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It's a sad day for Amazon Fire TV device owners and HBO Max subscribers. Effective immediately, Fire TV streaming devices and smart TVs need to be running Fire OS 6 or later to access the HBO Max app. AFTVnews first reported the announcement, and we're willing to bet that Amazon's continued rollout of its Vega smart TV OS is one of the reasons the company pulled the plug on HBO support. Vega OS is based on Linux rather than Android, and is ranked as one of the worst smart TV operating systems.

Eventually, Vega OS will completely replace Fire OS as the brand's go-to interface for apps, the Alexa voice assistant, and smart home controls. While we understand part of the reason behind this decision, it can become challenging for developers like HBO Max to continually revamp apps to run on older hardware. The result is that millions of Fire OS device owners will lose access to a tentpole streaming platform — unless they're able to upgrade to Fire OS 6.

As of today, Fire OS 5 is the software cutoff for popular products like the Amazon Fire TV Stick (2014), Fire TV Stick Basic Edition (2017), and Element 4K Fire TV (2017). If you happen to own a smart TV running the first- or second-generation of Amazon's Fire OS software (2014-2015), you'll lose access to HBO Max as well.

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Amazon has been on a bit of a bricking kick in 2026 thus far. Just last month, a class action lawsuit was filed against the company for software tethering, which is when a developer limits device functionality by ending updates. Consumers were upset when Amazon ended support for its first- and second-generation versions of the Fire TV Stick, released in 2014 and 2016. Amazon also announced that as of May 20, 2026 it would be ending support for Kindle devices released before 2012.

Then, in January 2026, the company quietly ended support for its Fire TV Blaster — a device that allowed you to control AV components via infrared, without direct line-of-sight from a Fire TV product. While Amazon operates an immense recycling program, the unfortunate reality is that many of these gadgets will end up becoming e-waste in the years to come. It can also be pretty frustrating to see how quickly tech giants move on to something new and shiny (like Vega OS), while leaving legacy users behind.

Still, there's something to be said about keeping up with the times. Streaming apps like HBO Max are packed to the brim with content, features, and settings, all of which require increasingly better processors and memory to operate. After all, no one wants to deal with always-buffering movies or potentially compromised user data. But it would be great if Big Tech could strike a better balance between cutting-edge and cutting off.