# AOL is finally shutting down its dial-up internet service **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 14, 2025, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aol-is-finally-shutting-down-its-dial-up-internet-service/1022039 "2025-08-14T15:57:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aol-is-finally-shutting-down-its-dial-up-internet-service/1022039/1 "2025-08-14T15:57:09Z")
> **[AOL is finally shutting down its dial-up internet service](https://apnews.com/article/aol-shuts-down-dial-up-internet-275a81f8a725619663437350b7c7ed36)** > > AOL’s dial-up internet is finally taking its last bow. Yes, while perhaps a dinosaur by today’s digital standards, dial-up is still around. Is AOL dial-up like the “[Abe Vigoda](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985) of technologies”? Show of hands, who here is surprised to learn that was actually still around. My hand is raised. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aol-is-finally-shutting-down-its-dial-up-internet-service/1022039/2 "2025-08-14T16:07:04Z")
I still have AOL mail. Little to no spam because most don’t even think it still exists. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aol-is-finally-shutting-down-its-dial-up-internet-service/1022039/3 "2025-08-14T16:10:39Z")
I mean, I knew AOL as a company still existed in some form, so I’m not too surprised that their email service still exists. I just had no idea they still offered dial-up. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aol-is-finally-shutting-down-its-dial-up-internet-service/1022039/4 "2025-08-14T16:10:51Z")
My brother has had the same AOL email account for decades now, and he’s been complaining that AOL considers servicing their legacy accounts an annoyance. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aol-is-finally-shutting-down-its-dial-up-internet-service/1022039/5 "2025-08-14T16:24:08Z")
I “knew” that AOL still had dial-up accounts in that every once in a while I’d hear someone say “Hey, did you know…” or as a piece of tech trivia. But it’s not as though it comes up often so, if you had asked me today, it’d still have been a coin flip if it was still offered since last time I heard about it. ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aol-is-finally-shutting-down-its-dial-up-internet-service/1022039/6 "2025-08-14T16:26:15Z")
But! But I’m almost done downloading that flash game from 1998! ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aol-is-finally-shutting-down-its-dial-up-internet-service/1022039/7 "2025-08-14T16:42:41Z")
I signed on to AOL on July 17, 1994. No internet in a sense, just their services locked behind a paywall. I found the Straight Dope “Big Brain” AOL section at some point on AOL and this how I ended up here. We beta-tested their new versions for awhile. The WWW is much better, but AOL had a very fun and cute smallness to it. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aol-is-finally-shutting-down-its-dial-up-internet-service/1022039/8 "2025-08-14T16:47:30Z")
As an aside, is there a thread about all the things made out of the multitude of AOL disks given away everywhere? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aol-is-finally-shutting-down-its-dial-up-internet-service/1022039/9 "2025-08-14T16:47:43Z")
I literally did check the time/date of the first post as I was sure it was some zombie resurrection. I guess not. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aol-is-finally-shutting-down-its-dial-up-internet-service/1022039/10 "2025-08-14T16:51:27Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > As an aside, is there a thread about all the things made out of the multitude of AOL disks given away everywhere? You know, I was slightly annoyed when they switched from floppy disks to CDs. At least you could erase the floppies and reuse them. I got so many free floppy disks that way! ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aol-is-finally-shutting-down-its-dial-up-internet-service/1022039/11 "2025-08-14T16:58:46Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I literally did check the time/date of the first post as I was sure it was some zombie resurrection. I guess not. I asked on this forum years ago not about the internet, but about the AOL stuff. You know, the stuff that you use keywords to view. It wasn’t on the WWW, but was “sites” or “hubs” that you could view. Did that continue to today? Or is that stuff gone and if so, when? ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aol-is-finally-shutting-down-its-dial-up-internet-service/1022039/12 "2025-08-14T17:17:29Z")
I just realized AOL dial-up actually outlasted Elwood Edwards, the man who recorded the iconic “Welcome!”, “You’ve got mail”, and other phrases, by nearly a year. [https://www.npr.org/2024/11/08/nx-s1-5183836/elwood-edwards-aol-youve-got-mail-dies](https://www.npr.org/2024/11/08/nx-s1-5183836/elwood-edwards-aol-youve-got-mail-dies) ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aol-is-finally-shutting-down-its-dial-up-internet-service/1022039/13 "2025-08-14T17:26:18Z")
It was AOL that introduced me to Cecil’s brain and the Straight Dope. I used it from 1996 to approximately 2004, when I basically forgot about it. I can’t remember the last time I used it. I too was astonished to learn it had kept going this long and, yes, checked the date stamp because it had to be a zombie thread. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aol-is-finally-shutting-down-its-dial-up-internet-service/1022039/14 "2025-08-14T17:26:32Z")
But at least you could create cool artwork on your wall! [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/26-YG4LpG0I/maxresdefault.jpg "AOL 9.0 Commercial 2003 ~ Jerry Stiller & Snoop Dogg Finish the Fish, But Which Disc!") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26-YG4LpG0I) ---
**Author:** ![Scoobysnax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Scoobysnax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scoobysnax)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aol-is-finally-shutting-down-its-dial-up-internet-service/1022039/15 "2025-08-14T17:43:52Z")
I am wondering what people with dial up were still able to access? At 2.5 MB, the average page size of a website in 2024, it would take 6 minutes to download at 56.6 kbps. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aol-is-finally-shutting-down-its-dial-up-internet-service/1022039/16 "2025-08-14T17:50:42Z")
Even AOL email itself would be a long wait at dialup speed. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aol-is-finally-shutting-down-its-dial-up-internet-service/1022039/17 "2025-08-14T19:03:45Z")
Decent bet AOL dial up also included a very simplified “walled garden” UI that resembled the ones from 1995. The ordinary 2025 WWW would be utterly useless over a 56k modem. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aol-is-finally-shutting-down-its-dial-up-internet-service/1022039/18 "2025-08-14T19:37:48Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > Show of hands, who here is surprised to learn that was actually still around. My hand is raised. I raised my hand… and in so doing, knocked my dear late grandmother’s hand-made porcelain bunny collection off the self, shattering it. Tiny ears, paws, and pastel bows scattered across the carpet like ceramic shrapnel. Somewhere in the distance, I swear I heard “You’ve Got Mail” in a mocking tone. So, thanks for that! 😡 I am surprised AOL was still online, but I’m saddened that it’s now gone, for nostalgic reasons. It harkens back to the giddy days of internet innocence, and a time when I still had a full head of hair. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aol-is-finally-shutting-down-its-dial-up-internet-service/1022039/19 "2025-08-14T20:00:28Z")
Some sites still work that way. I checked the network log for Hacker News–it reports about 90 kB of page data, but 46 kB of that was cached and of the rest, it was text that compressed down to 7.8 kB. Which would be perfectly usable on a 56k modem. Probably 1.5 s for a page load considering overhead (and that you rarely connect at exactly 56k). An average SDMB page looks to be around 150 kB compressed (with a lot more that’s cached). That’s a little crappy and would take 20-30 s to load on 56k. There isn’t 150 kB of useful text on the page, so most of that is embedded scripting or other overhead. For the rest of the web, just turning off videos/images would be a good start. Possibly AOL could offer a service where images were downsampled on the server side. And much of the bloat in pages has come from giant Javascript libraries, but those mostly get cached. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2025, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aol-is-finally-shutting-down-its-dial-up-internet-service/1022039/20 "2025-08-14T20:13:00Z")
Is there a way to artificially throttle down Internet speed to see what would work and what wouldn’t at dialup speed? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aol-is-finally-shutting-down-its-dial-up-internet-service/1022039.md?page=2)