How Bad is Dialup Internet in 2025?
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Get 20% off DeleteMe US consumer plans when you go to joindeleteme.com and use promo code LTT20 at checkout. DeleteMe International Plans: international.joindeleteme.com Pull out your Backstreet Boys and Spice Girls CDs—we're taking a trip back to the late '90s to revisit the experience of dial-up internet. With AOL recently shutting down its iconic dial-up service, we felt it was the perfect time to test Linus’s patience with dial-up speeds in 2025. Discuss on the forum: linustechtips.com
Check out our Channel Partners: Secretlab - Save up to $249 during their holiday sale (ends Jan. 2nd): lmg.gg PIA - Get the VPN of our choice: piavpn.com dbrand - Buy a "Circuit" series skin for your device: dbrand.com ► GET OUR MERCH: lttstore.com ► GET EXCLUSIVE CONTENT ON FLOATPLANE: lmg.gg ► SPONSORS, AFFILIATES, AND PARTNERS: lmg.gg Purchases made through some store links may provide some compensation to Linus Media Group. Affiliate links powered in part by affilimate.com Linus Sebastian is an investor in Framework Computer, Inc CHAPTERS --------------------------------------------------- 0:00 Intro 2:06 James's House 3:54 Linus Searches Linus 5:43 Dialup Tech Tips 7:41 SpeedTest...SlowTest 9:00 Steaming on Streaming 12:12 Gaming 14:20 Alternatives 16:37 Credits
This video revisits the late 1990s and early 2000s experience of dial-up internet, framed by the surprising fact that AOL shut down its dial-up service in 2025. The opening segment sets the historical stage, noting how many people worldwide were still using 56K connections despite the era of high-speed broadband, and it questions what online activities would even be possible at such low speeds. The presenter then pivots to a hands-on experiment, attempting to connect a 56K modem in a modern setup, reconnecting with the old technology via a garage RJ11 line and a Windows environment. Throughout, the video emphasizes the mismatch between contemporary web design and the limitations of dial-up, highlighting the heavy media content on modern sites that makes loading times unbearable on a slow connection. The narrative thread follows a practical testing plan, including browser tweaking, throttling network speeds, and exploring text-based browsers to simulate a usable, text-first web experience. The conclusion weighs the continued relevance of dial-up in certain contexts, such as rural areas or backup networks, while acknowledging the broader push toward faster connectivity and the challenges of restoring a dial-up era user experience in a modern internet landscape.
Topics · technology · internet history · networking · computing
Questions answered
- What makes 56K dial-up fundamentally slower than modern broadband, and is it still viable for any online tasks today?
- 56K dial-up delivers around 53 kbps download and 48 kbps upload with higher latency and occasional packet loss, which severely limits multimedia content, streaming, and interactive services. The video shows text-based browsing and controlled downloads can be possible, but general web activity like video streaming or modern dynamic sites is impractical. In some niche cases such as simple text communication, email, or specific legacy systems, dial-up remains usable as a backup or for very basic access.
- What practical tips does the video offer to improve the dial-up browsing experience?
- Tips include turning off images to save bandwidth, using download managers to organize and resume downloads, and leveraging text-based or lightweight browsers. The video also demonstrates throttling the browser to simulate 56K speeds and using tools like Windows Subsystem for Linux to run text browsers such as Links, illustrating how to navigate a resource-constrained web.
- Why would someone still use dial-up in 2025 according to the video?
- The video notes that in some regions and contexts, people do not have access to higher-speed infrastructure due to poverty, infrastructure gaps, or policy limitations. Dial-up can serve as a basic channel for text communication and email, or as a low-cost backup in environments where broadband is unaffordable or unavailable.