screech of a dial-up connection. Now, more than three decades later, that chapter is officially closing. AOL, now a Yahoo brand, has announced it will shut down its dial-up internet service on September 30. The closure will also retire the AOL Dialer software and the AOL Shield browser, both designed for older operating systems and legacy connections.
“This change affects only the dial-up component of certain legacy AOL Advantage, CompuServe, and Netscape Connect plans,” a Yahoo spokesperson told FOX Business. “Other AOL services — including free email accounts — will remain available.”
AOL: it’s the end of an era
Once a dominant force in the 1990s, AOL connected millions of households through home phone lines. Its free trial CDs were everywhere — tucked inside magazines, mailed to homes, even handed out at retail stores. The process was slow, noisy, and often tied up the household landline, but it brought the internet into living rooms across America. While the company says it still serves a loyal customer base, broadband has long overtaken dial-up. Today, only a “very small number” of people still rely on it, making its sunset inevitable.
AOL’s legacy remains a cornerstone of internet history — from its blockbuster 2000 merger with Time Warner, to its later acquisitions by Verizon and Apollo Global Management. With this final sign-off, an era that once defined online culture quietly comes to a close.
