Channels & viewing

[SomeGuyInUS]

Began: after Oct 02 update.

Symptoms: start max; start is successful.  Select movie or series; selection is successful.  Choose play.  First a promo usually appears.  One can successfully skip the promo and one can successfully watch the promo; both of these work.  Once the episode or movie begins, it starts for about a second and you can just make out a slight format change (screen compresses from top and bottom) in the blink of an eye, and then the Max app is exited completely and we're back on the Roku home screen.

Steps taken: Check for updates; Max was already on the latest, which is 55.1, build 0.  Did not help.  Usually my next move is to uninstall/reinstall the channel.  The problem here is that the '*' menu is missing the "Remove Channel" option, so i was unable to do this.

Device: 4400X

[makaiguy]

If this channel is one for which you have a paid subscription through Roku, there will be a "Manage subscription" option instead of a "Remove channel" option. Click this and follow the prompts to cancel your subscription. Now return to the channel tile and "Remove channel" option should be shown and you can proceed to remove the channel. (Your subscription will continue to run for the rest of the prepaid subscription period, but will no longer auto-renew at that point. After re-installing the channel you can reinstate your subscription to restore its auto-renewal if you like.)

[renojim]

@SomeGuyInUS, it could be because your 4400 (Roku 4) is no longer receiving updates, although I see the same version of Max on my still-supported device.  If you check your Software Version under Settings->System->About you'll probably see that it's 11.5.  Roku is rolling out 12.5.  If what @makaiguy suggested doesn't help, it may be time to look into an upgrade:

https://my.roku.com/upgrade/
https://my.roku.com/offers

[Wanttowatchmax]

I'm having the exact same problem as @SomeGuyInUS and have the same model Roku. I tried deleting the app, restarting Roku and reinstalling the app several times and it hasn't fixed it. It was working fine until a few nights ago and as far as I know, neither Roku nor Max has updated their software. According to the Max website, it should run on any Roku with OS 11 or later, and my Roku is running 11.5 now.

[SomeGuyInUS]

@makaiguy, thank you for that info and suggestion. I see @Wanttowatchmax tried those steps to no avail.

@renojim, I suspected that that might be the issue. Roku warned via email that the Roku 4 would get no further o/s updates. I had opened i'd just be missing out on the latest bells and whistles, not seeing my current capabilities degraded. While these devices aren't that expensive, it still ticks me off when companies do this. Nonetheless, i'll probably fall into line and get a newer device. Thanks for weighing in here, i appreciate it.

@Wanttowatchmax, first, great user name. Thanks, too, for following @makaiguy's advice. Like you, i have o/s 11.5.

I don't know if any Roku Q/A folks troll these comments, but if so it would be great if they opened a ticket and communicated with Max on this issue. I'll continue to try Max on Roku every so often to see if they ever discovered and fixed this glitch. Thankfully my laptop and the Roku both support Miracast, so i've started max on the pc and cast it at the Roku. Not ideal, but an ok work-around until they patch or i upgrade.

[renojim]

@SomeGuyInUS, I've been wondering about "legacy" devices.  Can you still add new channels/apps or does "no longer updated" mean you're pretty much stuck with what you have?

You mentioned the 2023-10-02 Update, so it sounds like it must be getting some updates.  What did you see that indicated there was an update since it's not getting OS updates?  I'm wondering if it's even possible for Max or anyone else to push an update for a model that's supposedly no longer supported.

[SomeGuyInUS]

Hi, @renojim.

>Can you still add new channels/apps...

Yes, i just tested that with a free channel.  It installed and i could start it up.

>What did you see that indicated there was an update...

I had to search quite a while before i figured out how i got the 2023-10-02 date.  Thought for a minute i pulled it out of thin air.  Using '*' on my Max channel just shows the version (55.1) and build (0).  Finally found it.  If you Search for channels and locate Max, then you'll see its ratings, the build of 55.1, and the "Oct 2, 2023" date.  So, i'm assuming that since i appear to have 55.1, that my box was updated on or around that same time.  I watch a couple of weekly series on Max and use it frequently enough to say that Oct 2, 3, or 4 is about the dividing line between a working app and a worthless app.

My O/S on the other hand is stuck at 11.5 and was last updated 2022-12-06 at 12:46pm.

Prior to posting the original msg i had tried Max's site for clues and left without any.  Today i found this page:

https://help.max.com/us/Answer/Detail/000002521

which has some things to try.  One that i've not tried is signing out of Max AND THEN restarting the Roku.  When i had restarted it during initial debugging i had not first signed out.  We'll see.

[Wanttowatchmax]

I just tried signing out, restarting and signing back in and it didn’t fix the problem. I guess I can try to do a factory reset of the Roku but I was hoping to avoid having to do that. I’ll definitely report back if that seems to take care of the issue.

[makaiguy]

FWIW - Per Max's "Which devices work with HBO Max?" page (https://help.hbomax.com/do-en/Answer/Detail/000001243) :

MAX is supported on "Roku TV and streaming players with Roku OS 11 or later".

According to this, it would seem that your Roku 4s running Roku 11.5 should be able to run MAX.

Roku 4 is said to be the only Roku model that used that particular processor.  All Disney-owned channels (Disney+, ESPN, etc.) have dropped support for Roku 4 while continuing to support other models capable of running Roku 11.5.  Perhaps HBO (owned by Warner Bros. Discovery) has done the same and failed to indicate this exception on their website.

[SomeGuyInUS · Accepted solution]

Hi all, especially @Wanttowatchmax .  I checked Max today, saw that the build number is now 1 (had been zero), and i was able to watch an episode of a series.  So, perhaps this is now a fixed issue.  Not sure if we were heard or just got lucky here.  @Wanttowatchmax : it would be good to hear from you.  Would you please check in and let us know your experience?  Thanks.