HBO Max hit with streaming, log-in problems

Users of HBO Max reported widespread issues in trying to access the WarnerMedia streaming service Friday, with the technical problems lasting about an hour.

According to uptime-monitoring site DownDetector, user reports of problems with HBO Max spiked around 2:15 p.m. ET. Among the most-reported problems, about 39% were related to log-in, with server connections at 35% and video streaming errors at 24%. The error reports spanned the U.S. and appeared concentrated in the Northeast, Chicago and Los Angeles, according to DownDetector.

HBO Max’s customer service account on Twitter acknowledged the issues, writing in a post at 2:28 p.m. ET, “We’re aware some customers may be experiencing issues streaming #HBOMax and appreciate your patience as we work to resolve this as quickly as possible.”

At around 3 p.m. ET on Friday, user problem reports for HBO Max began to subside, according to DownDetector.

HBO Max’s help account tweeted that “Full service has now been restored” at 3:25 p.m. ET, advising customers that they may need to restart their apps.

In an apparently unrelated issue, HBO Max on Thursday (June 17) “mistakenly sent out an empty test email to a portion of our HBO Max mailing list this evening,” according to the @HBOMaxHelp account on Twitter. “We apologize for the inconvenience, and as the jokes pile in, yes, it was the intern. No, really. And we’re helping them through it.” That email had the subject line “Integration Test Email #1” and said in the body, “This template is used by integration tests only.”

The snafus come after HBO Max experienced with scattered technical issues for more than an hour on May 25. And on May 30, the service was down for about a half hour when the finale of “Mare of Easttown,” the gritty limited-series crime drama starring Kate Winslet, was set to premiere.

As of the end of March 2021, HBO Max and HBO combined had 44.2 million domestic customers (including 9.7 million retail HBO Max subs), up 2.7 million sequentially from 41.5 million at the end of 2020.

On June 2, WarnerMedia launched HBO Max With Ads, priced at $10 per month, a 33% discount from the regular $15 per month ad-free tier. The ad-supported version offers the same content with the exception of the Warner Bros. films being made available on HBO Max day-and-date with theaters. Variety