HBO Max Won't Play On Roku? Here’s How To Fix It

Since Roku supports the HBO Max channel, you can enjoy its hundreds of shows seamlessly. However, sometimes you might encounter problems with HBO videos not playing on your Roku.

Well, minor factors such as ended subscription or poor internet can lead to the issue. So, simply connecting your Roku to a strong internet might troubleshoot it. Besides, in this article, we have listed down 9 other fixes for troubleshooting the error.

Table of Contents

Why HBO Max Won’t Play on Roku?

Below, we have identified the possible causes for HBO Max not playing on Roku.

Geographically restricted content
Corrupt cache
Ended trial or subscription
Server down
Outdated version
Incompatible with Roku
Poor internet
Incorrect password

How to Fix HBO Max Not Playing on Roku?

Your screen will most likely get stuck while streaming HBO Max when minor glitches occur on the app. Similarly, the app will not respond and stop playing videos if RAM usage is high. Therefore, your best bet to fix such an error is to restart your app.

After restarting the app, we recommend restarting your Roku TV to troubleshoot the problem. If you use a Roku stick, you can perform a power cycle. Besides, if you are still unable to stream on HBO Max, you can follow the listed fixes one by one below.

Check Network and Improve if Needed

You will encounter HBO Max playback issues on Roku if your device has Wi-Fi or internet problems, especially when streaming 4K video. So, you can check the signal strength from settings. If it shows poor, you need to improve the connection to solve the error.

You can implement a few general measures to boost the network connection. You can disconnect all inactive devices connected to WiFi. Moreover, you can reboot your WiFi router and position it closer to Roku. It will help increase the connection speed. You should be able to play videos on HBO Max.

Here are the steps to check network.

Pressing the Roku remote’s Home button, open Home Screen.
Click on Settings.
Choose Network > About.
Locate Signal Strength on the right panel to see status.

See HBO Max Server

You can see the official HBO Max help account on Twitter to know if there is an internal outage. You might not be the only one facing this problem on your device. In case the server is down, you can patiently wait until the team identifies the fix. The team will update when they resolve the issue.

Check Subscription

Whether it’s a free trial or a monthly subscription, an ended HBO Max plan could be why it won’t play on your Roku. Therefore, you can check your account subscription status. The steps for checking your billing status will differ according to the billing party. You can check it out below.

On Roku

With Roku remote Home button, go to the main screen.
Now, locate and select the HBO Max app.
To expand the Options menu, hit Star * key on the remote.
Click on Manage Subscriptions.
It will display your next renewal date.

On PC Browser

Launch the HBO Max website on your PC web browser.
If prompted, log in to your HBO Max account.
Hover your cursor over the upper-right Profile icon.
Click on Subscription.
Locate Next Billing Date menu to check.

Note: You cannot view the subscription status with a Kids Profile. You must use Adult Profile to see.

Verify HBO Max Compatibility

HBO Max is compatible only with Roku devices with OS 10.0 or later. Therefore, if you are using old Roku devices, you won’t be able to stream it. During such instances, you can perform a manual update on your device. However, if the model does not support the new OS, you might have to use the latest streaming models. To check your OS version, you can follow the given steps.

On your remote, hit the Home button.
Choose Settings.
Navigate to System > About.

Relogin to Your HBO Account

Sometimes HBO Max won’t play videos if there is an error on your account. Therefore, you can try relogging your account to fix the playback issues. You can sign out and sign in back after waiting for some time. Follow the given steps below.

While you are on HBO Max home screen, click on your Profile name.
Scroll toward the right menu and locate Sign Out option.
Choose Sign Out option.
Wait for some time. Then, enter your HBO Max account credentials to Sign in.
Choose your Profile
Start playing video

Reset Account Password

If HBO Max crashes and you cannot watch shows, you can reset your account password. This fix has proven to work for many users. You can reset it from the PC or smartphone web browser. Find out the steps for it below.

Open web browser
Then, enter HBO Max website. If prompted, Sign in to your account
Select your Profile in the top-right
Pick Settings option
Then, locate Account
Highlight the account you wish to change the password to and click on the Edit icon
You will receive One-Time verification code in your email
Now, type in that code on HBO Max and continue
Click on Save to confirm

Update Roku and HBO Max

By default, you cannot find the Update channel option for HBO Max on your Roku. Therefore, you can manually check for the latest Roku OS versions from settings. It will also automatically update the channel if new versions are available. It should fix the error.

From Main Screen, launch Settings
Choose System
Open Software Update
Click on Check Now

Reinstall the Channel

Playback errors often arise due to a corrupt cache. You will encounter video freezing and lagging issues when you need to clear such data. Therefore, you can reinstall the HBO Max channel on your Roku to clear app cache data.