If you were one of the Spotify superfans who snagged the Car Thing, the streaming service’s ill-fated attempt at hardware, your time with the kit has come to an end. The company has confirmed that it is killing off the device entirely. That means it’ll stop working.
Not the kind of ‘not working’ that means there are no more software updates. It’ll cease to function entirely from 9 December this year, meaning you’ll at least have a few months to say goodbye before your hands-free music player goes the way of the Kwesé Play box.
Car Thing? What Car Thing?
After that date, Spotify says users should reset their in-car hardware to factory settings and “safely dispos[e] of your device following local electronic waste guidelines.” There are no other options offered, except to suggest that Spotify users use the app to continue listening to music in their cars.
The move isn’t unexpected, though it strikes us as a little drastic. The Car Thing was discontinued in 2022, back when it became obvious that fewer folks were interested in the hardware than the company had hoped. Existing stock remained on sale after production ended and it’s this point that grates. Continuing sales of a dead product only to completely brick it a short time later is a little… corporate, you know?
If you bought a Car Thing, you’re out of luck. You could either return it (as long as it’s a recent purchase and you didn’t buy from Spotify directly), offload it to some unsuspecting mark person (but that’s about as scummy as Spotify’s cancellation), or take the cost hit on the chin. The streaming giant isn’t offering trade-ins or refunds and it also has no plans afoot for any replacement hardware.