How to Manage Subtitles for HBO Max [All Major Devices]

HBO Max has one of the easiest-to-use menus for enabling and disabling subtitles. It works equally well on most devices and this write-up provides a detailed guide for some of the most popular streaming gadgets available.

What’s more, HBO Max has a suite of customization options to make your reading and viewing experience more pleasant. Of course, this article will cover those as well.

How to Turn HBO Max Subtitles On or Off

The great thing is that enabling and disabling HBO Max subtitles is the same on all available streaming devices. All you need to do is navigate to the “CC” icon, select it, and you’re good to go. Of course, you can also utilize the device’s CC settings for advanced options.

Regardless, there are certain things you should know about different streaming gadgets, mobile devices, and TVs. Plus, HBO Max isn’t available on all streaming devices and smart TVs.

How to Turn On/Off HBO Max Subtitles on a Firestick Device

HBO Max is available on Amazon’s Fire TV Stick and Fire TV Cube. Fortunately, the Fire TV devices have full functionality of subtitles. Activating Subtitles on HBO Max is easy.

1. Choose the streaming media you want to watch, then press the “Play/Pause” button on the remote to launch the media.
2. Press the “hamburger icon button” (Menu button) on your Firestick remote.
   
3. Next, select “Subtitles and Audio.”
4. Finally, select the “language” you’d like to use for the subtitles.

Of course, you can also click the “down direction” on the remote, turn “Closed Captioning” on, and then choose “English CC” or the preferred language.

Once you’ve successfully turned your subtitles on, go back to your video by pressing the menu button again.

You can, of course, tweak your subtitles to make them work better for you as well.

How to Turn On/Off HBO Max Subtitles on a Roku Device

Activating the subtitles for your favorite HBO Max shows on Roku is simple. Roku offers built-in CC settings to make the experience personalized.

Quick Method for Roku

The quick method to turn on HBO Max subtitles on a Roku device only turns them on or off. For more CC options, skip to the “Advanced Method for Roku” section below.

1. Press the Roku remote’s “Play/Pause” button on the title you’d like to watch, then press the “*” button on the Roku remote.
   
2. Now, click on “Closed captioning” and turn your subtitles on.
3. Click the “back” button in the upper left of your remote to return to your show.
   

Advanced Method for Roku

The advanced method to turn on HBO Max subtitles on a Roku device lets you choose the mode, preferred language, and style.

1. Press the “Home button” on your Roku remote to bring up the main menu.
   
2. Scroll down the side menu and select “Settings.”
   
3. Choose “Accessibility” on the left side.
   
4. Select “Captions mode,” “Captions preferred language,” or “Captions style” on the right side to turn on/off captions, alter their properties, and to edit their appearance.
   

How to Turn HBO Max Subtitles On/Off on an Android or iPhone

One of the best things about mobile devices is the ability to take your favorite shows with you. Of course, you need to download and install the app on your mobile device first. Once installed, it’s easy sailing.

Once you’ve found the movie or show you’d like to watch hit the Play button and follow these instructions:

1. During playback, tap on the screen (it doesn’t really matter where you tap), and then select the “CC icon” that pops up.
   
2. This action instantly toggles the subtitles on or off. It’s worth noting that subtitles are off by default. You will notice the CC icon in the lower left-hand corner will change from black and white to purple and black when your subtitles are turned on.
   

As you can see, the mobile app version of HBO Max does not offer any subtitle customization options. In order to tweak the closed captioning settings, you’ll need to visit a web browser like you would on a PC.

Turning On/Off HBO Subtitles on a PC or Mac

There’s still no HBO Max desktop app for Windows, but you will find it available through Apple TV on Mac. However, the service’s browser client is hard to rival. Apple TV’s HBO Max app has many troublesome reviews, but it does continue to improve. Therefore, launch your preferred browser, log in to the streaming service, and find the content you’d like to play.

1. During the video playback, hover your mouse over the video to bring up the basic menu.
   
2. Click on the CC icon and turn them ON or OFF.
   
3. From here, you can also access more subtitle settings if you want to change the font size or style.
   

HBO Subtitle Management on a Smart TV (Samsung, LG, Panasonic, Sony, Vizio)

When it comes to streaming HBO Max via your smart TV, there are certain limitations. First, the service/app is definitely available on Samsung TVs, models 2016 onwards. Aside from that, you can also install the service on most Android TVs, including Sony.

The following sections outline the options for each of the listed TV brands.

Managing HBO Max Subtitles on Samsung TVs

Using HBO Max subtitles on a Samsung TV is a walk in the park.

1. Pause the playback, navigate to the “CC” icon with your remote, then toggle the subtitles on or off.
2. With that out of the way, you might want to ensure that the subtitles are enabled on the TV too. Launch the Samsung TV “settings,” go to “Accessibility,” then select “Caption Settings” to turn subtitles on or off. Next to Caption, there’s a green circle that signals that subtitles are on.
   

Managing HBO Max Subtitles on LG TVs

Similar to many other TVs, managing HBO subtitles on an LG TV is a simple process.

