Why Does HBO Max Keep Freezing or Buffering? (QUICK Fix!)

You turned on your streaming device, opened HBO Max (app or via a web browser), and selected a show/movie to watch only for the app to freeze or start buffering after just a few seconds or minutes.

To make matter worse, other apps like Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+ probably work seamless while HBO Max keeps freezing or buffering no matter what you do.

HBO Max keeps buffering and freezing

In this guide, I am going to show you two things:

First, I will quickly highlight some of the common reasons why HBO Max freezes or buffers
Then, I will show you some proven ways to fix the issue quickly once and for all

It doesn’t matter whether you are streaming on a Samsung smart TV, LG smart TV, Vizio smart TV, Roku TV, Amazon Firestick, Android TV, mobile phone, Windows or Mac PC, this guide covers everything about troubleshooting the issue.

Without any further ado, let’s dive right!

Contents

1 Why Does HBO Max Keep Freezing/Buffering?
2 HBO Max Keeps Freezing or Buffering: How to Fix

Why Does HBO Max Keep Freezing/Buffering?

There are many issues that can cause HBO Max to freeze or buffer on various streaming devices, these include:

Slow or Unstable Internet Connection
App is outdated
Corrupt cache files
HBO Max server is down
Streaming on too many devices
Storage or Memory Space is Low
DNS Server configuration issue
Incompatible browser extension
Use of VPN and ad blockers
Software glitches

That said, let’s look at some quick and proven ways to fix the HBO Max freeze/buffer issue.

Most of the fixes in this guide apply to all streaming devices (whether app or browser), some are specific to the smart TV app, mobile/PC app while others apply only to streaming using web browsers.

Make sure you go check out everything while trying out all the ones that apply to you.

HBO Max Keeps Freezing or Buffering: How to Fix

Below are 19 quick and proven ways to fix HBO Max app that keeps freezing or buffering on your smart TV, streaming device, mobile phone and PC:

1. Power Cycle Network Router

When HBO max freezes or buffers on your smart TV, laptop, mobile phone or tablet, the first thing you want to check and troubleshoot is the network connection.

As recommended by HBO Max, you need a minimum download speed of 5 Mbps to stream HD video and a minimum download speed of 50 Mbps for the best 4k streaming experience.

Therefore, before you start troubleshooting any potential issue with the app or the streaming device you are using, you need to rule out the possibility of having a slow or unstable internet connection.

Even when you have a fast internet connection, you may still experience streaming issues coming from your network router. Therefore, it is ideal that you power cycle your network router first.

Here’s how to power cycle your network router:

Unplug your network router, wait for 10 seconds and plug it back in. Wait a few seconds for the router to become online, connect your streaming device to your router and try to access HBO Max again. Most times, restarting your network router will fix network issues.

Once done, go ahead and check your internet speed. You can do that by simply visiting fast.com. If you are streaming on your smart TV, connect your phone or PC to the same network and check the internet speed from there.

If your connection speed is low, then switch to a different network connection or try using an ethernet cable instead.

2. Power Cycle the Streaming Device

Whether you are streaming HBO Max on your Samsung TV, LG TV, Vizio TV, Hisense TV, Roku device, Amazon Firestick, PC (Windows or Mac), mobile phone or tablet, power cycling your streaming device can quickly help you stop HBO Max from freezing or buffering.

Here’s how to power cycle your smart TV:

Turn off the TV
Unplug your TV from power outlet (it’s not a power cycle if you don’t unplug it!). NOTE: If you are using a streaming stick like Apple TV stick, Fire stick or Roku stick on your smart TV, just unplug the TV and not the stick.
Leave it unplugged for 30 seconds

power cycle TV

While unplugged, press and hold the power button on your TV for 30 seconds (if your TV does not have a power button, you can skip this step)
Plug the TV back into the power outlet and turn it on.
Once on, go ahead and open HBO Max app again and the freezing/buffering issue should stop

If you are streaming on your computer, phone or tablet, simply reboot the device. Once done, try to open HBO max app (or browser).

if that fixes the issue for you, great! Otherwise, move on to the next tip.

