# AOL Instant Messenger keeps signing me out

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aol-instant-messenger-keeps-signing-me-out/530889>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 1, 2010, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aol-instant-messenger-keeps-signing-me-out/530889 "2010-03-01T18:16:31Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Engywook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bc8723/32.png) [@Engywook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Engywook)\
**Post date:** [March 1, 2010, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aol-instant-messenger-keeps-signing-me-out/530889/1 "2010-03-01T18:16:31Z")

</div>

It seems that after a couple of hours of not using AIM, it signs me out. Often, when I try to reconnect, I get a message that says “You’re signing on again too soon. Try again later.”

This isn’t so good because AIM is one of my boss’s preferred ways to communicate. Why does AIM do this to me, and is there anything I can do in the settings to prevent it?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aol-instant-messenger-keeps-signing-me-out/530889/2 "2010-03-02T00:58:13Z")

</div>

What version of AIM are you using? Have you tried completely uninstalling it and installing the latest version?

If that doesn’t work, try a different IM that also talks to all your AIM contacts:

> **[Pidgin](https://www.pidgin.im/)**
>
> Pidgin is a universal chat client, allowing you to consolidate all your different messaging apps into a single tool.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Catalyst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@Catalyst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catalyst)\
**Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aol-instant-messenger-keeps-signing-me-out/530889/3 "2010-03-02T09:43:01Z")

</div>

If you don’t want to install anything new right away, you can try [Meebo](http://www.meebo.com).

Is this a laptop or a desktop? If it’s a laptop, does this occur regardless of what network you’re connected to?