How to Change Language on Max

In this article, we’ll discuss how to change the language of subtitles and audio on Max (formerly HBO Max), when available. This is a quick process, but you’ll likely find limited options at the moment.

How to Change the Language on Max

Changing the language, or at least accessing the options, can be done on any piece of content at any time.

1. Select your content. For content in multiple languages, there will be a button to switch between what’s available. If you don’t see an option, click play to begin the stream.

   

2. Select the “speech balloon” in the lower-right corner to open a menu for audio options and subtitle options. You’ll also see a gear symbol next to the words “Caption Settings.”

   

   Tip

   Some movies on Max, particularly foreign films, have subtitles “burned in” to the stream. The app isn’t able to control these as they’re part of the movie itself.

3. If the subtitles are hard to read or blend into the movie, pause and press the “speech balloon” and select “Caption Settings.” Change the size, color, font, and opacity of subtitles to make them visible as needed. The app will generate an example caption for you to experiment with while the movie is playing.

   

   Tip

    You’ll only see these when you select subtitles with “CC” in them, such as “English CC.”

What Languages Are Available on Max?

In our research, we found a number of movies only have limited audio languages available, usually English and Spanish, although some content in the International and Latino sections only had Spanish or another language as a primary option with English subtitles laid over the movie. 

Similarly, subtitle options were generally limited to English in our region, and we found no options to add third-party subtitle files at the moment.

Changing the language of your device's interface generally didn’t change the audio or subtitle options in our tests, and we found no language option in our Max profile. Max notes the app itself is currently only available in English, but that it’s working on adding more language support. It also appears languages aren't widely announced when they're added.

Why the lack of languages? While it’s not explicitly stated in the platform's materials, it can depend on whether language tracks were produced in the first place. Over time, you should expect big-budget movies released internationally to add a few language tracks as available, but more obscure content, like TV shows and independent movies, might not produce these tracks, making it unlikely they'll be available with other language options.