AOL Mail sign up: get a free aol.com email address

Quick Steps to create an AOL account:

1. 1 Go to www.aol.com.
2. 2 If someone is logged in, click Sign Out (top right).
3. 3 Click on the Sign Up link (top right corner).
4. 4 Fill out the new account form.
5. 5 Supply a cell phone / alternate email for password reset purposes.
6. 6 Click on the Sign Up button.

New AOL Account Sign up

Go to AOL.com in your web browser: you should see a "Welcome, Sign in" label in the top right corner of the page. If you don't, it probably means that someone is already logged into AOL inside that web browser. Just click on the "Sign Out" link - you'll be redirected to AOL's homepage.

Enter your account information

When the sign up form opens, fill out your information - a few points to keep in mind:

• The first and last name you enter become the "From" sender name.
• Your AOL password is case-sensitive: make sure that CapsLock is turned off!
• Enter real information, since it is used as verification to reset your password.
• The zip / postal code you enter customizes local news and weather forecast.
• Except for alternate email and phone number, all fields are mandatory.
• The alternate email address is the easiest way to reset your password: supply it! (Without it, AOL will make you verify your secret question/answer, and make you provide various account information - it's longer, and you might forget what you answered!) Having a cell phone number on file also helps you restore access to your account if you have trouble signing in...

Note: you will be able to add a cell phone or add an alternate email address later on, and both can be changed at any time. But doing so as you are setting up your new AOL account is a lot easier!

Complete the sign up process

Click on the Sign up button: you'll get a printer-friendly summary screen that confirms your AOL username (the screen name, and part of your email address that comes before the "@" symbol), and your security question / secret answer combo. If you entered an alternate email, a message with a link will be waiting in your other inbox: you need to confirm that you own that address before it can officially be used by AOL. Optionally save or print this page, and click "OK".

You'll be redirected to AOL's homepage, with your username listed in the upper right corner of the page, above the Sign Out link.

Notice the envelope icon: the overlaid number shows the number of unread emails. Moving your cursor above the envelope previews the most recent messages. The television icon goes to "AOL On" (news and entertainment). The heart ("Favorites") is AOL's online bookmarks service.

Tip: whenever you are logged in to AOL, you'll see these three icons at the top of the screen. Notice the Compose link in the preview popup: a single click on that creates a new message - you don't even need to go inside AOL Mail to do that!

Check your new email account!

Clicking on the envelope icon or the "View All Mail" link will go to the AOL Mail homepage: click on the Email button on the left of the toolbar to compose a new message (or use the corresponding Alt+W keyboard shortcut!), or click on Inbox to check your emails: you'll have at least one, a welcome from the AOL Mail team.

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