Do you already have a Spotify Car Thing? These innovative devices were initially given to Premium Spotify users for free, but are now available for under $100 to all users. But when it comes to features, what do you need to know? Does the Car thing come with an aux-in mode?
The Spotify Car Thing doesn’t come with an aux-in mode. It has an aux port, but it is only an output for the device. You’ll need to connect your device directly to your car stereo aux port if you have one available.
Let’s look at the details of how the Spotify Car Thing works and about how you can connect it and get to enjoying this little guy in your car! It’s a nifty device, and after a little setup you’ll be good to go.
What Is Included With the Spotify Car Thing?
While it might have a funny name, the Spotify Car Thing provides some killer features for Spotify users. The overall goal of the devices is to make driving safer while allowing you to easily search for your favorite tunes.
To tackle that, the Car Thing combines several key technologies like Bluetooth and voice commands alongside easy-to-use controls. With all this software, you might be curious as to what’s included with the Spotify Car Thing.
The Spotify Car Things includes mounting equipment and a power cord for car use. That’s about it. No aux cords or anything else.
At its core, the Car Thing is meant to be a simple device. It’s not supposed to be a full replacement for an in-car infotainment system. It has one goal, and that’s to handle your music and podcasts.
The Car Thing is great for cars that lack the high-end tech of the last decade. They can also be a great addition to cars with clunky controls for audio playback.
Everything that’s included with the Car Thing is fairly simple. Only enough to connect the device to your car and keep it powered up. You won’t find extra cords or parts to attach other items or to add more functionality.
Connecting Your Spotify Car Thing via Aux Cord
Considering the Car Thing doesn’t come with much included, you’re probably wondering how to go about connecting the device.
In this case, an auxiliary cord (on Amazon), or aux cord for short, is the first thing that often comes to mind. This cable has a 3.55 mm audio jack on each side. Is this an option?
First, your car must be compatible with aux for this method to work. In most cases, you’ll see a small 3.55 mm compatible port near your stereo. This port is covered in some vehicles, so carefully look around your vehicle to see if one’s hidden somewhere.
From there, it’s just a matter of connecting your car’s aux port to your Car Thing via an aux cable. Keep in mind that this is only an output port for the Car Thing.
This means you can’t send audio to the device and expect playback. If you are trying to play music from another device, you should just connect to that device separately.
Always remember: The Spotify Car Thing does not come with an aux-in port.
Other Ways to Connect Your Spotify Car Thing (USB and Bluetooth)
If your car doesn’t have an aux port, what other options do you have? While aux ports are fairly common, it’s not unheard of for cars to lack them. Not to worry, though; you have a few other ways of connecting your Car Thing.
You can connect your Spotify Car Thing with either a USB connection or Bluetooth if you don’t have an aux port. Both are reliable ways to connect your device and will provide a similar level of audio quality. There isn’t much difference between the two, although Bluetooth tends to have some configuring issues from time to time.
Connecting your Car Thing via the USB port is very similar to using an aux cord. Simply connect the USB cord to your Car Thing and then to your car. If you’re having trouble, read your car’s stereo manual for the exact settings options.
If you want to connect with Bluetooth, you’ll need to work with both your car’s settings and the internal settings of the Car Thing. Keep in mind that you’ll need to do this to connect your phone anyway, so you can do this setup alongside the initial setup of the Car Thing.