AOL for Free?
"I read somewhere that AOL is going to stop charging for their Internet service and make AOL access free. Is that true, and if so, are there any gotchas I should now about?"
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AOL Wants to Be Free
Yes, it true... AOL access is now free. But I have clarify up front that "AOL access" does not mean "Internet access". If you already have an Internet connection (dialup, cable, DSL, or fiber) then you can now access all of the services that AOL offers for free. So if you've been paying for AOL and recently have switched to a broadband connection at home, you can stop paying for your AOL account.
Really. Just go to Keyword: Change Plan on AOL and click the Free button. No strings attached, no "customer retention specialists" to talk with. Nothing to install or download. Anyone with a connection to the Internet can get a free AOL account. If you cancelled your AOL account in the last few years in favor of broadband, you can even get your AOL screen name back.
"Let Me Make This Perfectly Clear"
With all due respect to Richard M. Nixon, let me reiterate this important point. Free AOL is only for people with some OTHER means of accessing the Internet. If you have AOL and a high-speed connection through some other provider, you can "go free" and pay nothing for AOL. But if you need the dial-up connection from AOL, you can still save a chunk of change. Switch your plan from the standard $25.90 a month to the $9.95 a month plan, and you can continue as usual.
What Does a Free AOL Account Offer?
First and foremost, an AOL account offers free web-based email on AOL.COM. I prefer web-based email over traditional email software, because I can access my email from anywhere in the world, as long as I have an Internet connection. With a typical email client such as Outlook or Thunderbird, your email is tied to one computer. I love being able to access my email from a friend's house, a hotel room, a cafe, or my car.
Here are some of the other services you can get with a free AOL account.
- Online Storage
- AOLVideo.com
- AOLRadio
- AIM Phoneline
- AIM Pro
- Security Tools
Xdrive is like a personal hard drive on the Internet, accessible from ANY computer. You get 5 GB of free online storage, and software for
Windows that makes it easy to just copy files to and from your Xdrive. Stash music, photos, videos, or whatever you like on your Xdrive. And don't tell... you can use a different screen name and get another 5 Gb of storage.
AOL's answer to YouTube is billed as the best all-around video portal. In addition to user-created videos, you can search through millions of pieces of video, buy and download full-length movies from most major studios, or watch re-runs of classic TV shows.
Listen to your favorite music online, including XM Satellite Radio stations. Over 200 streaming internet radio stations, from Classical to Country, Hip-Hop to Alternative, Pop to Rock.
AIM Phoneline gives you incoming calls with voicemail, integrated with your AIM buddylist. Get your "AIM digits" to give out as a no-hassle phone number to marketers, people you meet at social functions, etc. It's a free, local telephone number that comes with voicemail, delivered right to your email inbox. When you're online, it lets you screen and answer calls, using your PC microphone and speakers.
Secure instant messaging and tight integration with Outlook contact management. Also gives extra collaborative functions for business users
that the regular AIM doesn't provide. It's worth a look if you IM at work.
The AOL Safety and Security Center includes comprehensive anti-virus protection to protect computer and your e-mail. You also get spyware protection, as well as a firewall.
Granted, you can get many of these services elsewhere on the Web. But integration can be nice, and I applaud AOL for making the move to offer their services for free. It's especially good news for the many AOL users that have been paying a premium price to access AOL, on top of paying for high-speed Internet service. To get your free AOL account, go to http://free.aol.com/thenewaol/plan_choice.adp then click the "High-speed Users" tab.
Got comments about AOL or the move to the Free model? Post your thoughts below...
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Posted by Bob Rankin on September 20, 2006 07:21 PM
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Article information: AskBobRankin -- AOL for Free? (Posted: September 20, 2006 07:21 PM)
Printed from: http://askbobrankin.com/aol_for_free.html
Copyright © 2005 - Bob Rankin - All Rights Reserved
Most recent comments on "AOL for Free?"
