Four years after its untimely demise, Spotify Car Thing is back, for free,
and with absolutely no help from the streaming giant itself

Date:
Mon, 17 Aug 2026 10:15:08 +0000

Description:
Spotify Car Thing was discontinued in 2022 and killed off in 2024, but fans have brought it back (in sort).

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Car Thing display dongles are currently e-waste... ... but this new software online lets you revive them Created by fan engineers to bring back old tech It's been several years since Spotify killed off its Car Thing auto dongle , bricking devices which customers owned, and some users have never forgiven the brand for that 'Car Thing is being discontinued' pop-up on their displays . But, even though it's been four years since the brand announced the end of the road for Car Thing, fans have finally found a way to bring it back.

Over the last few months, an engineer has been working on a revival project, and they finally have it in the form of Mira. This is a software you can download onto your old Car Thing, to bring back its functionality in your vehicle. You can download the software via Github , and get it working on
your Car Thing by connecting it to your phone or computer, but you don't need a permanent install of anything onto your device (other than Spotify, obviously). Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here:

Then, you'll be able to keep using your Car Thing to add Spotify playback to your smart system-less car, just as the streaming giant intended when it unveiled the thing. It's not quite Car Thing... ... but it's close. The designer has shared a list of features available in Mira, and it's pretty extensive. You can use voice commands, see album artwork and lyrics, use gesture controls to navigate, use Car Thing's physical dial and see the transcripts of podcasts. You may like I found my 2006 iPod nano during a clearout and it was an emotive pre-streaming time capsule Former Head of Innovation at Spotify is building interactive 'digital music playgrounds' New digital display Spine organizes streaming libraries like CD collections

Apparently there are a few Bluetooth connection bugs in the current version
of the software, and Reddit commenters on the announcement post are clearly waiting for Apple Music and YouTube Music support. But Mira's mere existence is great news in making up for Spotify's failings.

Perhaps best of all in this 'pay-for-everything' existence is that Mira is free to download and use, with no rolling subscription fee (so, just whatever you pay for Spotify and your device, obviously). Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

I didn't have 'Car Thing coming back to life' on my 2026 bingo card, but now that it has, I'm not surprised Spotify had nothing to do with it. The brand has been too busy essentially swerving the AI slop problem (then belatedly backpedaling and trying to contain the issue ) to work on any hardware projects. So it makes sense that buyers would have to step in if they wanted to get their Car Things back on the road. The best music players for all budgets Our top picks, based on real-world testing and comparisons

Read our full guide to the best hi-res music players 1. Best overall: Activo P1 2. Best budget hi-res player: Fiio JM21 3. Best step-up hi-res player: Astell & Kern A&norma SR35 Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.



======================================================================
Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/audio/four-years-after-its-untimely-demise-spotify-c ar-thing-is-back-for-free-and-with-absolutely-no-help-from-the-streaming-giant -itself


--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 (Linux/64)
* Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100)