3. Force Reboot App (for TV Users)

Another way to quickly fix a freezing or buffering HBO Max app on Smart TVs (Samsung tizenOS smart TV, LG webOS smart TV, Vizio SmartCast TV, Roku TV, Apple TV e.t.c) is to force reboot the TV and app.

On Samsung TV, you can perform a cold reboot this with the remote controller. Here’s how to do this:

While the TV is on and the app is open, press and hold the power button on the remote controller until the TV turns off and turns back on again. Once the TV is on, release the power button. Now, open HBO Max app again and the freezing/buffering issue should stop.

This cold reboot method has reportedly fixed the issue for a number of users. For some other users, the freezing/buffering issue was fixed completely once and for all.

However, others reported that the issue was fixed but came back after switching to a different app and back to HBO Max or after exiting HBO Max app.

If the latter happens to you, you can repeat the cold reboot procedure and the issue will be fixed once again (at least until you exit the app completely or switch channels).

4. Update HBO Max App

Another common reason why HBO Max freezes, buffers or crashes is having an outdated app. To fix this, you simply need to update the app to the latest version and you are good to go.

This has also been reported to fix the common HBO Max constant crash issue on Roku devices.

Here’s how to update HBO Max app on Samsung TV, LG TV, Apple TV, Fire TV, Roku TV and Android TV to fix the buffering or freezing issue:

Samsung smart TV:

Click on the Home button on your Samsung smart TV to go back to the Home screen
From the home screen, navigate to the bottom menu and click on ‘Apps’

On the apps screen, navigate and click on HBO Max app icon. You can also click on the search icon at the top of the Apps library, enter ‘HBO Max’ in the search box and select the app
On the HBO Max app description page, you will find ‘Update App’ button if your HBO Max app is not the latest version. In that case, go ahead and update it. Otherwise, you will find the ‘Open’ button.

On the same page, you will also find details showing the latest version number of the app and installed version number currently installed on your TV just below the Update/Open button. If they match, then you have the latest version installed.

LG smart TV:

Press the Home button on your LG TV remote controller
Click on the LG content store

On the LG content store, click on Apps at the top of the page

Select HBO Max app
If an update is available, you’ll see an ‘Update’ button, click on it to update YouTube app on LG TV. Otherwise, if the software is already up-to-date, you will see a button to launch the app.

Apple TV:

Open the App Store app on your Apple TV (this is the app on your home screen that looks like a blue “A”)
Scroll up and select the magnifying glass icon
Next, search for HBO Max app.
Select the app and select ‘Update’ (if you don’t see this option, it means the app is up to date)

Fire TV:

From the Home screen, select Apps (three squares and a plus sign) to the far right of the horizontal menu.
Highlight HBO Max app (don’t select it).
On your Fire TV remote, press the button with three horizontal lines on it and select ‘More Info’.
If an update is available, select ‘Update’ beside the Open button.

Roku TV:

On your Roku home screen, scroll to HBO Max app and highlight it
While highlighted, press the star button on your Roku remote
Select ‘Check for updates’ from the pop-up.
If there’s an update available, it’ll download and install right away.

Android TV:

On your Android TV, open Google Play store.
Click on your profile icon in the top-right corner of the screen.
Select Manage apps and games.
Select Updates.
Select HBO Max app to update it or select Update all.

Once the app is updated to the latest version, open the app and it should stop buffering or freezing.

5. Update Streaming Device

If the operating system of your streaming device is also outdated, it may also cause streaming issues on HBO Max (and maybe other apps as well). Again, you can fix this by simply updating the software of your streaming device.

Here’s how to update the system software on Samsung TV, LG TV, Apple TV, Fire TV, Roku TV and Android TV:

Samsung TV:

To update your Samsung TV software, go to Settings, click on the Support tab and select Software Update.

Finally, click on ‘Update Now’.

LG TV:

Press the Home button on your remote
Click on the Settings icon from the top right corner, then click on the All Settings icon at the bottom right corner.
Go to General tab, then scroll down to About This TV section and click on it

You will see the current software version of your TV, click on Check for Updates (you can also enable ‘Allow Automatic Updates’)

check for software updates

If there is any update available, proceed to download it and allow it to be install completely.

Once installed, your TV should reboot itself