- HBO Max now requires Fire OS 6 or later on Fire TV devices
- Some Fire OS 5 devices were sold as recently as 2020
- Fire OS has been superseded by Vega OS on newer devices
If you have a Fire TV device from 2020 or earlier you may lose access to the HBO Max app — it only affects you if your device is running Fire OS 5, but that's still estimated to be "millions" of people, potentially.
The news comes via AFTVnews, which spotted that the HBO Max app support page has been updated and details Fire OS 6 as the oldest supported version of Amazon's TV OS.
That's bad news if you have the older OS, because while Amazon does deliver software updates to existing hardware, it almost never upgrades the version of the operating system.
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AFTVnews notes that "this likely leaves millions of Fire TV devices still in use with no way to access one of the most popular streaming services."
That means if you've got one of the affected devices and you're looking forward to whichever Game of Thrones spin-off is coming next, it's time to buy a newer model.
What does HBO Max say about Fire TVs?
HBO isn't the only streamer to stop supporting older Fire TV devices. Netflix ended support for first-gen Fire TV devices in 2025 because the streamer now relies on video formats those devices don't support.
You can see the list of HBO Max supported devices here, and under Amazon Fire TV it says "Amazon Fire TV devices with Fire OS 6 or later [or] Vega OS 1 or later. This includes Fire TV Stick devices, Fire TV Cube, Echo Show devices, and Smart TVs with Fire TV built in."
Fire OS 5 is on Fire TV products sold between 2015 and 2020, including the second generation Fire TV stick. That was a massive seller, so HBO dropping support is going to affect a lot of people's devices.
From Amazon's perspective, upgrading the OS on older devices isn't always the best policy: newer OSes are built for newer hardware, and that can mean problems bringing new versions to devices they weren't built for.
And having people buy new models doesn't just enable Amazon to sell you a new Fire Stick running its new and preffered Vega OS: it also means moving people to a version of the product that can't be used for sideloading or dodgy free streaming.
At the time of publishing, deals on newer Fire TV devices (or Roku devices, if you're feeling a little burned by Fire TV) aren't widespread, but they're common, so keep your eyes open if you need an upgrade.
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