You've Got Mail! But AOL Is Shutting Down Your Dial-Up Internet Service

by Aaron Leong — Monday, August 11, 2025, 11:25 AM EDT

Dear friends, it is time to pour one out for the iconic, screeching sound of a modem connecting to the internet. AOL, a name synonymous with the early days of the world wide web, has announced it will officially end its dial-up internet service on September 30, pulling the plug on a service that once connected millions but has since become more of a running meme.

For a generation, the internet wasn't always "on" like it is now. It was something you logged into with an arduous ritual. It began with the distinct sound of your modem dialing a phone number, followed by a symphony of beeps, whistles, and static. Then, after what felt like an eternity, came the infamous words (if you were an AOL customer): "You've got mail!" This was the soundtrack of the 1990s and early 2000s, a time when going online meant tying up the family's phone line and patiently waiting for a single image to load line by line.

aol order now1 — *Despite the end-of-service announcement, you can still order the CD.*

In a quiet announcement on its support website, AOL stated that it "routinely evaluates its products and services and has decided to discontinue dial-up Internet." The decision also means the end of associated software like the AOL Dialer and AOL Shield browser, both of which were optimized for these connections. This shutdown marks the end of a 34-year run for the service, which debuted in 1991.

While the news may seem like a 'Wait, that still exists!?' moment for many of you readers, dial-up has quietly persisted for years. Although user numbers have dwindled from a peak of tens of millions to just a few thousand, the service remained a lifeline for some, particularly in rural areas where broadband infrastructure has been slow to arrive. For these users, dial-up offered a crucial, albeit slow, way to send emails or browse simple websites. Believe it or not, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, in 2023 around 163,000 American households still relied on dial-up service as their primary internet connection.

you ve got mail with elwood edwards1 — *Elwood Edwards, the man behind the "You've got mail" clip.*

The death of AOL's dial-up is more than just a business decision; it’s a cultural milestone. It signals the final farewell to a pioneering period of the internet when the experience was defined by anticipation and limited access. It was a time of free trial CDs that seemed to arrive in every mailbox, late-night AOL Instant Messenger chats, and the carefully-curated list of friends who were "online." The modern internet, with its fiber connections and constant streaming, is a world away from the 56 kilobits per second speeds that once felt like a technological marvel.

As the September 30 deadline approaches, the modem crackle and the thrill of hearing "You've got mail" (voiced by Elwood Edwards) will soon fade into history, joining other relics of the '90s like Blockbuster and Discmans.

You've Got Mail! But AOL Is Shutting Down Your Dial-Up Internet Service

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