Older Apple TVs Lose HBO Go Support

Talk about bad timing

by
Rob LeFebvre
Rob LeFebvre
Senior News Editor
Rob LeFebvre has been a freelance technology writer for 10 years and an educator for 20. His articles have appeared in 148Apps, Cult of Mac, Engadget, and many others.
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Rob LeFebvre
Published April 8, 2020
Updated April 10, 2020 11:57AM EDT

Those of us using older hardware to stream HBO may be out of luck on April 30, when the premium television service ends support for 2nd and 3rd Generation Apple TVs.

Ed Harris as William from Westworld
HBO

Update 4/10/20: HBO has decided to prolong its HBO Go (and Now) offerings on older Apple TV hardware. According to Engadget, the company will now allow 2nd and 3rd generation devices use its respective apps until May 15th.

4/8/20: In what might seem like spectacularly bad timing, HBO has made plans to end support for its streaming app, HBO Go, on older Apple TVs, starting April 30.

Why now? On a support web page, HBO says it's making the changes to "provide the best streaming experience." However, most of us are stuck in our homes during this COVID-19 pandemic, without access to upgrading older Apple TVs, even if we wanted to.

There are alternatives: HBO kindly offers other options to stream your favorite shows, including Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire tablets, Android phones and tablets, Android TV, Apple iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, newer Apple TVs, Computers (web browser), PlayStation 4, Roku, Samsung Smart TVs, TiVo, and Xbox One. Plus, you can always AirPlay or Chromecast from your devices to your TV, or connect your computer to HDMI to watch on the big screen.

Then what? Still, if you rely on older Apple TVs to watch Westworld and the like, you may be out of luck. If you're unsure of which generation device you have, head over to Apple's support page.

Bottom line: The 3rd Generation Apple TV came out in 2012, which does seem like a long life for this kind of device. While it may seem like a bad time to end support, it's not super surprising; surely you have something that can get you watching The Sopranos again quickly.

Via: MacRumors

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