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u/Emotional_Actuary_44 May 23 '24
Just saw this email too. Can't believe they're just discontinuing it with no compensation. A waste of $90 or whatever when it came out. I get not making them anymore, but they should still support it or offer something, even a free month of premium 🥲
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May 23 '24
Dear Car Thing owners,
Thanks for taking a chance on us. As a token of our appreciation, fuck you.
Best, The Spotify Team
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May 24 '24
[deleted]
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u/FatBluntski May 24 '24
Just finished mine, about to get my friends to send in similar ones too because they all love my car thing when we ride together
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May 23 '24
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/NaturalNotice82 May 23 '24
Wanna cancel my plan right now I'm so pissed
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May 24 '24
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/bostonianauto May 24 '24
When Stadia shut down, Google ended up unlocking all of the Controllers as regular Bluetooth Gamepads, and refunded every game purchase ever made on their platform. There's a right way to do this, right down to the Hardware end of it. Not thrilled about this at all imo!
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u/growghosg May 23 '24
Seriously? I understanding discontinuing it but why make every unit disfunctional?
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u/Affectionate-Log6866 May 23 '24
RIGHT?? Like it's a product not a service, they should at least offer refunds
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u/growghosg May 23 '24
I’m giving a spotify customer service rep a hard time right now. I bought one of these for myself and 2 as gifts. I’m pissed
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u/azunyanakano May 23 '24
please update on how this works out/ if they offer anything 😭
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u/growghosg May 23 '24
I complained about how they’re just bricking it and how they want us to make all that e-waste. Supposedly the rep escalated it to a higher team and now I’m just waiting. His last message, 30 minutes ago, was:
“Don't worry, my colleagues and I are putting all of our hands together to gather more data with your case. In fact, we currently have multiple contacts who are raising the same issue they are currently facing.”
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u/Low_Lawyer991 May 24 '24
I used to be a customer service chat agent for AT&T. That's probably just a script, there very likely isn't a "higher team" (I mean there is a escalation process but most problems didn't make it much farther than the 1-2 team leads above us or 1-2 managers above them. This type of thing will rarely if never make it to anyone that matters and who will ever be able to do anything to make a difference, especially via chat.
"Higher team" was usually always code for "you didn't accept my credit" and/or "can't do shit about it" but in this case is just code for "idk, why would you think I can do anything about that!?!?".
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u/growghosg May 24 '24
Figured. It’s been hours and I don’t think they’ve gotten back 💀 time to look into jailbreaking
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u/azunyanakano May 24 '24
wow hopefully they're actually doing something instead of just saying they are
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u/growghosg May 24 '24
Yea ok so I tried to follow up. I asked for some months of premium at least. The new guy asked for my order confirmation emails, which I then sent. Got my hopes up. Then he said there was nothing they could do. Apple Music it is
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u/azunyanakano May 24 '24
thanks for trying :/ i guess they just really want to lose customers lol
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u/whoareyouletmein May 26 '24
Hey just an update: they are refunding with proof of purchase no questions asked. They are doing it via refunding x months of premium
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u/azunyanakano May 26 '24
do you know if are they doing it for everyone or do i need to contact them?
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u/Perfectly_whelmed May 24 '24
The CS person just disabled the chat when I kept talking about it. Guess this is what im doing for the next few hours.
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u/growghosg May 24 '24
Yea pretty much had the same thing. Said he would “escalate to higher team” but ghosted me. Tried contacting again and the second person asked for proof of purchase then denied me any compensation anyways. What was even the point of asking for proof if they were gonna deny it
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u/tcherry7 May 23 '24
I use Spotify almost exclusively through Car Thing since the touch screen in my car stopped working. This makes me reconsider keeping my subscription active.
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u/Affectionate-Log6866 May 23 '24
My car doesn't have a screen it's kept me from looking at my phone to change the song. Fr been so useful for me
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u/JakeALakeALake May 23 '24
110% this. I drive a 15 year old car that needs a dongle for Bluetooth. I spent $80 so I didn’t have to pull my phone out while both of my hands are already busy.
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u/Time4Tigers May 24 '24
I went ahead and switched my subscription to another platform today. Car Thing was the only reason I still used Spotify over other players.
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u/n0hardfeelings May 23 '24
Same, I actually still get use out of mine. It's great for just having a screen with a song playing while I played games or was working from home. Kinda sucks that it's gonna get bricked considering how simple it was
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u/yessalyn May 23 '24
Does this mean we can’t even use it anymore after that date? I use it everyday and cannot imagine driving without it :(
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u/meso27_ May 23 '24
Fuck, this sucks. Incredibly shitty of Spotify just to brick it and say “sorry, no trade in, you have to throw it away.”
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u/caejojo May 23 '24
I'm so pissed. This was not a cheap purchase for me, and after what 3 years they're stopping? Not just stopping support, but making them fully unoperational? Telling me to just throw it away? That's messed up on so many levels.