1. While watching something, press “Select” on your remote.
2. Scroll down and choose “Audio and Subtitles.”
3. Select “Closed captions” from the options and choose “English CC.”

Although closed captions are currently only available in English, the added support for LG TVs shouldn’t go unnoticed.

Managing HBO Max Subtitles on Panasonic TVs

Since Panasonic TVs run on a proprietary smart TV OS, aside from some new Android TVs, there’s no support for HBO Max. Even though they did release a couple Android versions, they were buggy and slow because the hardware couldn’t keep up, although progress is being made with newer models every year. Furthermore, Panasonic quit making TVs in 2016 for the U.S. market altogether, but have since been attempting to come back with their new OLED 4K models and Android OS models. If you have an old Panasonic TV, there is an option to mirror the screen of your Android or iOS smartphone.

1. For this to work, both the smartphone and the TV need to be on the same Wi-Fi network.
2. Press the “APPS” button on the remote and choose “Mirroring.”
3. Now, go to the “Settings” menu of your smartphone and choose “Screen Mirroring.”
4. There should be a VIERA model number on your TV. Tap on it, then press “OK” on the Panasonic remote, and then make sure “YES” is selected.

The annoying thing is that you might need to wait for a while before the connection gets established. And of course, you set the subtitles via your smartphone.

Managing HBO Max Subtitles on Sony TVs

As indicated, Sony smart TVs run on Android and you can download and install HBO Max from the Play Store.

1. After you log in and choose the content to watch, it’s only a matter of selecting the CC icon in the playback window.
2. You might need to turn on the subtitles on the TV as well, press the home button on the remote, and then select Settings.
3. Next, enter the Digital Set-up menu.
4. Thereon, select Subtitle Set-up and make sure the option is on. Within the same menu, you can change the subtitle display preferences such as text and font size, style, color, and more.

Managing HBO Max Subtitles on Vizio TVs

Yes, Vizio is one of those brands that don’t run on Android, so you can’t install the HBO Max app onto the TV. However, the TV manufacturer was quick to reveal a hack. As per their official website, you can enjoy HBO Max content via Apple AirPlay or Chromecast.

For the purposes of this article, we’ll provide explanations for AirPlay.

1. Launch HBO Max on your iOS device, and play a movie or a TV Show.
2. Then, tap on the AirPlay icon – it’s located in the upper right corner of the screen.
3. Tap on your TV in the pop-up menu and you’re good to go. To remind you, you change the subtitle settings via the smartphone or tablet.

Additional FAQ

Despite the accessibility quirks, HBO Max is still one of the most promising streaming services around. The following FAQ section covers useful subtitle customizations and some playback issues you might encounter.

Can I Change the Subtitle Language?

To get one thing straight, the availability of HBO Max subtitles depends on the original language of the content. So, Studio Ghibli movies will be in Japanese and the native titles are in English. The Latino content section on the platform follows the same logic – Spanish audio, English subtitles.

That said, certain subtitles are available in two or more languages. You should be able to choose the language input from the CC menu, and this also applies to the audio. The languages you can choose usually include Spanish, English, Portuguese, Japanese, etc.

Subtitles Keep Coming Back On. What Can I Do?

Persistent subtitles can be annoying, but there is a quick fix.

1. First, determine if the CC button within the playback is enabled or not.
2. Then, proceed to HBO Max Settings, select Accessibility, and enter the Subtitles & Captioning menu.

If the subtitles are disabled there as well, you’ll need to check the settings on your TV or streaming gadget. The idea is to turn the subtitles off everywhere you can so they won’t appear again. But you might also need to exit and reenter the streaming service for the changes to take effect.

Can Text Size Be Adjusted

There’s no option to increase just the text size within HBO Max, but there might be one on your streaming dongle and other devices. For example, the Accessibility menu on a Mac features a Captions customization menu and you can choose Large Text.

A similar feature is available on Windows 10 and it should affect all the subtitles played on that computer. If this doesn’t do the trick, there’s always an option to increase the font size on HBO Max.

Can the Font Size Be Changed?

You can choose between six settings from Tiny to Extra Large font size. You access this from the main Settings menu. When streaming via TV or a supported streaming gadget, the Closed Captioning appears in the upper section of the screen.

Use the arrow buttons on your remote to access Closed Captioning and press the OK button to confirm your selection.

My Subtitles Aren’t Syncing Properly. What Can I Do?

As long as you’re using the native subtitles, there’s no reason to worry about syncing. But if it happens, pause the playback, then play it again to see if the temporary break helps. You can also try to disable, then enable the subtitles to make them pick up the pace.

If this doesn’t do the trick, exit the HBO Max service, then restart your streaming device. When you’re using the web client, restart your browser and clear its cache, before playing the video again.

Max Out Your Subtitles

When all is said and done, you’re only ever a couple of taps or clicks away from enabling and disabling HBO Max subtitles. The service is still young, and you can expect further improvements to better your viewing experience.

Have you used any of the HBO streaming services before? How does your experience compare to HBO Max? Give us your two cents in the comments section below.