Add Support for Pioneer, JVC/Kenwood Car Stereos Back

[ZedX]

My original post was removed due to requesting a feature to be *added back*. While I'm also ashamed to have to ask for Spotify to add useful features *back*, it needs to be done so I am posting it here.

Recently Spotify has dropped support for Pioneer, JVC and Kenwood head units as discussed here. This means that you can no longer display song metadata (album art, song name etc) on your head unit nor can you browse playlists and like songs via your car stereo.

We want this added back. In New Zealand Pioneer is one of our top selling aftermarket car stereo brands. We have a ginormous used car market and stereo/sound market and the brands above are commonplace.

I downgraded my Spotify just to have this feature back and I disabled updates - most updates feel like they remove useful things more than they add useful things so I'm happy to stay on an old version. Car listening probably makes up about 70% of my Spotify usage. My girlfriend and I have fun "liking" songs on roadtrips, discovering music we have in common and then adding it to a playlist without needing to use my phone while we drive.

It truly makes no sense and I wish there was an app/mod to "bridge" the connection between Spotify and car stereos/devices to fix this. Better yet, I just wish Spotify added this back.

I would like to know why this useful feature was removed too. It's all well and good having Android Auto/Apple CarPlay but fact is: Most people do not have new cars with this equipped, and plenty of head units do not have this capability. My headunit is from 2017; it isn't exactly old or in need of replacing yet suddenly this feature is removed and practically requires a new head unit (or car) to fix which makes no sense. Or better yet, please add this back.

At this point downgrading makes perfect sense. I get more practicality and functionality out of the downgraded app than with the new one. What exciting or new features am I missing when I can enjoy the basic functionality of playing music in my car?

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Additional notes: I've noticed Spotify is trying to promote their "car thing" so I'm not surprised if this is a hostile, anti-user move to push people to using it. Well if that was the case, why would you drop support GLOBALLY for these head units when the thing's only sold in the U.S.? And why would I want something that functions almost just like my phone, minus all the useful options that you get from a phone or head unit? "Car thing" just sounds like another word for "phone remote"....

[Veps]

So this means that the current version of spotify is still broken then? I came here to see if they fixed their app by now.
I'm currently using version 8.6.98.900 that still works properly with my car's headunit (pioneer), but it means that I have to update all my other apps manually 😞

Please fix your app!

[ZedX]

Sadly the app isn't broken. They have deliberately done it. They stopped supporting JVC/Kenwood Pioneer stereos on purpose.

I'm very vocal about Spotify and how they're removing useful features, "dumbing it down" and making the general experience duller by the second. Hence my posts. The posts will become visible on Google eventually and hopefully the many people that feel the same way start to see them and speak up too.

[sekokupu]

That would be nice too, I also keep older version of spotify on my phone just for that. This is just idiotic, not any notification for letting that option to go, and I just bought for two car quite expensive Pioneer headunits and then spotify does this all in quiet.

[ZedX]

Welp, now my version of Spotify is officially 1 year and 2 months out of date. No problems and running fine; enjoying being able to use it in my car. Ridiculous I have to do this but here we are lol.

[84fi_nmwz-gym]

Which version are you using? Now that I've found out the issue I'm hoping to roll back so I can get this feature again.

[elrengo]

Hi! I have the Kenwood DNX Media Player. I also lose the Spotify App Feature when I use Bluetooth. Which version of Spotify is compatible with my DNX device?

[Wilkanor]

I'm using 8.6.98.900 and it works fine since 1,5 years. I have deactivate Auto Updates in my playstore. 

[elrengo]

I don't know where I can download. Someone could share where it is secure to download the old Spotify version.

[LucasAgain]

You can disable only the spotify app to not receive new updates.

[Gadbury]

Please can you reinstate the Spotify Connect functionality for Pioneer/Kenwood/JVC car stereos?

Spotify quietly removed the functionality when they launched the proprietary 'Car Thing' device.

Car Thing has now been discontinued.  Please do the right thing and reinstate the Spotify Connect functionality.  These car stereos are advertised and sold with this feature/functionality on the box.

Thanks,

James

[wwiech]

Please reinstate the support for Pioneer car stereos!

[KenwoodUser]

Plan

Premium

Country

Australia

Device

Androids & Kenwood

Operating System

Androids

My Question or Issue

Since you stopped making the car thing a while ago (good business decisions all round) can you give companies like Kenwood their spotify connectivity back?

I bought a Kenwood because it had spotify built into it. Then you stopped the app connecting so you could sell Car Things. Now you've realised no one wants Car Things can you put the connection ability back? 

Don't give me update to android auto or so on. I have a perfectly functional kenwood head unit and the planets dying so I don't want to have to buy a new head unit just to have a feature that will get turned off next time spotify marketing has a genius idea right before their KPI's are due. 

[yuriboyka95]

Plan

Premium

Country

Croatia

Device

Xiaomi 12T Pro

Operating System

(iOS 10, Android Oreo, Windows 10,etc.)

My Question or Issue

Phone is connected to a Pioneer car unit. When I search for another song and play it, the song changes, but on the Now playing screen of Android auto, it remains the song that played before, and it gets stuck on that song until I force close the app on phone and reconnect Android auto. This only happens if the song is played from the search results, if I choose a song from recomended ones, or any playlist, it's fine.

[Patrickrw99]

Im having this topic too since the newest update, please help to fix

[yuriboyka95]

I installed the older version 8.9.16.593, and it works fine again.

[ZedX]

Original poster here.

So as others have mentioned, "Car Thing" has been discontinued yet this useful feature from Spotify Connect appears to be missing still.

And then as for the Car Thing users, they're instructed to factory reset and go dispose of it themselves?

What absolutely disgusting and wasteful behaviour.

1. Remove a useful feature
2. Introduce a product to solve a problem that never existed
3. Discontinue that product shortly after and leave it up to consumers to dispose of the e-waste.

How about open sourcing car thing, maybe some of that technology would get us our JVC/Kenwood stereo support back.

P.s. Discontinuing car thing is hilarious - it's a rare example of Spotify "removing" or dropping support for something that shouldn't have been a thing in the first place.

Something that looks and functions near identical to the Spotify app but with a bigger screen and dashboard mount? LOL

[Gadbury]

Dear Spotify,

Please could you update us - will the Spotify integration for the head units sold with it be re-instated?

Thanks,

James

Artist & Oil Painter