Q: HBO Now crashes every time I start to play content

I'm having the same exact problem. I wish I knew how to fix this.

This started happening to me recently (in the last week?).  I have a gen 2 Apple TV and a gen 3 Apple TV.  The crashing appears to only happen on the gen 2 model.  It will only play content for about 10 seconds before the entire gen 2 Apple TV crashes and restarts itself.  HBO Now used to work fine on my gen 2 Apple TV.  My gen 2 Apple TV software is fully up to date.  Who do I contact about this? - I'm paying monthly for the service. Is this an Apple problem or an HBO problem?

This is definitely an Apple problem.  Older hardware seldom gets supported once new hardware is released.  My gen2 AppleTV has been in a downward spiral for months now. 

In my experience with Apple, let's just hope they announce a new AppleTV today.  The last thing I want to do is upgrade to a gen 3 only for a gen 4 to be released months later.

I wonder why it just started this crashing?  I watched half the latest season of Game of Thrones on this gen2 Apple TV with no problems.  This unit is hardwired Ethernet and never stutters.  Apple surely hasn't pushed any updates recently for gen2 Apple TVs.  It must be something server-side.  Server-side Apple or server-side HBO?

I have a series 1 and 2, HBO Now is crashing both of them.

Oh boy -- this is not what I wanted to hear.  I just bought a 3rd gen AppleTV in hopes that the crashing doesn't occur on the newer boxes.

Vanderdecken wrote:

 

I have a series 1 and 2, HBO Now is crashing both of them.

I didn't know the HBO Now "app" would even show up on a first gen Apple TV.  I thought it only installed on the second and third generation models.

This appears to be apple's business model.  Make product ...kill product via updates...make new product...rinse and repeat.   I have an Apple TV 2 as well as a 3 and the 2 worked fine until I did the final iOS update.  Now Hulu, Netflix nfl app...doesn't matter ...they all crash seconds into being played.  Apples iphone and iPads work the same way.  Buy a phone, they choke it out with iOS updates, hey you need the next phone!

I threw in the towel and bought a 3rd gen Apple TV and for the past 2 weeks, not a single crash.

The solution: get rid of your Apple TV 2nd gen.

I fixed my 2nd Gen Apple TV.  It now plays HBO Now (again) without crashing.

I did a full restore on it:

Restore your Apple TV (2nd and 3rd generation) - Apple Support

I probably would not have tried this, but for a completely unknown reason, my Apple TV stopped booting all together.  After doing the restore, it seems as good as new and HBO Now, once again, plays without crashing after 15 seconds.

I have a series 1 and 2, HBO Now is crashing both of them.

UPDATE:  I cancelled HBO NOW because, well Game of Thrones ***** now.  Strange, HBO NOW no longer crashes.

WOW both glad and sad to see I'm not the only one.  Only happens with HBO Now.  I have the first small version of the TV (the black one).  I've been waiting for  to release the new one, I'm not going to buy 3 year old tech.  Hope theres a fix soon, or a new version of the TV.

I Have had this issue sporadically on my AppleTV with software version 6.2.1.  Doing the full reset on the AppleTV took a long time and only fixed it temporarily.

What DID fix this for me was going into HBO Now -> Settings and selecting "Sign Out", then signing back in again.  Now works flawlessly with no buffering or crashing.  For me at least this seems to be some issue between HBO and iTunes authentication process?

I'll be placing order tomorrow for the new Apple TV with Siri... Maybe that will fix it for good!

I'm not sure what really helped, either resetting my Apple TV or having to login to HBO Now again, but it works again.