Spotify car thing discontinued

[Bradey]

Plan

Premium family 

Country

US

Device

(iPhone xs

Operating System

Idk whatever iOS they on now

My Question or Issue

I have had Spotify since it came out; I upgraded to a premium plan with my family in 2018. The decision to stop supporting Car Thing breaks my heart. My truck doesn't have bluetooth or a display so when Spotify Car Thing came out I was ecstatic. I love Spotify I have always thought it was way better than apple music because they would try to make**bleep** like the car thing and they weren't some huge heartless corporation like apple. But this and the fact that our premium plan gets raised a dollar all the time has made me rethink my position. 

My whole family uses I phones and have been discussing switching to apple music for YEARS. I WAS ALWAYS THE ONE TO KEEP THEM WITH SPOTIFY. Now I am over it if you don't make this right and my car thing stops working in December we will be switching to apple music.

[ColeGill]

Its ridiculous that Spotify sold us a product that we all expect to have until we break it and aren't offering some form of reimbursement. This whole thing smells like a lawsuit waiting to happen. Like a bunch of us would be pacified if they just offered a few months of free premium or something. Instead they are forcing thousands of their most loyal users to second guess whether they want to do business with this company. It really sucks when you defend a brand over another and then they go and do something like this. I didn't buy car thing expecting it to be obsolete in a year.

[dawiller]

Totally ridiculous that this product I paid $80 is being disabled. There HAS to be some kind of refund or credit at least. I've been a Spotify customer for 10+ years and if they don't do anything to make this right I will not give this company any more money and absolutely switch to an alternative.

[mshamblin]

Unfortunately I spent my money on the car thing. With Spotify discontinuing it I feel I have wasted my money as I bought it so i could listen to music in my car without be docked by my insurance. This is not only going to make it frustrating to listen to my music because I can’t touch my phone while in my car but the $50 I spent is basically going in the trash. I understand if it’s not selling well and discontinuing it but there is no need to stop its function for the customers who already payed for it. Not to mention my Spotify alone hasn’t been working half the time maybe it’s time to give my money to Apple.

[mshamblin]

Not to mention customer support was useless I basically got the discontinuation email twice.

[nfsalamone20]

I fully agree. Sure the thing is and has been flawed and buggy at times but it is extremely helpful in a pinch.

[Asriax]

Plan

Premium

Country

US

Device

iPhone 15 Pro Max

Operating System

iOS 17.4.1

My Question or Issue

I’ve loved Spotify since the day I signed up. I’ve been such a supporter of the brand that I bought hard ware from the company. I was rewarded for my trust in Spotifys brand by the upper managements decision to destroy the car thing I spent my own money on after the fact. Just because they can. Spotify is permanently losing my business for this. Honestly I can’t in good faith give any money to a brand that will discard its supporters and destroy their purchases retroactively. Thoughtlessly. I will encourage every Spotify user I know to stop using the service and instead use a service whose management shows basic respect to their customers. Spotify is not that company 

[oracleclyde]

My two cents echo every post here. I understand product sunsetting decisions are hard, with lots of factors rolled in (support, supply chain, effective use of programming team, etc) but bricking the Car Thing seems a bit harsh. 

Considering how you have a very good API that many tinkerers have used to create their own version of a Car Thing with off the shelf modules, this device is a perfect candidate to show other high profile companies who want to sunset a hardware device how to properly turn it over to your most loyal customers. We spent extra money on top of a service we pay for because its a great product. I was looking to get another one and put it in my rec room for friends and family to use. 

If it's a matter of being wary in exposing some private APIs or code you don't want out in the wild, then how about a special dev program where people can work with your devs to sanitize and reflash the device with custom firmware. There are already some great software projects that could be ported over, and then when we have a suitable software replacement, point people to the project who wish to rescue their Car Thing. There are more than enough devs willing to make this happen.

[aosmond7]

What are they doing for us as the users? Credits or discounts? I love Car Thing in my truck!... Please maintain or make a better user experience for me using Spotify in my car besides relying on my phone's screen or Siri which is frustrating and unreliable.

[Kloberdanz]

My Question or Issue

How is Spotify going to compensate those who purchased the Car Thing?

[frillweeman]

(Verse 1)
Yo, check it, Spotify in the house, but they’re playin’ dirty,
Sold us Car Thing dreams, now it’s gettin’ real shirty,
Eighty-nine ninety-nine, we paid for that bling,
Now they pullin' the plug, no more tunes in the ring.

They said keep payin’ Premium, your ride’ll stay fly,
But come December nine, they sayin’ goodbye,
No compensation, just corporate greed,
Deaf to our cries, they won’t take heed.

