The company provided no further guidance to Car Thing owners beyond advising them to reset the device to factory settings and dispose of it following local e-waste guidelines. Additionally, Spotify has no plans to release a successor to Car Thing.
Calls for Open Sourcing
The decision to brick Car Thing without any compensation has led to a significant backlash from users. Many have taken to online forums, including the Spotify Community and Reddit, to express their frustration and disappointment. Users are calling for Spotify to open-source the device to prevent it from becoming e-waste.
One community member, AaronMickDee, voiced a common sentiment:
“I’d rather not just dispose of the device. I think there is a community that would love the idea of having a device we can customize and use for other uses other than a song playback device.”
Despite these pleas, Spotify has not indicated any intention to open-source the device or allow users to install third-party firmware. The lack of response raises environmental concerns about the disposal of numerous Car Thing devices and highlights users’ dissatisfaction with their financial loss.
