Can no longer access HBO Max (MAX) that I was supposed to have free for life through my cellular plan

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Donald, AT&T Community Specialist

How do I start a DM??? 

@loryraymond1  You have to wait for ATTHelp to send you one. You will see a flashing red dot on the message bubble which will be to the left of bell icon. Once you see the DM, you should respond as soon as you can because I think they only last till the end of the business day.

Max is in control now of the subscriptions so it is up to them as to what they want to do now that they are their own company, separate from AT&T. Some have had luck in pushing AT&T in getting their logins back. But that takes someone from AT&T to work with Max. The migration of accounts has been one giant cluster.......

Keep in mind that "free for life" is a marketing promotional term. If you read the TOS, usually the small print, it probably says that the terms are subject to change at any time. And now that AT&T has no control over Max, the ball is in Max's court. It appears that AT&T may be able to keep some account for the time being but they will probably be downgraded to With-Ads HD or Ad-free HD. For 4k HDR/Atmos you will more than likely have to subscribe, and pay, directly to Max. The same sort of thing is happening to the Comcast/Xfinity folks.

I have the same exact issues.   I have the ATT Unlimited Elite Plan.  It's sooooo very frustrating when ATT promises you all the bells and whistles and then doesn't deliver.  I was on the phone and chat with many reps from ATT for many hours.  Some didn't even know what I was talking about.  One chat was able to get me signed on to Max.  But then as soon as I closed my TV, I was signed out of Max and haven't been able to get signed in again.  FALSE ADVERTISING!  Don't advertise it if you can deliver, ATT!!!!! 

@lovetotravel3333  It's not necessarily AT&T. Max is not obligated to honor AT&T's promo from a couple of years ago so any decisions as  to who can logon and use Max for free are entirely up to Max now. And, if you read the TOS of the plan there's probably a little caveat in there that states that promos and plans are subject to change. All carriers do that when they push marketing promos to get subscribers. "Free for life" always comes with caveats. If Max decides to honor the legacy AT&T accounts, you will be downgraded to the Ad-free, 2 devices, full HD only tier.

OttoPylot,

Thank you for your reply.  The frustrating thing is that I was able to get signed on once onto the Max platform, so I must still have it with my plan.  It's just that they make it soooo very hard to sign in again once you turn off your TV, so it just makes you want to give up.  I'm fine with ads and 2 devices, but we pay so much for our ATT plans, that we should get some kind of perks.  

@lovetotravel3333  I agree. But now that AT&T has very little control over Max, and it appears that Max wants to maximize their revenue stream, so the ball is in Max's court. I'm hoping that something can be worked out for the legacy AT&T/HBO Max folks so that you can at least continue with Max at the HD-only tier.

I never activated HBO Max with our account because we have the standalone Max subscription and I knew that these "free" promo deals eventually go away or not become "free" anymore.

Hello @lovetotravel3333, we hear you, and want to help get this sorted. 

We are going to initiate a DM to help you with your concern regarding the Max issue.

Please look out for a DM notification from us. (For your reference it's the bell icon on the top right-hand corner of the forums)

Looking forward to speaking with you!

Thank you for contacting AT&T Community & Forums,

MatG, AT&T Community Specialist

You can set up a DM all you want. I have been told three times now that I will have to pay for Max. AT&T will always have a way out of an agreement and their customer service is horrible!!!! Nobody can dispute that. 

@loryraymond1  If you were getting Ad-free, 4k HDR/Atmos HBO Max as a "free" promo with your AT&T account, Max downgraded you to the Ad-free, 2 devices, full HD only level. However, the migration of those accounts from AT&T has been "messed up" to say the least. If you still wanted 4k HDR/Atmos, you would need to subscribe to Max directly and pay for that level. There was no upgrade path offered by Max to AT&T for that tier. If you read the original TOS it probably states that all promotions are subject to change. All carriers do that with their promotions, and nothing is ever truly free or lasts "for life". That's why it pays to carefully read the TOS on any deal or promo you get. It also states the legal obligations of the customer and the carrier.

Max ultimately decides now who will get what and how on their service. If they decide to not honor the promo from AT&T anymore then there's nothing the customer can do. I had "free for live HBO Max" when we upgraded our account a few years ago but never took advantage of that because I knew that there were strings attached, and nothing is ever truly "free of life" so I didn't want to get stuck in a situation like this down the road. I subscribed to the standalone Max subscription instead.