Set up the Toniebox
Ready to go in minutes
© Yuganov Konstantin / Shutterstock
Luckily, setting up a Toniebox is done in no time at all. So your child is quickly ready to embark on wild adventures, listen to happy children’s songs or record their own stories.
What the “Bibi Blocksberg” or “Benjamin Blümchen” cassette was for us – the generation of parents and aunts – the Toniebox is for children today: stories and songs combined in a child-friendly technology and manageable. Cute, little figures – the so-called Tonies – replace the audio cassettes (and thus also avoid the well-known tape salad of the past). But what can such a Toniebox do, what audio content is there and how do I set up such a box for my child? We’ll tell you all that and much more now.
Set up the Toniebox: It’s quick and easy
Let’s imagine the following scenario: your child gets this colorful cube with ears – for example for a birthday or for Christmas. Now it stands expectantly in front of you, because it is your turn: The toniebox must be set up or activated before the fun of radio plays, children’s songs and fairy tales can begin. But don’t panic, it’s really quick and easy.
Setting up the Toniebox – this is what you need:
- a Toniebox (logical) with the associated charging station
- a WLAN-enabled device (mobile phone, PC, tablet – it doesn’t matter)
- your WiFi password
As you can see – it doesn’t take much. In just a few steps you can now activate the Toniebox of your child or children. To do this, proceed as follows:
- Load Toniebox: Before you can set up the Toniebox, it needs electricity. So first place it on the charging station included in the scope of delivery and let the charging process begin. If the Toniebox is completely discharged, the device needs around three hours to fully charge. The good news: Setting up and playing Tonies does not have to wait, but can run parallel to the loading process.
- Set up a Toniebox account: Once you have supplied the Toniebox with power, you can set it up and activate it. For this you have to be on the site create an account for free. As you know it from other sites, you will then receive an email with a confirmation link that you have to click on and which will take you to your account. There you will be asked for your Tonie identification number, which is located on the underside of the device. The account is already active.
Tip: Keep the website open because you’ll need it again in a moment when it comes to the wifi connection. - Connect the Toniebox to WiFi: One difference between the Tonies and the cassettes we are familiar with is that the content is loaded from the Internet when a Tonies, i.e. a figure, is set up for the first time. Therefore, when setting up the Toniebox, you first have to connect the box to the WLAN. To do this, you have to pinch the ears of the Toniebox for around five seconds until the LED light flashes blue and you hear an acoustic signal. This flashing lasts for around 20 seconds, after which a signal sounds again. Now go back to the (already open) Tonie website with your mobile phone, tablet, etc. Your own Tonie WLAN should be displayed here. Select it and connect your computer or similar to the Toniebox network. You should then be automatically redirected. In the last step, you only have to connect the Tonie network and your home WiFi network. There is a drop-down menu in the set-up window where you can select your WLAN. Just quickly enter the password and the Toniebox is set up. The Toniebox confirms that it is on the WLAN with the greeting “Oh yes, now I’m ready for the Tonies! Have fun!”
From fairy tales about the Ice Queen to bedtime stories
Tonies are plentiful – let’s anticipate that. There are no thematic limits for your child or children with the Toniebox. And even if the Toniebox itself is officially only available from the age of three, even very small children can have a lot of fun with it if it is operated by an adult or at least an older child.
Whether stories from sandman or Bobo dormouse for the little ones, wild adventures from Wickie or the Robber Hotzenplotz for something bigger or songs to fall asleep to from the Show with the mouse – the choice makes it difficult to decide. Of course there are also classics like that Bee Maja, Benjamin the Elephant, Bibi Blocksberg and Heidi alongside Disney hits like that ice queenthe jungle book or Bambi to find.
Good to know! This is what you can expect after setting up the Toniebox
The Tonieboxes are very easy to use. However, there are two or three tricks that we older people will probably have to get used to for a short time. For example, there is no digital display or an on/off switch. Above all, the battery status is important so that the Toniebox does not suddenly give up when you are away from a socket. (By the way, a fully charged battery lasts around seven hours at normal volume.)
So here’s the explanation of the individual battery “stages”: A full battery causes the indicator lamp to glow green, while a fairly empty battery glows orange. However, you should not switch to battery operation immediately when the orange tone lights up.
Manufacturer’s tip: Wait until the Toniebox prompts you to charge it. This is best for the processed battery and ensures a long life.
You can customize the Toniebox with creative tonies
As I said, operating the Toniebox is very easy once it has been set up. Your children will be able to do this better than you in no time. But you can make some useful settings via the Toniebox account on the Internet. Next to own recordingswhich you can play online on the so-called creative tonies, the regulation of the maximum volume is a big plus on the Toniebox set-up page.
If this volume control is not enough for you or you just want to escape from the children’s stories every now and then, you can also give your offspring suitable ones kids headphones obtain, which are sold separately.
Tip: You could then use the rest to listen to an audio book yourself, for example. There is a huge selection Audible with more than 200,000 titles and an initial 30-day trial membership.