(See all 80 comments for this article.)Posted by:
jack
03 Aug 2009
Bob, Thanks for your article. I live in rural PA and just purchased a MIFI/WIFI 2200 wireless system from Verizon which is working well. I switched to 2 free aol accounts one for my new Macbook Pro laptop and one for an older IMAC which I have tweeked to OS X10.4. I am using the IMAC as the hub. I can get both computers to access the internet fine. The problem is I can receive and send e-mail on my laptop in MAIL fine but I can't receive e-mail on the IMAC using MAIL but I can send mail in MAIL on the IMAC. I sure this is a preference setting issue but AOL refuses to help free customers with live questions etc. and I have had no help with Verizon. If you or anyone might know the correct prefrence settings that would allow me to have a free AOL account and open e-mail and send emial while in MAIL let me know. I did attempt to mirror the settings I have on the Macbook Pro Laptop to the IMAC but was not sucessful in this stategy.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Jack, I think this has nothing to do with AOL (unless you're trying to receive your AOL.com email via MAIL). Your ISP should be able to give you the correct email server settings to send and receive email on the iMac. If you're using the same settings on both Macs and one can't receive mail, then I'm not sure how to advise you. What sort of error do you get?
Posted by:
kathy
04 Aug 2009
i want to get a free aol i need help please
EDITOR'S NOTE: I'll be glad to help. First, you need a few Capital Letters and Punctuation Marks. Here's a starter set: ABCDEFGHIKJLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ { . } ? [ : ] ( ! )
Now, to get your free AOL account, just follow the simple instructions in the article on which you commented. If that doesn't work, let me know and we'll take it from there.
Posted by:
Tom
18 Aug 2009
With free AOL do you still have access to the AOL database to jump into chat rooms and look up other members??
Posted by:
Patrick
23 Aug 2009
I have a network connection but no internet access as I just dropped my server. How do I set up my computer to receive free AOL?
EDITOR'S NOTE: There's nothing to set up... but you DO need Internet access.
Posted by:
Carol
06 Sep 2009
I have had AOL dial-up for a long time and just a few days ago decided to get Quest high speed. So as of this writing, I haven't discontinued AOL or changed to the "Free" AOL because I'm not exactly sure what I will be getting. I came across your website and find it very interesting. I went through your Q&A but didn't find the answers I needed.
Will I still be able to receive and write emails through AOL, (I'm used to AOL email and like the way it works)also will the free version of AOL retain all my "Favorites" that I currently have in AOL. I would also like to know what I WON'T be getting with the FREE AOL. And how is the FREE different from the $4.95 or $9.95 that some people are paying. I look forward to your reply. Thank you.
EDITOR'S NOTE: It won't be any different. You can still use the AOL sotware to connect and do everything you do now.
Posted by:
cathy
07 Sep 2009
I reciently changed to free Aol and copied the info to access it but the part that had the addresses on it did not print out when every thing else did. Is there a way I can access a site tso I can get into my aol account?
EDITOR'S NOTE: You should be able to access AOL the same as always, with the AOL software. If you no longer have it, you can go to http://www.aol.com with your web browser.
Posted by:
Laura
10 Sep 2009
Just wanted to say, Thanks! I am starting the process of getting high speed "satellite" internet service and wanted to continue using AOL, so your site is really a great help.
Thank you again for providing your time.
Posted by:
Pro2k
12 Sep 2009
I been using aol for free almost four years now...
EDITOR'S NOTE: Hooray, then you must have read this article back when it was originally published in fall of 2006!
Posted by:
John A
06 Oct 2009
In the past I had more than one AOL email address. The current AOL page that opens when I connect does not display anything that allows me to either access or create additional AOL email addresses. Is the free AOL exempt of this feature?
EDITOR'S NOTE: You can still login with all your alternate screen names. And you can even create new ones. Visit http://www.aol.com then click "Sign In". There's a big green box that says "Get a FREE AOL Screen Name Now".
Posted by:
raymond bristol
19 Oct 2009
thankz