Unlimited internet access through America Online is $25.90 per month. This makes America Online one of the most expensive dialup internet service providers in the USA, especially compared to top-quality providers like mFire, where great Internet service is as low as $14.95 per month (a savings of over $100 a year compared to AOL.)
AOL is notoriously slow, and many users have frequent problems with busy signals when trying to dial in. However, these issues are not reported very much lately. Many users complain how AOL forces many popup ads on you, which can be annoying and slow down your computer, but this is something that can be turned off in the marketing preferences of your AOL account at AOL Keyword: choice. (However, some users have reported that this doesn’t help stop popups. This may be a general problem or be limited to AOL 9.0 DSL.)
Another problem is that AOL does not use the standard POP3 protocol for email. This means that you cannot use popular email programs like Outlook Express, Eudora, etc. to access your AOL email. (Update: AOL now supports IMAP. See AOL Keyword “Open Mail Access” for more information.)
Users have complained about being double billed by AOL, so if you use them be sure to check that you never get charged twice for a single month of service. (It isn’t clear if there is a problem with the AOL billing system. More likely is that these customers accidentally signed up for two accounts or split off a new screenname into its own account by mistake.) Also, AOL requires a lot of major software to run, and some users report extensive problems with their computer after installing AOL.
Although AOL has never been popular with power users, it is by far the most popular ISP in the USA. This is probably because AOL really is easy to use and may be a good choice for those who are new to computers and the Internet.
With AOL 9.0 you get 7 email addresses, parental controls and a ton of AOL only features and content. AOL features online customer support as well as tech support via a toll-free phone number.
How to cancel AOL.