Spotify today shut down all Car Thing accessories, several months after announcing plans to discontinue the product. As of this week, Car Thing is no longer functional and will not work with the Spotify streaming service.
Car Thing owners who power on the device now only see the following message:
Car Thing is discontinued and no longer operational.
Thank you for being on this journey with us, safe travels. For more information, visit carthing.com Contact customer service by no later than January 14, 2025 to discuss your refund options.
Spotify's Car Thing was first introduced in April 2021, and it was Spotify's first hardware product. The accessory was designed to provide simple access to Spotify music while in a vehicle, and it was especially useful in vehicles without modern infotainment systems.
Spotify stopped making Car Thing just five months after it launched due to low product demand and supply chain issues. Existing Car Thing accessories continued to function as expected, until this week.
Back in May, Spotify announced that it was discontinuing Car Thing, and earlier this month, it told customers that the device would stop working at some point in December. Spotify says that Car Thing was discontinued in an effort to streamline product offerings.
Car Thing cost $90 when it launched, and existing units are entirely non-operational now that Spotify has decided to brick them. Spotify has directed customers to recycle their Car Things.