After investigating the issue and attempting to replicate the issue on our devices, here’s a list of potential culprits that might be responsible for this issue when attempting to use HBO Max: Now that you are aware of every potential reason that might make HBO Max unusable, here’s a list of troubleshooting guides and fixes that other affected users have successfully used to restore playback on HBO Max:
Check for a Server Issue
It’s been more than a year now since HBO Max originally launched and platform users are losing their patients seeing how the stability of the streaming platform doesn’t improve with each iteration. If you’re currently experiencing streaming issues with HBO Max and you’ve already tried different devices, chances are WarnerMedia is currently dealing with another widespread issue fueled by a technical problem. This has happened a few dozen times since the platform has launched and it usually takes from a few hours to a couple of days to get resolved. To make sure that the problem is indeed caused by a server issue and not something that you can fix locally, you can use services like Down Detector or Is It Down Right Now to see if other HBO Max users in your area are currently reporting the same kind of issues. If both websites are currently reporting a possible server issue with HBO Max, you should also take the time to check the official Twitter account of HBO Max and see if there’s an official announcement of a possible server issue. If the investigation above has not revealed any evidence of a server issue with HBO Max, move down to the next fix below for some steps on bypassing the issue locally.
Cast HBO Max from an Android or iOS device (if applicable)
In case you are only experiencing this issue while you attempt to stream content natively from an Android TV or Apple TV, chances are you’re dealing with a glitch that breaks the streaming platform on TV platforms – This issue has been coming around since the platform inception. If you are unlucky enough to experience this problem, the only viable workaround is to bypass the TV application and stream the content from a different device. Several users that we’re also dealing with this problem have managed to bypass the streaming issue with HBO Max by using an iOS or Android device to cast the HBO Max content to your smart TV. UPDATE: Since 2020, the vast majority of paid streaming services including HBO Max have severely restricted the ability to directly cast copyrighted material to a TV. As of now, the only way to cast HBO Max is to use a Chromecast dongle or Airplay to successfully beam the content to your Smart TV (unless you have a smart TV with native casting capabilities). Depending on your preferred casting device, follow one of the sub-guides below to cast HBO Max content from your Android or iOS device via Chromecast or AirPlay.
Cast HBO Max via Chromecast
Cast HBO Max via Airplay
Enable HBO Max Video playback in Brave browser (if applicable)
If you’re using Brave and this is the only browser that refuses to allow you to stream content from HBO Max, you’re probably dealing with an unresolved video playback issue that’s specific to this browser. According to some affected users, this issue occurs due to the way the browser is designed to handle adaptive video playback quality (the method is different than any other browser which might end up causing issues with HBO Max). Fortunately, there’s an easy fix that will allow you to fix this HBO Max problem with Brave and allow video playback to take place without issues – It involves creating a dedicated shortcut and modifying the Target field so that VideoPlaybackQuality is enabled by default. Follow the instructions below for step by step instructions on fixing the HBO Max playback issues inside the Brave browser: If this problem is still not resolved, move down to the next potential fix below.
Use a different browser (if applicable)
If you’re using Microsoft Edge or Internet Explorer when attempting to stream content from HBO Max, there’s a big chance you’ll have to migrate to a 3rd party browser before you’ll get it to work. As it turns out, HBO Max uses a new Flash sub-protocol that Microsoft is actively blocking with both Edge and Internet Explorer. At the time of writing this article, the issue is not fixed, so your only choice really is to migrate to a different 3rd party browser that is equipped to support HBO Max Playback. Here are a few viable browser alternatives:
Google ChromeMozilla FirefoxBrave (follow the method above to configure it for HBO Max)Opera
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