Troubleshoot HBO Max on your computer

If videos are buffering, see HBO Max buffers or pauses.

The highest resolution supported by HBOMax.com is 1080p. If your display resolution is greater than 1080p, videos might not play full screen or may be clipped off. To resolve this, try changing your screen resolution.

If you're having trouble streaming at HBOMax.com, here are some things to try:

Test your connection

To do this, open a new browser window and search for 'Internet speed test.' Then run a speed test. To stream HD video, you need a minimum download speed of 5 Mbps. If videos are buffering, see HBO Max buffers or pauses.

Reload HBOMax.com

Go to HBOMax.com and do a hard refresh for the page (this is not the same as the Reload button in your browser). To find out how to do this, search the Internet for 'hard refresh' + the name of your browser (e.g. 'hard refresh Chrome').

If you're using the Chrome browser on a PC, hold down the Ctrl key and click the Reload button (for Chrome on a Mac, hold down the Shift key and click the Reload button). Once the page is reloaded, try streaming again.

Update your browser

Make sure you're using a supported browser. See Supported browsers.

If your browser is supported, update your browser to the latest version. To find out how to do this, search the Internet for 'update + the name of your browser' (i.e. update Chrome browser).

Sign out and restart your computer
  1. At HBOMax.com, choose your profile (upper right) and then choose Sign out.
  2. Close the browser window and restart your computer.
  3. Go to HBOMax.com and sign in, then try streaming again.
Change your autoplay setting

Change your browser's settings to allow autoplay for the play.hbomax.com website. To find out how to do this, search the Internet for 'autoplay + the name of your browser' (i.e. autoplay Chrome browser).

Safari on Mac

If you're using Safari 11 or later on your Mac, try these steps:

  1. Open the Safari browser and go to play.HBOMax.com.
  2. From the Safari menu, choose Settings for This Website.
  3. Hover your mouse beside Auto-Play and choose Allow All Auto-Play.
  4. Reload the page (press Command + R).

If this doesn't help, update your macOS (which includes the Safari browser) to the latest version your computer can use. To find out how, see Apple's Keep your Mac up to date article.

Try a different browser

Try using a different supported browser.

If you don't have any problems with a different browser, check your browser configuration:

  • Make sure third-party cookies are enabled.
  • Disable ad-blocking software.
  • Turn off private browsing or incognito mode.
  • Disable browser plug-ins, extensions, and add-ons.
Clear the cache
  1. Clear your browser's cache. To find out how to do this, search for 'clear cache' in your browser's help.
  2. Close and reopen your browser.
  3. Sign in to HBOMax.com and try streaming again.
Play Full Screen
After you start playing a video, move your mouse to the lower-right corner and click the full-screen icon (arrows pointing outward). To exit full-screen mode, click the full-screen icon again or press the Esc key.

More browser troubleshooting