Hacking a Toniebox

We have a TonieBox that has been much loved by one kid, and now another. And even though everything in my being is telling me to hack it to make it do cool things (mostly because of all the “you just own a _license_ to content” stuff rubs me the wrong way), I wouldn’t dare. It’s a product so simply designed, a 1-year-old can use it. It’s not for me to mess with. This particular thing does not need hacking.

My brittle smart home setup is hanging on by a thread in the spousal approval department. I can’t handle the fury that will befall me if I fuck with the TonieBox.

We used to have a TonieBox but I found them incredibly restrictive.

Also I thought that the physical design was poor. Because the figures just sit on top of the box, you cant move it around whilst playing it or the figures just fall off and the audio stops. It was very frustrating watching my kid try to use it in the car on a long journery.

Scrapped that and invested in Yoto player, its pretty much the same thing but its so much better in every way. The cards push into a slot and so dont fall out, it has an app which enables full control of the player which Tonies didnt, and you dont have to hit it to change tracks (which we found incredibly violent). Also there are some nice extras like being able to tap the nfc cards against your phone to set the content.

I would encourage any prospective TonieBox buyer to check out Yoto before taking the plunge.

I just bought a Yoto Mini for my one year old daughter, she loves it already. I prefer the format of cards over small figurines, and it seems doable to use standard NFC cards and associate them with content I own.

I'd vastly prefer being able to load an SD card in it instead of having it connect to the wifi, though.

> The Toniebox needing an active internet connection also means that the company behind the Toniebox – Tonies SE – can theoretically track anything and everything my kids are doing with the box.

The toniebox can be put into an offline mode, plus I'm blocking the Mac address on my router. The box works fine, you can download new content (for which, of course, you must temporarily remove the above restrictions) and all my kids are doing with the box is put a tonie on top.

I'm all for privacy, especially wrt. to my kids, but I find this box less intrusive than their grandmother with her WhatsApp account.

Like many others in threads like this, I initially felt repelled. It’s restrictive, it’s super expensive, and I dislike some (though not all) of the design choices.

But then I remind myself: it’s not a product made for me. I don’t have to like it. Clearly, the target group loves it. My kids have adored it for years. Even now, with my oldest having access to Spotify Kids, she still prefers her Toniebox in the evening before bed. The figurines aren’t just a medium, they’re toys in their own right. They’re shared, traded, and loved. And they really enjoy squeezing those silly ears.

Many other families in my circle tell the same story. Some tried similar products that launched soon after the original, often ones using cards (though not Yoto). But after a few weeks, their kids lost interest and asked for a Toniebox instead. (It reminds me of when my parents bought me a Sega Master System, even though all I wanted was a Super Nintendo.)

Just in case anyone is here for this. IMO Yoto >> toniebox

Jake (Yoto daily podcast guy) is a legend in our house.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Tonuino project yet. For those looking for a DIY alternative to the Toniebox: it's an open-source project based on an Arduino, MP3s, and an RFID reader, allowing you to build your own custom music and audiobook player for kids.

My children absolutely adore their Tonuino box, and the community around the project is fantastic, constantly sharing creative and impressive builds. If you're a bit handy and enjoy a good DIY project, I highly recommend checking it out. https://www.voss.earth/tonuino/

While I hate the TonieBox using DRM like everyone else, I feel like it's still one of the best options. (And one of my best purchases.)

Just like Nintendo Switch cartridges, kids can borrow the figures to each other. And here in northern Germany, we even have a public library where you can borrow a selection of figures for free (up to 2 at a time, up to 2 weeks). That means apart from the pricey initial purchase, you can get a wide variety of content legally for free, if you're willing to accept the slight inconvenience of renting/returning the figures in person. Plus no spyware, no notifications, no ads, no subscription. It's superior to YouTube kids in every way.

OT but maybe fun to know: the domain name translates as “sheep are glorified lawnmowers” ;)

What imo doesn’t get mentioned enough about the music on the (German, can’t speak for English) Tonies is the recordings themselves: They are recorded with real musicians and natural postproduction, not like most kids songs found on YouTube nowadays which are heavily compressed and edited. My kids love using the Toniebox and I am happy they do. For me the quality of content outweighs the negative aspects.

I decided to go for Yoto over Tonie because it explicitly encourages "Make Your Own" cards which you can put any MP3 files of your own or RSS links to podcast.

Sony Minidiscs works great with little kids as well, especially when used with a non portable "Salon" player which you slot the minidisc on. They are large enough that you can print stickers on them for easy recognition and the media has an arrow drawing that tells people in which direction to slot it in. Any kid learns quite quickly how to use the triangle play button and the square stop one.