It has happened to all of us that, suddenly, one fine day everything that had been working without problems, begins to give errors. One after another and, worst of all, without a rational explanation. So if you're a fan of HBO Max and its series, you're hooked on the house of the dragon and you don't want a bug to blow up the experience of seeing how the Targaryens end up, look at everything we tell you about how to solve the problems that may afflict you.
Common and general errors
When we use a streaming platform, nothing should go wrong if we are using one of the many applications that are published for mobile phones, tablets, computers, consoles, and operating systems for set-top box (STB), such as Android TV, Google TV and of course Apple's tvOS or the FireOS of the TV Sticks sold by Amazon. In all these cases nothing should go wrong as long as we are certain that we have taken a series of measures that are necessary to maintain the good health of streaming. And they are these.
Is your device compatible with HBO Max?
First of all Let's see if the device from which you want to play the content of the platform is compatible. Because we are also considering some incidents that have a very simple diagnosis: you have to change your smartphone, tablet, Smart TV, STB or video game console. So here we leave you all the minimum requirements necessary to enjoy HBO Max on each platform:
Smartphones and tablets
- iPhone with iOS 12.2
- iPad with iPadOS 12.2
- Android: version 5 or later.
Computers
- PC with Windows 7 or later.
- Mac with macOS X 10.10 (Yosemite) or later.
Smart TV
- Android TV: version 5.0 or later.
- Apple TV 4K or Apple TV HD with the latest version of tvOS.
- Fire TV: Neither Amazon nor HBO Max specify a minimum version on their official support page, and only point out that it "varies by device."
- Samsung TV from 2016 or later.
- LG Smart TV with webOS 3.5 or later.
Have you updated the application?
If from one day to the next you verify that the thing is not working well and by means of which you have not touched anything essential in the system, the same the error is in the version you are trying to run, which is not the last of those published by HBO Max and, therefore, there is no way to access or play the content from its servers. So the first thing you should do is go to the app store of the device on which you are trying to view the content and check that you have the latest one installed. Yes? Well, we move on to the next point.
You have internet?
The second option that we must attend to if HBO Max does not work for us and we have it updated to the latest version is confirm that the device from which we connect has internet at a speed compatible with the service. In other words, not only do we have a connection, but it is also prepared to receive the amount of data required for a real-time transmission. To do this, exit the HBO Max application and check that any other you have is loading without problems (for example, the browser and a website that you know never fails). If the result is that nothing is working, you have already found the problem.
If you also want make a speed test, you will be able to know the quality at which you are going to see the series and movies.
Is HBO Max down?
If the two previous points are not the problem, then you have to go see if HBO Max is to blame for the errors in the service and, yes, unlike Netflix, there is no page where they tell us if the servers are down or not. So we recommend you look at pages that monitor that activity and can detect an incident so that we find out that the fault lies in the hands of the service provider.
Sign out and restart the device
Once all of the above seems not to be the source of the problem, we are going to look for a solution that HBO Max itself offers on its support page, such as the log out of our account and restart the device. This operation could allow us to regenerate our profile data, which may have been corrupted and prevent normal operation, in this case, of HBO Max.
So to sign out of your account in the HBO Max app, you must do the following:
- Access the Settings on your mobile, tablet, computer, web browser, Smart TV, STB or video game console.
- Click on Logout to unlink your account.
- Now turn off the device.
- Wait 10 seconds before turning it back on again.
- Open the app HBO Max.
- Log in and check if all the errors are gone.
Clear app cache
In the case of Android, we have another alternative such as delete this temporary data that the application generates with each use we make, in such a way that as time passes it is possible that they become corrupted. That causes a failure that prevents seeing anything. So take your device with the Google OS (mobile or tablet) and do the following. Of course, remember that your OS installation has the phone menus somewhat changed compared to what we indicate just below:
- go to the Settings of your device.
- Now look for the option Applications.
- Look for HBO Max in the list of all that appear (in alphabetical order).
- Once inside, go to the section Storage.
- At the bottom you will see the possibility of deleting the cache data. click on Clear cache.
- Go back to HBO Max and check that the errors have disappeared.
Reinstall the app
So far we have tried to solve the problems without touching the application itself, since we assume that it does not have any functional problems but, as it was the case with temporary data in the cache, What if the installation is not as it should? So the next thing is to delete it following the instructions on how to do it in each of the operating systems where we can use it, that is, mobile phones, tablets, computers, Smart TVs, video game consoles or HDMI and STB keys.
Problems with HBO Max on Samsung Smart TV
Samsung has officially recognized a way to fix problems in the event that HBO Max does not install correctly on the television (models between 2016 and 2021) and even fails to do so. So if this is your case, remember the steps you must follow. Look:
- Perform a reset of the Smart Hub by accessing the Menu of the Smart TV.
- Now select the option Configuration.
- Then click on Smart Hub.
- Choose Smart Hub Reset.
- Now try again to install the application HBO Max.
If the error persists, then we will have to carry out another process that is to carry out a self-diagnosis of the Smart TV. To do it you must:
- Accesses Menu from the television.
- Now enter the option Technical support.
- There you will see the function Self-diagnosis. We enter it.
- Click on Restart.
- The Smart TV will ask you for a PIN. Enter 0000 (four zeros).
- Choose Yes for the process to begin.
- Once finished, check the result it gives you and try again if you can install the HBO Max application.
Does the problem persist?
If all of the above has not worked for you, then it is time to look carefully at what is happening with the television. From Samsung we recommend two methods. Below we explain how to carry them out.
TV soft reset
It is not about returning the TV to the factory settings but it is about a reboot that goes beyond standby mode with which most Samsung models work. To do so, you must:
- Press the power button on the remote until it turns off and back on again (five seconds should be all you need).
- Now unplug the smart tv from the outlet and wait 30 seconds before plugging it back in.
Check for OS updates
If the above does not work, then it is time to go a step further and Check that we have the latest update installed of the television OS. To do this, you must follow the following instructions:
- Access the Settings from the television.
- Go to the section Support.
- Now search Software update.
- Click on Update to start searching for the latest OS version released by Samsung.
What if all of the above fails?
In the event that none of what we have indicated works for you, the following would be try to contact HBO Max technical support, which offers you the following possibilities:
- email to contact[at]hbomax.com.
- Cat direct to report problems:
- La phone option is not operational since they warn that the service is "closed for the day", so they refer to the option by email.