(Chorus)
We got the Car Thing blues, Spotify’s trippin’,
Sold us a dream, now they’re straight up dippin’,
Corporate overlords, countin’ their cash,
Left us in the dust, now we got backlash.

(Verse 2)
Took it to the forums, tried to raise our voice,
But the mods playin’ games, deletin’ our choice,
Success stories vanish, complaints disappear,
It’s clear they don’t care, it’s all about the cheer.

Bought this nationwide, from east to the west,

No matter where you are, they’re puttin’ us to the test,

Expected it to last as long as we subscribed,

But now we’re left hangin’, high and dry.

(Chorus)
We got the Car Thing blues, Spotify’s trippin’,
Sold us a dream, now they’re straight up dippin’,
Corporate overlords, countin’ their cash,
Left us in the dust, now we got backlash.

(Bridge)
Yo, Tune Tyrants, listen up, we ain’t gon’ quit,
We’re fightin’ for our rights, we ain’t takin’ your sh... stuff,
We paid for a product, not for your deceit,
You can’t just bail out, leave us in the street.

(Chorus)
We got the Car Thing blues, Spotify’s trippin’,
Sold us a dream, now they’re straight up dippin’,
Corporate overlords, countin’ their cash,
Left us in the dust, now we got backlash.

(Outro)
So here’s the message, we’re sendin’ it clear,
Spotify, don’t mess with the people who cheer,
We’re standin’ united, we’re fightin’ the fight,
You can’t silence us, we’re bringin’ the light.

[MarieMoonlights]

Such a waste that they just want us to recycle it. I've been using it at work as a quick and easy way to control my music since having my phone out isn't really an option. Please open source the os so that we can reuse it instead of just tossing it. 

[OwenH555]

The fact they cut 17% of their employees last december to increase profit even thought spotify stock has rose 267% the past 2 or so years and then cutting a beloved and sought out for product with no alternative or other option is absolutley ridiculous.

[stanzkrilla24]

Well I typed up a massive response but their **bleep** site had an error. The jest of it was… I feel so damn disrespected. Totally understand not wanting to continue building and selling them. But to just “brick” a device that a large group of people already paid for is so gross. And that response of “

We want to assure you that we hear your concerns and appreciate all the feedback you've shared”. Was so triggering and I literally LOLd. Should just be blunt about it and say - we  want to assure that we don’t care about any of your posts- here is a generic generated response and no one will read your feedback. Thanks to all of you for paying us $90 a unit. We were able to give our ceo a big fat BONUS. Please continue to pay us a monthly subscription - and **bleep** off.

[stanzkrilla24]

I hear ya. I feel abused and disrespected. Have no choice but to cancel and most likely switch to Apple Music. Id feel so pathetic if I continue to pay a company that spit in my face. No refunds, no compensation of any type whatever. For such a large company to pull this kinda **bleep** it’s pretty wild

[Cvikes]

Can you at least keep functionality for those already with it and discontinue selling or even offer premium for the amount that was payed 

[SonOfMrSaturn]

Spotify just robbed their most loyal customers and aren't offering any compensation. This is absolutely disgusting. I use my Car Thing every single time I drive my vehicle, because it's much simpler than installing a new head unit, and safer than having to operate my phone while driving. I absolutely adore the Car Thing for what it is.

This is absolutely ridiculous. Make this right, Spotify.

Do not brick a $90-valued device that was mostly purchased by your most loyal customers.

Either that, or give us full refunds.

I'm a long-time subscriber and I've constantly given Spotify second chances, but this is a spit in the face to their most loyal customers. If this isn't made right, I will not be renewing my subscription, and I will switch to a better alternative. 

For some of us who paid full price, this is $90 down the drain.

So incredibly disappointed in this company. Clearly they prioritize their greed over their customers. 

What a joke.

[stanzkrilla24]

Smells like a lawsuit indeed

[frillweeman]

They are not going to. You'll have to sue them in small claims. I highly recommend doing so. If you haven't done so before, use ChatGPT to walk you through the process for your court, and it should take less than an hour to file.

[MrSplic3r]

Change CarThing to work as a manual controller and display for what's currently playing on spotify app and in app search results, rather than turning it into trash by disabling it, and betraying your users and those with older cars who appreciate it's implementation. It might lose the voice controls if those were being processed remotely, but CarThing should still work as a satellite display and interface for the app for those with older cars who don't want to risk a ticket for using their phone while driving to change songs, volume, etc.

[JAKEYYV]

Long term subscriber here,

I am not happy about this, absolutely fine that you cannot support the product but please let us existing users carry on as we are. 
I for one 99% of the time use Spotify whilst driving, using this device. Will be cancelling subscriptions if this is the case