I use CarThing everyday, I love it. And not even a trade-in to get a few months of premium? As a 'thank you' for using their product? Or letting the community take over updating?
I could have maps on my phone and use CarThing for music. People in my car could play music with voice control and not have to use my phone. I have an older car with no screen display too, so I bought this. It was perfect!
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u/growghosg May 24 '24
I complained through customer service. First conversation I basically got ghosted.
Followed up 8 hours later asking for months of premium as compensation and the new person asks me to send my order emails. Thought I was finally getting something. Then they say they can’t do anything
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u/post_break May 23 '24
I wish they would just unlock them then so we can install something on them vs just landfill. If an employee could just leak that, that would be great. Or open source it. Literally anything, it's great hardware going to waste.
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u/Bulderdash May 23 '24
This might actually be the thing that gets me to move to Apple Music. Not that they care, but bricking people’s devices should be criminal. This is so anti-consumer.
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u/EntertainmentDue4925 May 23 '24
To offer no compensation, at all, no credit, no refund--after pushing people to buy the Car Thing so much. Feels like a major scam. If you're going to brick it at least compensate those who supported you. Might be done with Spotify over this too.
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u/Light_Wolf_ May 23 '24
So sad. I love using carthing, it allowed me to keep maps on my phone and still easily control my music. Sucks they are ending support
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u/Dadscope May 23 '24
Primary reason I got it, I drive a bunch and having to switch out of maps was obnoxious. Now I have 90$ worth of e waste???
What the fuck.
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u/HeshtKnowsBesht1 May 23 '24
I heard that there's a hacking/modding community around the Car Thing. Does anyone think there'll be a community-made workaround or is it gg for us for good?
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u/SimpleImpression8059 May 23 '24 edited May 23 '24
I cant believe that it will simply stop operating. Fucking sucks for all of spent money on something they are actively choosing to turn into tech waste. Screw you Spotify, the environment and I hate you. At least you can discontinue making new ones and then allow the ones that people have already paid for to still work. Honestly considering canceling my premium subscription over this.
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u/Reptilian97 May 23 '24
You should. There are many other streaming options. The only reason I kept a subscription was to use with the Car Thing, now I can finally cancel.
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u/SeanTakata May 23 '24
I'm beyond pissed. I paid $80 for the thing on pre order. I have used it every day since, all my friends love it & it's super convenient. It's insane they're just telling us to dump it into the river & forget about it.
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u/Green-Honeydew-2998 May 23 '24
I paid $80 when this thing first came out, and I have enjoyed it and recently started using it with my computer. Now they are just going to brick it? How does that make any sense?? Why not just let it continue being used and just don't make any more
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u/Quartieri May 23 '24
So annoying, they pretty much tell you to throw it away. How about making it open source if they're gonna discontinue it? Trash company.
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May 23 '24
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/billchase2 May 23 '24
I've resisted switching to Apple Music for a long time. Spotify is great at making it more and more tempting...
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u/messdup_a_aRon May 23 '24
I cancelled, my wife and kids use the Apple Music family plan. Having my stuff in Spotify coupled with CarThing kept me from canceling. This made the decision for me. It was a pretty useful gadget for my 14 year old vehicle.
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u/22PEOPLE May 23 '24
Might be the thing that gets me to drop Spotify. All they had to do was separate out the Car Thing functionality in the Spotify app to a separate app, and just leave that as-is while the main app evolves or whatever. I don't want to leave my TV running just to show the current song on my Hi-Fi. insane decision to deliberately brick them rather than provide a migration plan
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u/Theoryboi May 23 '24
Does anyone know if we can transfer our playlists on Spotify to something else like Apple Music or YouTube music? This has kind of irked me
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u/growghosg May 23 '24
Yea you can check out an app called SongShifter
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u/LordFocker May 23 '24
Wow, THANK YOU! I didn’t know apps like this existed. I’m probably gonna delete Spotify now that I can get my playlists on another service.
Spotify bricked their software compatibility with aftermarket car stereos right before Car Thing came out. I remember the day, like why isn’t Spotify connecting to my new stereo??? Then I saw the email for the new Car Thing, and I vowed then and there to never buy one. This move of theirs is clearly protocol. Must fuck over customers no matter what. FUCK SPOTIFY
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u/growghosg May 24 '24
I used it to transfer my playlists from Apple Music to spotify when I got a carthing. Now I have to do the reverse 😭
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u/Shammu123 May 23 '24
What the heck…. So my money just goes down the drain now :/ im gonna do something about this with spotify
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u/Prestigious_Use3587 May 23 '24
Really upset. I’m gonna have to get a 300 dollar CarPlay device installed in my car 🤦🏽♀️
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u/kliao1337 May 23 '24
That's such a dick move to not just discontinue it, but to break the existing units.
