Spotify won’t open-source Car Thing, but starts refund process

Spotify will refund owners of Car Thing, its Spotify-playing device that mounts to car dashboards, Ars Technica confirmed today. On May 23, Spotify announced that it would brick all Car Things on December 9.

Spotify started notifying customers via email on May 24 that they could reach out to this support channel if they have questions about Car Thing’s discontinuation. The email doesn’t explicitly guarantee refunds, though, which could leave some thinking they have no way to get reimbursed for the gadget that initially sold for $90. Further, Spotify’s support page for Car Thing doesn’t mention refunds and only tells owners to reset and properly dispose of or recycle the gadget.

A Spotify spokesperson declined to confirm to Ars if Spotify would offer full refunds to everyone who showed proof of purchase or if there were further requirements. The representative said that owners should contact Spotify via the above link about refunds.

Since Spotify said it would brick all Car Things, customers have shown confusion about refund availability online (on Spotify’s online forum and on Reddit), and they may have received mixed messaging from Spotify support.

As reported by Billboard, on May 28, three people filed a lawsuit [PDF] that seeks class-action certification (and cites Ars) against Spotify. It claims that people “would not have purchased a Car Thing if they knew that Spotify would stop supporting the product within just a few months or years of purchase.” It also states that “Spotify has stated that it will not refund, or replace, the Car Thing.”

But recent online posts from people who say they were able to provide Spotify with proof of purchase claim that they received refunds.

Ars reached out to the lawyers for the plaintiffs of the lawsuit filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, asking if the case would still be pursued since Spotify is giving refunds. Spotify declined to comment on the lawsuit to Ars.

Still not open-sourcing

Some remain frustrated by the scheduled obsolescence of hardware that was only released to the general public in February 2022. Car Thing first released to a limited number of subscribers in October 2021.

As noted by TechCrunch today, in October 2021, Spotify CEO and founder Daniel Ek said that more than 2 million people initially signed up for the Car Thing waitlist. By July 2022, Spotify revealed that it was no longer making Car Thing, its only hardware, naming product demand and supply chain issues as factors. However, the company cut the device’s price tag from $90 to $50 and kept selling it.

For many, Car Thing didn’t make much sense. In addition to an auxiliary connection, it required a Spotify Premium subscription and a Bluetooth-connected phone using Wi-Fi or data to work. However, some found the 4-inch touchscreen and large knob handy. Car Thing also appealed to some people who didn’t have integrated touchscreens in their car or support for other popular means for playing Spotify in the car, like Apple CarPlay.

Since Spotify announced that it will forcibly brick all Car Things in December, users have been pleading with the company to open source the device. This would help people extend the hardware’s life and minimize waste. However, Spotify has been unwilling to unlock the device. Unlocking Car Thing could, theoretically, allow people to hack the device—which carries a Spotify logo on its left edge— in ways Spotify doesn’t want to be associated with. However, open source advocates and those concerned about e-waste argue that opening the device would still be a better solution than bricking devices after less than three years of general availability.

For example, a user on Spotify’s forum who said they got a refund and goes by “zequfy” wrote today that “this does NOT solve the issue.”

If they continue with the plan to brick Car Thing in December, the refunds won’t matter when our anger & disappointment resurfaces, and we remember why they lost our trust as users. Tell them you may still leave the service.

As Spotify currently looks unlikely to do more to appease Car Thing owners, this incident may have to serve as a note of caution for people considering buying hardware from a company that might not commit to long-term support. Remembering that the company could break the product at any time may make you reconsider opening your wallet.