Q. I have HBO on my Roku and I thought HBO Max was supposed to come on today. But I went to HBO on my home page and it’s still HBO. Then I went to HBO Max in the channel store and it was still HBO, not HBO Max. I thought it was supposed to go from HBO to HBO Max today. What the hell is going on? — Peter, Marina Del Rey, California.
Peter, I feel your pain. Roku and Warner Media, which owns HBO, yesterday announced that HBO Max would be added to all Roku devices effective today. The deal ends a seven-month stalemate between the companies, and sets HBO Max up for a big subscription boost prior to the Christmas Day premiere of Wonder Woman 1984.
However, in the press release, the companies said this:
“For users who have already subscribed to HBO through their Roku devices, the channel will automatically update to HBO Max.”
Sounds easy, right. Well, this is an industry where easy is a four-letter word, which is why this site’s subhead is, ‘Making Television Easy Again.’
Let me explain what you really need to do.
Go to your Roku Home Page and remove your HBO app. (Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing here.) You can remove it by hitting the ‘asterisk’ button and then clicking on the ‘Remove Channel’ button.
Then, go to the ‘Streaming Channels’ button in your Home Page’s Menu. Click on it and HBO Max should be on the top line. Click on HBO Max and click on Add Channel. The HBO Max app should then go to your Home Page, and it will have the full HBO Max catalog, not just the HBO one. You shouldn’t even have to sign in again. (I tried this and it worked so, again, don’t worry so much.)
If you’re one of the Roku owners who did have your HBO app automatically update, consider yourself lucky; many others were not so fortunate.
Peter, hope that helps. Happy viewing, and stay safe!
Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvpredictions.com. Please include your first name and hometown in your message.
— Phillip Swann
Mine updated on it’s own. Maybe they should have checked for a System Update under the Settings selection on their Roku.
exactly my smart TV has everything on it all I need us WiFi. But, that being said… every time the companies change configurations and upgrade so do you. I put mine on automatic upgrade so I don’t have to deal with it . Also I’d you get the free roku box free from spectrum you’ll still get everything. roku is fading out old boxes with a newer upgraded version so you have to buy the new one.
For me, it did not change automatically, but the asterisk options included an update software entry which got my existing HBO channel converted to HBM Max
what, no Edit option? 🙂 Make that converted to HBO Max
I have two Rokus. I simply did a restart on one & it replaced the prior HBO icon. On the second unit I ran an update and it did so.