This connects you to a private instant‑messaging server we run ourselves — not the real AOL network, which shut down years ago. It works with the actual classic AIM software from the early 2000s, so you'll be installing an app below rather than visiting a website.
Since Apple doesn't make old AIM for modern Macs, we'll use a free community project that wraps the real, original AIM software so it runs natively on your Mac.
Find the downloaded file in your Downloads folder and double‑click it to unzip. You'll get a file called AOL Instant Messenger.app.
Since this app isn't from the Mac App Store, macOS will block it until you clear one flag. Open the Terminal app and paste this, then press Return:
sudo xattr -d com.apple.quarantine ~/Downloads/AOL\ Instant\ Messenger.app
It will ask for your Mac password (nothing will appear as you type — that's normal). This step only unblocks this one app; it's safe.
Drag AOL Instant Messenger.app into your Applications folder.
Open it from Applications. The first time, it will ask permission to download the real AIM installer — click Yes and wait a minute for it to finish.
The AIM installer wizard will pop up. Click through it, keeping all the default options.
AIM will open to the sign‑on screen. Click Setup, then choose Connection under Sign On/Off. Enter aim.buis2.net as the Host and 5190 as the Port, then click OK.
Type in your screen name and password, and click Sign On — you're in!
Windows 10 / 11
Install AIM on Windows
We'll install a genuine old copy of AIM (version 5.9) and tell Windows to run it in a compatibility mode so it behaves like it did in the 2000s.
Run the installer and finish setup, then close AIM completely.
Open the Task Manager (right‑click the taskbar → Task Manager) and make sure AOL Instant Messenger (32 bit) isn't still running. If it is, click it and choose End Task.
Open File Explorer and go to:
C:\Program Files (x86)\AIM
Find the file aimapi.dll and delete it.
Right‑click aim.exe in that same folder → Properties → Compatibility tab. Check Run this program in compatibility mode for and choose Windows XP (Service Pack 3). Click OK.
Open AIM. At the sign‑on screen, click Setup, then Connection under Sign On/Off. Enter aim.buis2.net as the Host and 5190 as the Port, then click OK.
Enter your screen name and password, and sign on.
Web browser
Is there a web version?
No — and it's not really possible to add one. AIM doesn't speak the language web pages use (HTTP); it uses an older messaging protocol from the 1990s called OSCAR, built for a standalone app, not a browser tab. There's no page to open — you'll need to install one of the apps on this page.
iOS & Android
What about my phone?
No confirmed option
We looked for a phone app that can connect to a private AIM server like ours. Nothing currently on the App Store or Play Store is confirmed to work.
The closest lead is Trillian, a chat app with iOS, Android, and web versions that has historically supported AIM. We couldn't confirm whether its current version lets you point it at a custom server instead of Trillian's own network — it's a real long shot, not a recommendation. Old apps like BeejiveIM technically once supported AIM too, but appear abandoned and unmaintained. For now, the desktop apps above are the reliable path.