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.

[screwdbysptphy]

Been a premium Spotify user for years and years and quite liked this product. But not only do you drop support, you deactivate it entirely with no chance of refund?

Absolutely no faith in Spotify after they pull this. Why should I keep paying every month for my family to use your service when you revoke your paid-for product?

[Jg51]

Discontinuing the car thing and turning it into a paperweight is like being sold a car, only to find out that the manufacturer has taken back the keys and replaced the engine with a block of concrete, and keeping your money! Sure, it still looks nice in the driveway, but good luck getting anywhere without the vital components that make it actually function. 

We should be refunded the money spent on the device if it is no longer going to be functional. 

[Slackwaree]

So they’ve going to completely discontinue this device we love, that was so difficult to get, and had to spend money on, and not even offer a month or a few free months service!?!? Just turn it off and it’s un-operable? 

insane decision on their end, who’s being greedy? Considering switching to Apple Music based on this one decision alone. The fact that they won’t offer up anything for the purchasers of the device is WILD. 

[mechmyday]

I understand that Spotify does not want to continue support for Car Thing.  What is troubling is that in the FAQ it suggests resetting the device and throwing it away.  This is incredibly wasteful and overall harmful to the environment.  My idea is that Spotify release source code and documentation for the Car Thing which will allow users to reuse the device and re-purpose it.  This would allow existing owners and users continue to be able to use their device and save another piece of technology from becoming e-waste. I believe that there is a strong community willing to take up this task.

[32cxp83n-_w86]

E-waste is not an option. Just let the community use it. I Bought this thing for full price when it came out even after you said you were giving them for free. My car is too old to have an interface, but if you refuse to let me use your product (I PAID FOR) then ill just mod my car, give myself a touch screen, and switch to youtube music. Id prefer not to, but this is a super scummy thing to do. DONT BRICK YOUR PRODUCTS

[AaronMickDee]

I'd rather not just dispose of the device. I think there is a community that would love the idea of having a device we can customize and use for other uses other than a song playback device.

Would Spotify be willing to maybe unlock the system and allow users to write/flash 3rd party firmware to the device?

[qlh]

Do not end support for Car Thing.

I, along with thousands (at the very least) of other Spotify users, received an email today informing us that Car Thing would be completely non-functional as of December 9, 2024. Not "discontinued." Car Thing was discontinued in 2022 when Spotify ceased sales of the device. When a product is discontinued, those who purchased said item while it was on the market can still use the item they PAID for. The aforementioned scenario is not what is happening. Car Thing will be completely non-functional.

Not only is this a slap in the face to users who rely on Car Thing for a safe listening experience behind the wheel (ESPECIALLY those of us with older vehicles that lack features like Apple CarPlay or even Bluetooth connectivity), but it is a blatant contradiction to Spotify's supposed "sustainability efforts." There is nothing sustainable about creating mass amounts of technology waste through the complete termination of support for Car Thing.

As an avid Spotify user since 2018, it has been utterly disheartening to watch Spotify change from an establishment that cares about its customers to a soulless corporation that has stripped away every significant aspect of its user experience in the name of "innovation." Removing the like button? Completely unnecessary. Adding audiobooks to the platform that millions of people PAY to use and initially requiring users to pay for audiobooks on your streaming service, only to add free access audiobooks to Premium accounts AFTER massive backlash. Even after audiobooks became accessible at no additional cost, Premium subscribers are still only allowed 15 hours of listening time per month. These changes, along with the termination of Car Thing support, have significantly diminished my trust and satisfaction with Spotify.

I was fortunate to receive the Car Thing at no cost, excluding shipping fees. Still, I am outraged that Spotify is making yet another decision that completely disregards consumer experience in favor of corporate interest.

Should Car Thing become totally non-functional on December 9, 2024, I will cancel my subscription immediately thereafter. I have been a loyal Spotify patron for six years, but this is the final straw. I encourage others to do the same.

[irisluna]

I just received a mind boggling email from Spotify, that you will be BRICKING the Spotify Car Thing this December. Why?? The reasons provided are completely vague and nonsense. I read the FAQ and it quite literally said they will be completely inoperable and that everyone should "safely" throw them out. Talk about MASSIVE E-Waste!!! The devices work perfectly fine and there should be absolutely NO REASON to completely shut these things off. This is quite literally the WORST decision that Spotify has made. I'm sure a lot of people, including myself, will move to Apple Music.

I paid $80 for my Car Thing, and I use it every day. What's so bad about keeping the device functional? Does it cost this big company too many pennies to run them?? 

I hope they see all the posts about this poor decision and take it back, there's no way they can brick a useful device and tell everyone to throw it out and go back to using their phones while driving. 

