Spotify fans won't leave their display dongles in the dust
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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).
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.
… 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.
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).
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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.
➡️ Read our full guide to the best hi-res music players1. Best overall:Activo P12. Best budget hi-res player:Fiio JM213. Best step-up hi-res player:Astell & Kern A&norma SR35
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Tom Bedford is a freelance contributor covering tech, entertainment and gaming. Beyond TechRadar, he has bylines on sites including GamesRadar, Digital Trends, Android Police, TechAdvisor, WhattoWatch and BGR. From 2019 to 2022 he was on the TechRadar team as the staff writer and then deputy editor for the mobile team.
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