Automatic Shutting Down and Connected Car Service is Ending on May 28 - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Automatic Shutting Down and Connected Car Service is Ending on May 28

by

Automatic, a company that made the Automatic Adapter that plugs into a car's OBD-II port to provide vehicle information like distance traveled, gas used, time spent in the car, and more, is shutting down.

automaticadapter
The imminent shuttering of the company was announced on the Automatic website, which says that the global health crisis has impacted its business.

The Automatic connected car product, service, and platform are shutting down at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on May 28.

All services, including crash alerts, roadside assistance, and real-time location and sharing will stop when the shutdown occurs. Automatic recommends that non-functional adapters be recycled using standard electronic recycling procedures.

Automatic released several adapters over the course of the last several years, and its products were popular among those who wanted to use an iPhone to monitor vehicle diagnostics and sign up for services like crash alerts. Service plans were priced between $2 and $5 per month.

Top Rated Comments

80 months ago
Automatic abandoned me. I was an early adopter and really appreciated the product. For no necessary reason, they discontinued the product, and released the new one with the subscription model for features I already had. This insured that I would NOT upgrade nor support the company. It was a poor decision, and one that appears to be part of the destuction of the company now. It's too bad they made the wrong choice. Anyone have a suggestion of a viable alternative? I know there are many on the market now.
Score: 33 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CarlJ Avatar
80 months ago

Took a world pandemic to finally kill off non-viable subscription services.
I wonder how many companies who were on the path to demise anyway, will bring up the pandemic on the way out as a convenient excuse.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JoEw Avatar
80 months ago
Took a world pandemic to finally kill off non-viable subscription services.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
natallica Avatar
80 months ago
Anyone know of an alternative that will let me tag trips as business-related? This is why I've been using Automatic since gen 1.

What rubs me the wrong way is that they blame the pandemic for this, but it feels disingenuous.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
80 months ago
I'm another unhappy former customer, abandoned by Automatic when it stopped supporting the 2nd generation (non-subscription) product.

Has anyone found an acceptable replacement?
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
turbineseaplane Avatar
80 months ago
So many "because of COVID" cover stories being used that really, let's be honest, have nothing to do with COVID actually.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Apple Event Logo

Apple to Release These 15 New Products Later This Year

Friday June 12, 2026 7:45 am PDT by
Apple's annual WWDC developers conference is drawing to a close, but there is still a lot to look forward to in the second half of the year. Apple is expected to release at least 15 more products later this year. Now that the more intelligent and personal version of Siri has finally arrived in beta, a full two years after Apple first previewed it at WWDC 2024, we should begin to see some new ...
iCloud iPhone 17 Pro

iPhone Users Who Pay for iCloud Storage Get Two New Perks on iOS 27

Tuesday June 9, 2026 11:29 am PDT by
If you pay for extra iCloud storage on your iPhone, beyond the 5GB included for free, you might receive two more perks on iOS 27 at no additional cost. First, Apple said there will be daily usage limits for some of the new and enhanced Apple Intelligence features on iOS 27, including image generation. However, the company noted that "increased access" is available with "most" iCloud+ storage ...
Apple Logo Top Half

Have One of These 16 Apple Devices? Software Support Ends This Fall

Saturday June 13, 2026 8:00 am PDT by
Apple will end software support for 16 devices this fall across four product lines, with the Apple Watch seeing the most sweeping cull in the product's history. The full extent of this year's software drops became clear with the announcements of macOS 27 Golden Gate, iPadOS 27, tvOS 27, and watchOS 27 at WWDC this week. The one bright spot is that iOS 27 features identical device support to...