Just a year afterSpotifystarted making its Car Thing dashboard accessory, the company ended production. Now, Spotify is ending all support for the device. Not only is the company’s attempt at making car accessories getting a very short shelf life, but in the process of rendering the device completely unusable, thestreaming giantis leaving those who did purchase it in the lurch.
Customers who purchased the $90 device to stream their Spotify accounts on older dashboard interfaces are now receiving emails from Spotify. These emails inform them that support for the device will cease on July 03, 2025. Unfortunately, the company is not offering any viable alternatives.
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No refunds are coming
In theFAQ on Spotify’s website, there is an explanation of why the company is shutting down the Car Thing adapter, claiming that it knows the decision is disappointing but, “this decision allows us to focus on developing new features and enhancements that will ultimately provide a better experience to all Spotify users.”
The FAQ also explains that despite the short life of a fairly expensive piece of equipment, Spotify isn’t offering any refunds or discounts to those who purchased it back since it hit the market in 2021. No trade-in program is set up for those who want to get rid of it. “We recommend resetting your Car Thing to factory settings and safely disposing of your device following local electronic waste guidelines,” Spotify said.
Those who might be looking for a replacement device in the near future should look outside Spotify for other options. Despite the company’s stated aim of focusing on new features and enhancements, the firm was also very clear that it isn’t working on anything that could be considered a Car Thing 2. The streaming service will apparently stick to software instead of hardware in the future.
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When the device is officially rendered inoperable this December, it will end a somewhat odd trajectory that began in April of 2021 on an invite-only basis, eventually expanded to a waitlist to purchase and then went on sale to the general public in February of 2022. Spotify ended production of the device less than half a year later.
