You finally have the time to relax and watch your favorite shows now that it’s the weekend. You open up your HBO MAX app and select a show from its enormous catalog. Then, you click play hoping to forget all your worries for an hour. But then you notice the subtitles are annoying you. You try and turn them off, but HBO keeps turning on subtitles.
If you are facing such an issue, don’t worry. We bring you this guide on fixing HBO keeps turning on subtitles. We will go through all the procedures so you can get back to your binge as soon as possible.
HBO MAX is HBO’s premier streaming service. It is a relatively new appearance in the streaming market currently occupied by Netflix, HULU and Amazon Prime. Nonetheless, HBO MAX offers exclusivity on popular shows. Titles such as Game of Thrones helped boost HBO MAX to get a significant opening subscriber boost.
Why Do We Need HBO Subtitles?




HBO MAX currently offers 100+ shows in foreign languages. You obviously don’t speak that many languages, do you? Then why does HBO MAX offer these? The foreign shows that HBO MAX offers have a built-up reputation. The hype makes unknown viewers want to try it.
They can experience these shows using HBO’s subtitles/closed captions utility. Subtitles in English over foreign dubbed shows are becoming more common recently. Now shows are not bounded by language, and everyone’s catalog can expand.
This goes the other way as well. HBO offers subtitles in 15+ different languages across various shows. People can become familiar with new languages by comparing them with their native ones. It is not uncommon now to watch an Italian program with Korean subtitles. It makes the world a whole lot closer.
Why Won’t The Subtitles Turn OFF on HBO MAX?
There are several reasons you may keep encountering HBO keeps turning on subtitles error. HBO MAX is a relatively new streaming platform. Consequently, it has many more glitches that can cause errors, such as HBO keeps turning on subtitles. Here are some of the common reasons why HBO MAX keeps turning on subtitles:
- HBO server issue
- Episode glitches
- The wrong option selected
- Browser extension problem
- Accessibility setting overriding
Let’s go through the most common reasons and find out why your HBO keeps turning on subtitles.
How Do I Permanently Turn OFF subtitles on HBO MAX?




Restart Your Device
When you encounter any HBO MAX issue, the first thing you should do is restart your device. Devices now have hundreds of apps in use. Getting overloaded by these apps is pretty standard. A setting on one app can cause problems in another.
Restarting your device puts it in a fresh state. It cleans up the ram and fixes minor issues that can cause HBO keeps turning on subtitles. Simply restarting works fine for most of them, but if the problem is still not gone, we have more solutions for you to try.
Don’t Use A VPN
We understand that sometimes you might require using a VPN with HBO MAX as some regional movies might not be available without a VPN, or you might be thinking about getting a better connection with a VPN. Unfortunately, HBO MAX has a troubled history with VPN’s. Until VPN’s are not officially supported, we believe they will keep having minor issues, such as HBO keeps turning on subtitles.
So, the best thing is to turn off your VPN and then again try to reconnect. If the issue is fixed, then it may be unfortunate that you won’t be able to watch a region-locked show without subtitles.
Update HBO MAX App
An outdated version can cause several problems, such as HBO MAX keeps turning on subtitles. It’s best to update right away to the latest version before even more problems begin to show.
With every new update, developers bring new features and discontinue old ones. The changes also take effect on the HBO servers. If your app version does not match what the server is using, then this can easily cause HBO keeps turning on subtitles.
Although, if the auto-updates are disabled, you can check for an update by going to the App Store or Play Store. If there is an update icon, press it and wait for a few minutes. Clear multitasking and restart HBO MAX after the update has finished. Go to log in and type your account credentials to see if the issue is fixed.
Check Settings
Several settings on your device can cause HBO keeps turning on subtitle issue that you don’t even know about. Depending on your device, there can be a long list of settings you have to change before your subtitle problem is gone. We will go through a generic step-by-step that can cover most devices that support HBO MAX:
- First and foremost, check that you have disabled the CC option when watching the show.
- Then go to your HBO MAX settings tab.
- Navigate to accessibility.
- Go to the subtitles and captioning sub-menu.
- Turn off all the toggles.
These are all the settings you must turn off in your HBO MAX app. Devices have their own accessibility settings as well. They can sometimes override HBO MAX’s setting on CC. Go to your device’s accessibility setting and proceed to turn off the CC option if it is available.
Final Thoughts
If your subtitles are not going away, you should contact HBO customer service. We hope we have solved your problem of HBO keeps turning on subtitles. For other HBO related issues, we have solutions here like 10 Simple Ways To Fix HBO Max Not Full Screen On TV and HBO Keeps Logging Me Out: Here’s How To Stay Online.