What is Rocketmail?

At the beginning of the email era (way before Gmail became a thing), Rocketmail was the go-to email provider. In fact, it was one of the first free email providers for the general public. At one point at a time, Rocketmail and Hotmail were battling for the nr. 1 spot among the free email providers.

Acquisition by Yahoo

In 1997, Yahoo acquired Four11, the company that owned the rocket mail, for $92 million in stock. On October 8th, Yahoo announced that it will begin to offer free email to its users once the acquisition is complete.

"With the acquisition of Four11's core technologies and resources, we are able to expand our communications offerings and provide a broader range of value-added services for Internet users," said Yahoo chief executive Tim Koogle.

Transition

After the transition, the former Rocketmail users could chose from two options:

• Choose a new Yahoo! ID
• Use an ID in this format "username.rm"

Whatever option you choose, your old rocketmail email address worked just fine, the emails being forwarded to the new one.

The return of the Rocketmail

After Yahoo! acquired Rocketmail, no new user registrations with Rocketmail as their email ID were accepted. In an unexpected move in 2008 (9 years after the acquisition), Yahoo! opened two email address options for new users. It was ymail.com and rocketmail.com. After 9 years, new users were again able to create an email under the rocketmail.com domain. As it often goes with unexpected changes like that, it didn't last long. The ability for new users to register email address under these two domains was phased out later on.

Frequently asked questions:

Is rocketmail still around?

Rocketmail as a service is no longer around. It was purchased by Yahoo in 1997. However, email addresses ending with rocketmail.com continue to work, but are part of the Yahoo ecosystem now.

What email is rocketmail?

Rocketmail is an old email domain, which falls under the Yahoo ecosystem since 1997. Before 1997, it was one of the most popular free email services.

How do I access rocketmail?

Since Yahoo! acquired rocketmail in 1997, you now have to use Yahoo!'s interface to access your rocketmail email.

1. Visit Rocketmail.com (will redirect you to Yahoo) or Yaaho email login page directly (Rocketmail was acquired by Yahoo).

   

2. Enter your Rocketmail email. Alternatively, you can use your phone number if you have one associated with your account. Click next
3. Enter the password associated with your Rocketmail account and click next.
4. You are now logged in!

How to recover forgotten Rocketmail account password?

Since Rocketmail was acquired by Yahoo, you have to use their interface to reset your password.

1. Visit the Yahoo email login page.
2. Enter your Rocketmail email or a phone number associated with your account.
3. Click on the "Forgot your password?" link.
4. Use one of the proposed verification methods to recover your password (it might be an SMS, security question, or a recovery email)