The HBO Apple TV Channel is dead, long live the HBO Max app

HBO Max Review 2020
HBO Max Review 2020 (Image credit: Bryan M. Wolfe/iMore)

What you need to know

  • HBO Max has today killed its Apple TV Channel, leaving people with no option but to switch to the HBO Max app.
  • Switching to the HBO Max app and signing in with your Apple ID — and existing HBO subscription — doesn't seem to be working.

Just as it had been warning users before today, HBO has now turned off its Apple TV Channel, meaning people only have one way to watch HBO content — via the HBO Max app.

HBO had been displaying a warning that the HBO Apple TV Channel was going away on July 22 for a while, but as people are noting on Reddit and elsewhere, that isn't helping people who are now stuck without a way to watch content. As many people have been sure to point out on Reddit, signing into the HBO Max app with their Apple ID isn't working right now which means they can't watch content they already paid for via the Apple TV Channel. It's all a bit of a mess right now, leaving people frustrated.

On the positive side, some people do seem to be having some luck when they create a new HBO Max account using the same email address that's associated with their Apple ID. Your mileage may vary here though, and I'd suggest reaching out to HBO before trying to get this working yourself. Just in case there's a more official fix that we don't yet know about.

One thing I do know is that everyone should have a great TV to watch their HBO content on. Check out our list of the best TVs available today if you're looking for a little inspiration.

Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.