AOL Mail Sign In: How to Access Your Inbox

To sign in to AOL Mail, go to login.aol.com, enter your AOL email address or phone number, select Next, then enter your password and select Sign in. Your inbox opens at mail.aol.com. On a phone, you can also sign in through the AOL app.

These steps cover AOL Mail in a current web browser on a computer, phone, or tablet, the AOL app for iPhone and Android, and other email apps. If you’re locked out, AOL’s guide to fixing sign-in problems lists the official recovery steps.

Before You Sign In

• Your AOL address or phone number. Either your full address (name@aol.com) or the mobile number linked to the account works.
• Your password, or access to your recovery phone or email. If you’ve forgotten the password, AOL sends a code to one of those to let you back in.
• Verizon email addresses. If your address ends in @verizon.net, your mail is hosted by AOL. Sign in at the same AOL page with your full Verizon address. AOL Help has a separate AOL Mail for Verizon Customers section.

Type login.aol.com into the address bar yourself. Links in emails and search ads can lead to look-alike pages built to steal passwords.

How to Sign In to AOL Mail on a Computer

1. Open your browser and go to login.aol.com. You can also go to aol.com and select Sign in in the top-right corner. The Sign in to AOL page opens.
2. Enter your AOL email address or phone number in the Email or phone number box.
3. Select Next. The password screen appears.
4. Enter your password and select Sign in. If you use 2-step verification, enter the code AOL texts you or the one from your authenticator app, then confirm it.
5. Go to mail.aol.com or select Mail to open your inbox. If AOL opens to the Today page instead, you can set it to open AOL Mail to your inbox.

You’ll know it worked when your message list appears with folders such as Inbox, Sent, and Spam on the left.

How to Sign In on a Phone or Tablet

AOL’s mobile mail help page lists three ways to read AOL Mail on a phone:

• AOL app: install it from the App Store or Google Play, open it, and sign in with your AOL email and password. Your inbox appears under Mail.
• Mobile browser: go to mail.aol.com and sign in the same way as on a computer. The layout is simpler, but most features are there. Use this on a borrowed device.
• Your phone’s email app: add AOL as an account in the device settings. On an iPhone, AOL says to choose the AOL logo when adding the account so it uses AOL’s secure sign-in.

If an older email app, Outlook, or the Gmail app won’t accept your AOL password, AOL says to create an app password for that app instead. App passwords are also needed in third-party apps if you use 2-step verification.

If Yahoo Mail is your main inbox, you can also add your AOL account to Yahoo Mail and read both in one place.

If an app asks for server details, the standard AOL settings are IMAP server imap.aol.com (port 993, SSL) for incoming mail and SMTP server smtp.aol.com (port 465, SSL) for outgoing mail. Your username is your full AOL email address, and the password is usually the app password you generated.

Forgot Your Password or Username?

1. On the password screen, select the link for a forgotten password. For a forgotten username, select Forgot username on the first sign-in screen.
2. Follow the verification steps. AOL sends a code to the recovery phone number or email on your account.
3. Create a new password. You’re signed in. Use the new password everywhere, including email apps on your phone.

AOL’s Sign-in Helper tool does the same thing from a separate page. AOL’s password help page explains both options and notes that you need access to your recovery phone or email. After a password change, remember to update the email password on your iPhone as well.

Lost your recovery phone and email? Use only the recovery options on help.aol.com; no outside website or caller can unlock the account.

Add 2-Step Verification

AOL’s 2-step verification guide says to sign in to the AOL Account Security page, select Turn on next to 2-Step Verification, and choose a phone number or authenticator app. After that, each new sign-in asks for a code as well as your password.

Can’t Sign In to AOL Mail?

AOL’s sign-in troubleshooting page suggests these fixes:

• Sign out completely, then sign back in.
• Check your password, and reset it if you get an “Invalid password” message. Make sure Caps Lock is off.
• Use an up-to-date browser such as Chrome, Edge, Firefox, or Safari. AOL says older browsers like Internet Explorer may not work.
• Clear your browser’s cache and cookies, and make sure JavaScript and cookies are turned on. In Chrome, follow these steps to enable cookies. Safari on an iPhone has its own setting to allow cookies in the Safari iPhone browser.
• Turn off pop-up blockers or add aol.com to your firewall’s allowed list if the page is blank.

If those don’t help:

• The page keeps looping or signing you out: open a private or incognito window and sign in there. If that works, a browser extension or old cookie is the cause.
• Too many failed attempts: wait a while before trying again, or reset your password instead of guessing.
• Nothing works anywhere: try mail.aol.com on another device or network. If it fails there too, wait and try later.

Watch Out for Fake Support

Be careful with phone numbers you find in search results. Only use contact details listed on help.aol.com, and never give your password or a verification code to someone who calls or messages you. AOL’s help pages note that its live phone support is a paid premium service. If someone else may have your password, change it right away.

How to Sign Out of AOL Mail

• On a computer: select your profile name or icon at the top of AOL Mail and choose Sign out. Always do this on a shared or public computer.
• AOL app: open the app’s account or profile menu and look for the sign-out or remove-account option. Signing out keeps your AOL account; it just removes it from the app.
• Apple Mail on iPhone: there’s no sign-out button. Go to Settings > Apps > Mail > Mail Accounts (in older iOS versions, Settings > Mail > Accounts), tap your AOL account, and tap Delete Account. This only removes it from the iPhone. Your AOL account and email stay on AOL’s servers.
• Safari or another phone browser: open the menu on mail.aol.com and sign out, the same way as on a computer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need an AOL account to use AOL Mail?

Yes. If you don’t have one, select Create account on the sign-in page, or see AOL’s Create and manage an AOL Mail account. AOL Mail itself is free.

Is it safe to stay signed in?

Only on a device that’s yours alone. On a shared computer, sign out when you’re done and don’t let the browser save your password.

Why does my phone’s mail app keep asking for my AOL password?

The app may be using an older sign-in method AOL blocks. AOL suggests removing the account and adding it again, or using an app password. On an iPhone, start by removing the email account from iPhone Mail.

Is the AOL sign-in page the same as mail.aol.com?

Both are official. login.aol.com is the sign-in page, and mail.aol.com is your inbox. If you aren’t signed in, mail.aol.com sends you to the sign-in page first.

Once you’re signed in, you can also view the full headers of an AOL email to check who really sent a message. If mail from strangers is the problem, see what replaced the setting to disable links from unknown senders in AOL Mail.

To see more of your inbox at once, you can also hide the reading pane in AOL Mail.

Writing to a group? Here’s how to BCC someone in AOL Mail so everyone’s address stays private.