Flashing the Car Thing

This page provides step-by-step instructions for flashing the Spotify Car Thing with the ThingLabs OS using the Terbium webpage. Prefer video guides? See the DeskThing Youtube Channel

Windows

Flashing with Terbium on Windows

Complete the following steps to flash the Car Thing.

1.) Navigate to thingify.tools, select the right arrow for the latest release, and select the download button to download “x.x.x-thinglabs.zip”.

2.) Extract the zip into an accessible location.

3.) Navigate to Terbium.

4.) Plug in a USB-C-to-C or USB-A-to-C cable into the Car Thing power supply USB-C port.

5.) While holding top preset buttons 1 and 4, plug the USB into the computer. This will put the device into USB burn mode.

Caution

Ensure the USB port power supply and cable are capable of passing data and providing ample power to the car thing.

6.) Flashing the Car Thing from Windows USB drivers to be installed. From Windows PowerShell, send the following command:

irm https://driver.terbium.app/get | iex

Note

Having problems with the script? The Zadig application can also be used to load the WinUSB driver, see Legacy - Setting Up.

7.) Select the Done button.

8.) A popup should appear in the browser with a device listed as “GX-CHIP”.

Note

If no device is identified make sure the Car Thing is in USB burn mode, see step 5.

9.) Select the device, then Connect.

Caution

If the system has been used to flash Car Thing previously using a legacy method, an “Access Denied” error may appear. This is the result of incorrect drivers being installed. To remove old drivers, open Windows Device Manager and look for either “GX-CHIP” or “WorldCup” in the list of devices. If one of these devices is found, right click and select Uninstall device. Next, select Attempt to remove the driver for this device. Finally, select Uninstall. This may need to be performed multiple times to ensure all previous drivers are removed. If the GX-CHIP device shows a warning symbol, install the driver again with the command in the described in step 6.

10.) The USB device will briefly reconnect, putting the device into burn mode. Select Connect again.

11.) A popup should appear in the browser with the device now listed as “unknown device from Amlogic, Inc”. Select the device, then Connect.

12.) Once connected, select the button Restore Local Folder, navigate to the thingify.tools extracted zip directory, and select Open.

13.) A popup should appear in the browser requesting access to view the directory. Give permission to the browser by selecting View files.

14.) Select the Select button to start the flashing process.

Note

Press F12 on a keyboard to view the flashing logs. If an error occurs while attempting to flash, review the logs and provide them in a support thread on the ThingLabs_Discord.

Congratulations! Your Car Thing is now flashed and ready to use with a ThingLabs or Community app.

Mac

Flashing with Terbium on Mac

Complete the following steps to flash the Car Thing.

1.) Navigate to thingify.tools, select the right arrow for the latest release, and select the download button to download “x.x.x-thinglabs.zip”.

2.) Extract the zip into an accessible location.

3.) Navigate to Terbium.

4.) Plug in a USB-C-to-C or USB-A-to-C cable into the Car Thing power supply USB-C port.

5.) While holding top preset buttons 1 and 4, plug the USB into the computer. This will put the device into USB burn mode.

Caution

Ensure the USB port power supply and cable are capable of passing data and providing ample power to the car thing.

6.) Select the Done button.

7.) A popup should appear in the browser with a device listed as “GX-CHIP”.

Note

If no device is identified make sure the Car Thing is in USB burn mode, see step 5.

8.) Select the device, then Connect.

9.) The USB device will briefly reconnect, putting the device into burn mode. Select Connect again.

10.) A popup should appear in the browser with the device now listed as “unknown device from Amlogic, Inc”. Select the device, then Connect.

11.) Once connected, select the button Restore Local Folder, navigate to the thingify.tools extracted zip directory, and select Open.

12.) A popup should appear in the browser requesting access to view the directory. Give permission to the browser by selecting View files.

13.) Select the Select button to start the flashing process.

Note

Press F12 on a keyboard to view the flashing logs. If an error occurs while attempting to flash, review the logs and provide them in a support thread on the ThingLabs_Discord.

Congratulations! Your Car Thing is now flashed and ready to use with a ThingLabs or Community app.

Linux

Flashing with Terbium on Linux

Complete the following steps to flash the Car Thing.

1.) Navigate to thingify.tools, select the right arrow for the latest release, and select the download button to download “x.x.x-thinglabs.zip”.

2.) Extract the zip into an accessible location.

3.) Navigate to Terbium.

4.) Plug in a USB-C-to-C or USB-A-to-C cable into the Car Thing power supply USB-C port.

5.) While holding top preset buttons 1 and 4, plug the USB into the computer. This will put the device into USB burn mode.

Caution

Ensure the USB port power supply and cable are capable of passing data and providing ample power to the car thing.

6.) Select the Done button.

7.) A popup should appear in the browser with a device listed as “GX-CHIP”.

Note

If no device is identified make sure the Car Thing is in USB burn mode, see step 5.

8.) Select the device, then Connect. you may need to setup udev rules to allow access to the Car Thing. Open a terminal and run the following command:

Caution

It may be necessary to setup udev rules to allow access to the Car Thing. Open a terminal and run the following command: curl -fsSL https://terbium.app/install-rules | bash

9.) The USB device will briefly reconnect, putting the device into burn mode. Select Connect again.

10.) A popup should appear in the browser with the device now listed as “unknown device from Amlogic, Inc”. Select the device, then Connect.

11.) Once connected, select the button Restore Local Folder, navigate to the thingify.tools extracted zip directory, and select Open.

12.) A popup should appear in the browser requesting access to view the directory. Give permission to the browser by selecting View files.

13.) Select the Select button to start the flashing process.

Note

Press F12 on a keyboard to view the flashing logs. If an error occurs while attempting to flash, review the logs and provide them in a support thread on the ThingLabs_Discord.

Congratulations! Your Car Thing is now flashed and ready to use with a ThingLabs or Community app.