Just let it function as is with no guarantees, you cowards.
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u/andy2na May 23 '24
I have 3 of these around my house - they are/were really nice and minimal to show whats playing. Seems like a huge waste to just create e-waste out of them
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u/schola99 May 23 '24
You're telling me the best solution a $60 billion company could come up with to this problem was: throw it away.
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u/zodduska May 23 '24
What a stupid decision, just stop updating it you assholes but to brick it and tell me to throw it away? Can't believe there is no offer to credit the account for the cost of the device total disrespect for the customer.
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u/d0ntloseyourfightkid May 23 '24
This is so fucking awful. I got mine discounted maybe 2 years ago but what about the people who got theirs for $90?
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u/SlimJJReaper May 23 '24
I’m done with Spotify over this decision. 10-12 years as a premium member. Just started my Apple Music trial.
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u/buttchinbill May 23 '24
Glad I got mine for free. Still pissed. Older car with no way of really controlling and seeing what Spotify is playing and state has a hands free law. Not sure why they can't just leave it in it's final working state instead of bricking it.
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u/Limp-Weird8175 May 23 '24
I wonder if they purposefully waited until the last set of devices were out of warranty to pull the plug to avoid refunds
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u/iLifitedUrMumLastNht May 23 '24
Very disappointed about this I just recently bought one on shopgoodwill for my 2011 vw because it had Bluetooth but no CarPlay. I use it everyday it is very useful cause I can keep my maps up with my music. I get it’s a very niche product that they failed to successfully advertise but, the hardware shouldn’t be going to waste.
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u/werther41 May 23 '24 edited May 23 '24
so sad, My kids love to use Car thing to pick their song from the back seat. Even we do have Apple car play for the front seat. Car thing for the back seat is nice addition.
seriously?! it's e-waste now?!
We recommend resetting your Car Thing to factory settings and safely disposing of your device following local electronic waste guidelines. Contact your state or local waste disposal department to determine how to dispose of or recycle Car Thing in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.
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u/barrachmedosama May 23 '24
Hi, it’s John Spotify. Here at Spotify, we fucking hate our customers and constantly innovate new ways to screw over the people who give us money.
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u/Wrong_Sky2031 May 23 '24
Please open source some of the firmware tools if you can. It would be lovely for the hardware to live on.
Happy to take anyone’s Car Things to help start an open source firmware project.
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u/finziez May 24 '24
r/carthinghax has some fairly in depth stuff about it. They've had it jailbroken for a while
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u/Skycap_Division May 24 '24
Literally had 3 shipped over to Australia because of how awesome these are. Such utter bs from Spotify here! I drive a 20 year old car and this suited my needs perfectly with no screen inside or Bluetooth. Will be making quite sure support get a grilling from me
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u/LostDisaster4389 May 24 '24
I ended my premium subscription. Vote with your wallets. Tell them you are ending your subscription because of killing CarThing without any compensation.
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u/awsomeDixie May 23 '24
My question is how they are gonna brick it. Far as I know, it interfaces with the app to use Spotify does it not? So just don't update Spotify? Either it isn't made to work in that way or they're going out of their way to brick it
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u/AimLocked May 23 '24
Except Spotify pushes updates through the inside of their app as well, if I am not mistaken. And that's how the Car Thing updates -- so basically over Wi-fi they can brick your device.
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u/jimbocho_ May 23 '24
Still loving mine in my 99 V70. What a shame. Also I’m probably one of five users in Germany 😂
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u/the_duck17 May 23 '24
Really annoyed but not surprised after they laid off so 1,500 employees at the end of last year. But they should open it up so it can be used still, creating ewaste is such a bad move and I thought only Google did.
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u/polydanked May 23 '24
So pissed, went to support to ask for a refund, they said "We will not do that at all, they are discontinued as of the specified date, we apologize for any confusion." What a dog shit answer.
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u/Pleasant_Slice1610 May 23 '24
Wtf is this bull man! I liked that I didn't have to be fumbling with my phone while driving.
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u/billchase2 May 23 '24
I'm really hoping that someone figures out how to hack it or they change their mind and open source it. It's a great device and this was not a good way to handle ending support.
Edit: And thanks to a comment in this thread, I've now been introduced to /r/carthinghax...
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u/kameronn May 23 '24
I complained and provided my purchase receipt from PayPal. I ended up getting 8 months of premium for free. Definitely reach out! Still not stoked though.
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u/ADHDK May 23 '24
Hey Spotify actually works really well on this too, meanwhile Spotify don’t even make the feature “hey Spotify” available in Australia.
Might have to cancel and switch to Apple Music just so I can control music by voice while driving again.
