Max’s rebrand back to HBO Max hit a snag on Wednesday, July 9, when X wouldn’t let the account update its username, with entertaining responses from netizens.
After its official return to the “HBO Max” brand on Wednesday, Warner Bros. Discovery ran into an unexpected digital roadblock: X refused to let the company switch its account name back. The platform’s rules on merging or migrating data between accounts seemingly got in the way.
“Twitter won’t let me change my name back,” the @streamonmax account tweeted early Wednesday, drawing both laughs and sympathy.
Meanwhile, the official @hbomax account updated its bio to read, “Twitter won’t let us switch our handles ¯\(ツ)/¯”
Not long after, the @streamonmax profile updated its display name to “Actually HBO Max” and replaced its Max logo with the classic HBO Max branding. It was an awkward workaround that didn’t go unnoticed.
Ironically, this comes from the platform that itself went through a major rebrand. Elon Musk famously changed Twitter to X in July 2023, disregarding branding norms to chase his favorite letter. Yet now, his platform appears to be blocking another company’s rebrand.
Social media had a field day
The rebranding boomerang sparked immediate mockery online, with many users questioning Warner Bros. Discovery’s decision-making in the first place. Some asked why the company dropped “HBO” at all, given its strong legacy in prestige TV.
Others, including fellow branded accounts, found the X issue especially hilarious.
The @AEWonTV account had a cheeky back-and-forth interaction with the @streamonmax account, saying, “Do we need to get Hologram? We’ll get Hologram,” to which @streamonmax wrote, “He just needs to tell them two words.”
@manscaped, meanwhile, said, “‘Well, well, well, if it isn’t the consequences of my own actions.’” HBO Max’s social media manager responded, “The sowing was great, but the reaping…”
“Need help? xD” asked @hbomax_portal.
u/emreunayli on Reddit wrote, “Hard to believe a company this big is being run like a school project.”
Memes also flooded the platform, including a GIF from Barney & Friends where Barney is telling fellow dinosaur BJ, “I think you learned something very important.”
While X says changing a display name is simple, its help center also states that merging or transferring data between accounts isn’t possible. That limitation may be why Warner Bros. Discovery is stuck juggling both @streamonmax and @hbomax at the moment.
The chaos extended, minimally, beyond X. On YouTube, the @streamonmax handle was swapped to @hbomax, though its display name still read “Max” for a while afterward. On Instagram, the switch appeared smoother, with its bio now reading, “HBO Max. Second of its name.”
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