[screwdbysptphy]

my favorite thing about Car Thing is when it works and isnt remotely deactivated in a bait and switch scam 🤗

[thehexxfx]

Is there anything we can do to keep the device useful? I'd love to use it for ANYTHING - but it seems like a paper weight is Spotify's only option.

[CyberSonic716]

Car Thing is the most used device in my car and I am very heartbroken to find out it's being discontinued to the point where it wouldn't work anymore, even 2-3 years after it was no longer made. WHY?? Please let those of us that legitimately love using the device daily continue to do so or actually plan a successor for it for newcomers if keeping Car Thing alive isn't financially viable. Not all dedicated Android Auto/CarPlay devices are reliable (I personally am on my second one now) and I like having a separate screen for ONLY Spotify and Spotify alone. PLEASE reconsider the decision!! 🥺🙏

[mrose692]

absolutely agree!

[sclaire1878]

The most I got was “sorry for the inconvenience”. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[baywolves]

Hi,

Along with many other users I'm registering my frustration and disappointment by Spotify's decision to withdraw support for Car Thing, rendering it inoperable by December of 2024 and offering no compensation to its paid customers.

I understand that it may be not be cost-effective to support the device but to withdraw support like this and not offer any compensation is contemptuous behavior. I'm a premium family subscriber and have been an member since 2009. It'll be tough to transition to another service but consider me very motivated to do so.

Plan

Free/Premium

Country

Device

(iPhone 8, Samsung Galaxy 9, Macbook Pro late 2016)

Operating System

(iOS 10, Android Oreo, Windows 10,etc.)

My Question or Issue

[Sadpigeon]

It better be good because it looks like I'll be subscribing to YouTube premium before then.

[thehexxfx]

(chat with support continued)

[qlh]

Do not end support for Car Thing.

I, along with thousands (at the very least) of other Spotify users, received an email today informing us that Car Thing would be completely non-functional as of December 9, 2024. Not "discontinued." Car Thing was discontinued in 2022 when Spotify ceased sales of the device. When a product is discontinued, those who purchased said item while it was on the market can still use the item they PAID for. The aforementioned scenario is not what is happening. Car Thing will be completely non-functional.

Not only is this a slap in the face to users who rely on Car Thing for a safe listening experience behind the wheel (ESPECIALLY those of us with older vehicles that lack features like Apple CarPlay or even Bluetooth connectivity), but it is a blatant contradiction to Spotify's supposed "sustainability efforts." There is nothing sustainable about creating mass amounts of technology waste through the complete termination of support for Car Thing.

As an avid Spotify user since 2018, it has been utterly disheartening to watch Spotify change from an establishment that cares about its customers to a soulless corporation that has stripped away every significant aspect of its user experience in the name of "innovation." Removing the like button? Completely unnecessary. Adding audiobooks to the platform that millions of people PAY to use and initially requiring users to pay for audiobooks on your streaming service, only to add free access audiobooks to Premium accounts AFTER massive backlash. Even after audiobooks became accessible at no additional cost, Premium subscribers are still only allowed 15 hours of listening time per month. These changes, along with the termination of Car Thing support, have significantly diminished my trust and satisfaction with Spotify.

I was fortunate to receive the Car Thing at no cost, excluding shipping fees. Still, I am outraged that Spotify is making yet another decision that completely disregards consumer experience in favor of corporate interest.

Should Car Thing become totally non-functional on December 9, 2024, I will cancel my subscription immediately thereafter. I have been a loyal Spotify patron for six years, but this is the final straw. I encourage others to do the same.

[kramertr0n]

Plan

Premium

Country

US

Device

iPhone 15

Operating System

Windows

I don't understand what the purpose of making the Car Thing obsolete is. You said in the FAQ there are no plans to replace it. You guys actually offered an affordable alternative to something like Carplay, even though they're pretty different. I, and I'm sure many others don't have bluetooth in the car, or have something that's easy to use instead of stumbling through my phone to change a playlist or a song. It was nice to just have preset buttons, or be able to skip through songs quickly-- and you're just going to shut it off? We all paid for this thing that doesn't have a subscription model or anything, I just don't get it. I've always been a pretty hardcore Spotify user, but I'm not so sure anymore. It used to really be about the listeners and creating a wonderful, personal music listening experience. Sorry to see a cool company succumb to greed. 

[Slackwaree]

Hello fellow upset car thing users. Made an account here just to display my frustration and I never make or accounts or leave comments in my 33 years of life. The fact that they’re not offering at the minimum a month of free subscription or anything is preposterous.

[screwdbysptphy]

Didn't even offer me this! Just "dont worry, you can still use it until December :)"