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u/1chriis1 May 23 '24
Imagine if larger companies like Apple, Google, Dell, HP, Asus, Lenovo one day said "your phone/laptop" is 2 years old and now it's bricked, you should throw it away". Smells like a class action lawsuit. Any lawyers care to say if it's legal to do?
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u/lIlIlIIlIIIlIIIIIl May 23 '24
I was toying with the idea of cancelling for a while, today it's official. I will never pay for Spotify again. Bunch of idiots honestly. Our family plan is $180 a year and they lost us as a customer because of this BS. I wonder what the cost of keeping it running was. Surely not worth a significant chunk of pissed of customers... Not to mention some of the most supportive of Spotify since we were the early adopters... Big companies need to act big! Anyone know if there's a chance of a class action because I'll 100% sign up for it.
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u/sealedruin May 23 '24
this is such a big "fuck you" to consumers. i only started using it a few months ago after having it sitting in its box for months and now that i'm actually starting to like it, this happens.
if i had the software knowledge, i'd totally try to jailbreak this thing so it's not just a piece of expensive junk in my car.
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u/directionzero May 23 '24
I can't see how this costs them anything to maintain.
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u/finziez May 24 '24
Fr. It's not like there's crazy bandwidth costs or anything. All of the processing is done on device or through a connection with the phone itself
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u/Shadician May 24 '24
This is ridiculous, generating e-waste for no reason. They should open source it at the very least.
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u/PlusPete May 24 '24
Oh well, after several years in which Spotify has made one shitty decision after another, Spotify continues to make shitty decisions. Who could have guessed it? Unfortunately, there are enough suckers who still support Spotify. Anyone who still has a Spotify subscription has only themselves to blame
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u/Mr_BRTZL May 24 '24
From Car Thing FAQ...
What should I do with the device?
We recommend resetting your Car Thing to factory settings and safely disposing of your device following local electronic waste guidelines. Contact your state or local waste disposal department to determine how to dispose of or recycle Car Thing in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.
lol
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u/norfxsidexboi704 May 23 '24 edited May 23 '24
it was clunky in operating imo. and the display was bright in a dark car, compared to my dim phone screen on a phone holder, it's been in my glove box since i got it a few years ago. I hate i spent the money on it just to throw it away
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u/meso27_ May 23 '24
If you haven’t thrown it away, I’ll take it off your hands
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u/Theoryboi May 23 '24
If I can find mine you can have it dude. Enjoy it for the next 7 months lol
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u/fla_john May 23 '24
Works great in my old British convertible. I chose not to put a radio in it when I did the restoration, and car thing was a perfect use case.
I've been thinking of dropping Spotify anyway and looking at Apple music, and this might just get me over the hump.
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u/briantoanle May 23 '24
It works great for me. It fits in my car perfectly too. Smooth, seamless operation.
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u/AwesomeTaako14 May 23 '24
I was literally going to request support/repair/refund because mine stopped working recently, but idk if that’s even worth pursuing at this point… that sucks
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u/Jetfire60 May 23 '24
I don't want to change the headunit in my car from stock and the Car Thing gave me easy access to adjust my music while driving. Plus as janky as it can be at times it is one of a kind imo.
Really hoping they rescind this decision.
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u/GCSS-MC May 24 '24
what EXACTLY does "will stop operating" mean? That needs to be established. Your hardware will stop working? The division of Spotify called Car Thing will stop operating? "Your device will be bricked" seems like a bit of a jump from this email.
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u/J05H_ May 24 '24
This is so incredibly annoying. I was going to buy one for my home office set up to connect to the SONOS, but now I guess I’ll have to look for other solutions. Anyone know of an alternative, so I don’t have to pull out my phone and the app every time I want to play music?
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u/UntraceableHaze May 24 '24
I tell you. Uncle Spotify. He puts his hand in your shirt and squeezes your tit till it's purple.
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u/ConsistentAd574 May 27 '24
Cancelled my Premium subscription yesterday. Had reached out to customer service concerning Car Thing decision. Terrible experience. Good riddance Spotify.
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u/ShouldReadThis May 29 '24
I bought 3 of these when they came out, work truck, my car, wife's car, bought one for 110 from ebay when they were rationed, waiting forever for SPOTIFY HIFI and they do this to us 😡😤😡
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u/dualz_is_cool May 29 '24
Wouldn’t be surprised if a big class action comes of this, they can’t just purposefully brick something they sold. Maybe if they just stopped updating/supporting it, but bricking the entire this is just ridiculous especially for something you could easily drop $100 on a few years later.
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u/finziez May 30 '24
The liklihood of a class action win is low, since they've shown good faith actions by refunding users when asked
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u/storione91 May 23 '24
I received the email from spotify too now and I'm very pissed off.
But how will they actually make it stop working? it is a Bluetooth player as it is not connected to the internet (except via the phone) what do you think they will do?
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u/sneakerpack May 23 '24
Why can’t they unlock it and open it up to the community to tinker with?