How to Fix No Sound on the Max App on TV and Phone
Max shows the picture perfectly but stays completely silent. In most cases the app is fine — the audio format it sends simply does not match what your TV, soundbar, or phone can play. Work through the checks below in order, starting with the quickest tests, and the sound usually returns within a few minutes.
Is It the Title or the App?
Before changing any settings, find out whether the problem affects everything or just one show. Open a different title on Max — ideally something recent and popular — and play it for a few seconds. If the second title has sound, the first one has a title-specific audio fault, and nothing on your device needs changing. Try playing the silent title again after a few minutes, or pick a different episode if it is a series. Also try a different app on the same device, such as YouTube or Netflix. If those apps have sound and only Max is silent, the problem is specific to Max.
Check the Audio Track Inside the Player
Max lets you pick the audio track for each title, and the wrong track can leave you with silence. While a title is playing, open the player controls and look for the Audio and Subtitles option — on most TVs it is a speech-bubble icon, on phones it appears in the player menu. Open it and check which audio track is selected. If a surround track such as English 5.1 or Dolby Digital is selected, switch to the plain English stereo track instead. Some titles also list an Audio Description track, which is a narration track; if that is selected by mistake, the dialogue may sound strange or missing. Choose the standard English track, then back out and let the title play for a few seconds.
Why Dolby Audio Causes Silence on Max
This is the key to most Max sound problems. Max streams many titles with Dolby Digital Plus or Dolby Atmos audio, which is a surround-sound format. If your TV, streaming stick, or soundbar cannot decode that format, it receives audio it cannot understand and plays nothing at all — while the picture keeps playing normally. Older TVs, budget soundbars, and some projectors handle only stereo sound. Even a capable soundbar can go silent if it is connected through a TV that passes the signal along in a format the soundbar cannot read. The fix is to tell your device to send plain stereo sound instead, which every TV and speaker understands.
Switch Your TV or Streaming Device to Stereo or PCM
The single most effective fix is changing the audio output format to Stereo or PCM. On most smart TVs, open Settings, then Sound or Audio, then look for Digital Audio Output, Audio Format, or HDMI Audio Format. Change it from Auto, Dolby Digital, or Bitstream to PCM or Stereo. On a Roku, go to Settings, then Audio, then set Audio mode to Stereo and turn off any Dolby option. On an Apple TV, open Settings, then Video and Audio, then Audio Format, and change it from Auto to Stereo. On an Android TV or Google TV, open Settings, then Display and Sound, then Advanced sound settings, and select PCM. After changing the setting, force-close Max and reopen it, then play a title. If the sound returns, you have found the problem, and you can leave the setting on Stereo — the picture quality is unaffected.
Turn Off Dolby Digital Plus on Fire TV
Fire TV devices deserve their own section because they are one of the most common places this fault appears. Open Settings on your Fire TV, then Display and Sound, then Audio Output, and look for Dolby Digital Plus. Turn it off. Then go back and check the Surround Sound setting and set it to Stereo or Best Available rather than Always Dolby Digital. Restart the Max app after making the change, because the app may keep using the old audio session until it is closed and reopened. Play a title that was silent before. If it now has sound, the Dolby Digital Plus setting was the cause.
Check Your Soundbar and Receiver
If your sound comes through a soundbar or a home theatre receiver, that equipment sits between Max and your ears, and it can be the part that fails to decode the audio. First, check that the soundbar is on the correct input and that its volume is up. Then look for a sound mode button on the remote and try switching it to Stereo, Standard, or PCM. If your soundbar connects through HDMI ARC, try an optical cable instead, because ARC connections sometimes pass along a format the soundbar cannot handle. As a quick test, turn the soundbar off entirely and listen through the TV speakers. If the TV speakers have sound while the soundbar is silent, the soundbar or its connection is the problem, not Max.
What to Try When Nothing Else Works
A few remaining causes are worth checking. Restart your TV or streaming device properly — unplug it from the wall for thirty seconds rather than just pressing the power button, because many TVs only sleep when you press power. Check that your HDMI cable is seated firmly at both ends, and try a different HDMI port if you have a spare one. If you are watching on a phone, make sure it is not in silent mode and that no Bluetooth device has grabbed the audio. If the problem is on your phone’s own speaker rather than the app, run the free speaker-cleaner tool on the myspeakerfix.com homepage, which plays a tone designed to push water and dust out of the speaker. Finally, if the silence started right after a Max app update, check the Max help centre for reports of a wider outage, and wait for a fix rather than changing more settings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Max have picture but no sound?
Max often streams Dolby Digital Plus or Dolby Atmos audio. If your TV or soundbar cannot decode that format, you get picture with silence. Switching the audio output to Stereo or PCM usually fixes it.
How do I change the audio track on Max?
While a title plays, open Audio and Subtitles in the player controls and select the plain English stereo track instead of a 5.1 or Dolby Digital track.
Why is only one show silent on Max?
That title may have a faulty audio track on Max’s side. Test another title first. If only one title is silent, try it again later or watch a different episode.
Does turning off Dolby Digital Plus lower video quality?
No. The audio format setting only changes the sound. Your video resolution and picture quality stay exactly the same when you switch to Stereo or PCM.