HBO Max Is Back, Original Name Returns to Streaming Service

James Peckham

Updated Wed, July 9, 2025 at 2:41 PM UTC

The HBO Max on a background showing a sky - Credit: Warner Bros. Discovery

After announcing another name change in May , Warner Bros. Discovery has now finished reversing its streaming service rebrand from 2023. The old HBO Max name has returned across the company's services, and you should find your apps are updating now.

HBO Max is the new name, and it's now displaying on the iPhone and Android versions of the app, as well as on many smart TV services. The company's website has also changed.

The Apple App Store's description for the latest app update appears to just provide the brand change rather than bringing any new features. It says, "Same app. New-ish name. The plot twist everyone has been waiting for: Max is now HBO Max."

You won't need to do anything new to access the streaming service, but you may find you manually need to update to see the return of the old name.

Elsewhere, Warner Bros. Discovery appeared to have trouble changing its name on the social media network X. A few hours after the name change appeared on other social networks, the brand posted "twitter won't let me change my name back."

X has a rule in place where you can only change your name once a day, which may have caused the brand's issues. Some users have found that you also have to wait 48 hours to change your display name after resetting your password on X, so that may have also been the issue here.

The brand now appears to have changed its name on X, but it's opted for a display name of "Actually HBO Max" instead.

This streaming service originally launched under the name HBO Max in 2020 to bring together all of the company's online content under one roof. In 2023, the brand then renamed itself Max, before announcing this switch back in mid-May.

Warner Bros. Discovery is also set to go through a much bigger change in the near future as the company will be splitting back into two separate entities. Discovery content will be separated alongside elements like the CNN brand, while Warner Bros. will continue to be the home of TV shows and movies.

Check out Yahoo's latest streaming advice, based on hands-on testing.

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