Can’t stream HBO Max on your Amazon Firestick? Does the HBO Max app occasionally freeze or crash when watching movies or TV shows? Are videos constantly choppy, lagging, or buffering? Does HBO Max throw different error codes or messages when streaming content?
This tutorial explains why these things happen and covers solutions for HBO Max issues on Fire TV devices. The troubleshooting fixes in this tutorial apply to all Fire TV Stick generations and models.
1. Fix Your Internet Connection
Unstable or slow internet causes HBO Max to buffer videos on your Fire TV. If you’re streaming movies or TV shows in High Definition (HD), ensure your internet connection speed is at least 5Mbps. To stream 4K titles, HBO Max recommends a 25-50 Mbps internet speed.
Use the built-in Fire OS network test to verify your internet network’s connection status.
Go to Settings > Network, navigate to the connected network, and press the Play/Pause button on your Firestick remote. If the tool doesn’t find any problem with your connection, verify that the network’s speed meets HBO Max’s recommendations.
Use web-based tools like Fast.com or SpeedTest.net to check your connection’s download speed.
If the download speed falls below the recommendations, free up bandwidth by reducing activity on the network. Close unneeded apps on the Fire TV, pause all ongoing downloads, and disconnect other devices from the Wi-Fi network. Restarting your router, updating its firmware, and moving it closer to your Fire TV can boost connection speed.
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) sometimes slows down your internet connection. Disconnecting your VPN app can improve network and streaming quality on your Fire TV. Contact your internet service provider for assistance if your connection remains unstable.
2. Check HBO Max Server Status
HBO Max may not work on your devices if the servers powering the streaming service are experiencing an outage. Use third-party site-monitoring tools like DownDetector or ServicesDown to check if there’s a problem with HBO Max’s servers.
The tools provide real-time status reports for HBO Max’s video streaming service, app, and website. Contact HBO Max Support if these tools and other users report an incident with the streaming service.
3. Update HBO Max
HBO Max may malfunction or display error codes if the app is bug-ridden or outdated. App updates often ship with bug fixes and performance improvements. Updating HBO Max could remove bugs causing the problems.
Open the Fire TV Find menu, type “hbo max” in the search bar, and select HBO Max in the suggestions.
Navigate to the HBO Max app preview and press the Menu button on your Fire TV Remote.
Select More Info in the bottom corner of the screen.
Select the Update icon to update the HBO Max app on your Amazon Fire TV to the latest version. HBO Max is up-to-date if you only find an option to Open the app.
We recommend configuring your Fire TV to update HBO Max and other outdated apps.
Select Settings on the Fire TV home screen, go to Applications > Appstore, and set “Automatic Updates” to ON.
