- 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- Fire OS has been replaced by Vega OS on newer devices
If you own a Fire TV device from 2020 or earlier, you may lose access to the HBO Max app – this only affects you if your device is running Fire OS 5, but this is still estimated to affect “millions” of people, potentially.
The news comes via AFTVnews, who 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 operating system.
This is bad news if you have an older operating system, because even though Amazon provides software updates for existing hardware, it almost never upgrades the operating system version.
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AFTVnews notes that “this likely leaves millions of still-used Fire TV devices without any way to access one of the most popular streaming services.”
This means if you own one of the affected devices and are looking forward to this one. Game of Thrones the spin-off comes 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-generation Fire TV devices in 2025 because the streamer now relies on video formats that 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 present on Fire TV products sold between 2015 and 2020, including the second-generation Fire TV Stick. It was a massive seller, so removing HBO support is going to affect many devices.
From Amazon’s perspective, upgrading the operating system on older devices isn’t always the best policy: Newer operating systems are designed for newer hardware, which can lead to problems bringing new versions to devices they weren’t designed for.
And asking people to buy new models doesn’t just allow Amazon to sell you a new Fire Stick running its new favorite Vega operating system: it also means moving people to a version of the product that can’t be used for sideloading or questionable free streaming.
At the time of publishing, deals on the newest Fire TV devices (or Roku devices, if you’re feeling a little Fire TV burned) aren’t widespread, but they are common, so keep your eyes peeled if you need an upgrade.
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