Set up the Toniebox
Ready to go in a few minutes
© Yuganov Konstantin / Shutterstock
Luckily, you can set up a Toniebox in next to no time. So your child is quickly ready to go on wild adventures, listen to happy nursery rhymes or record their own stories.
What the “Bibi Blocksberg” or “Benjamin Blümchen” cassette was for us – the generation of parents and aunts – is the Toniebox for children today: stories and songs combined and manageable in child-friendly technology. Cute, little characters – the so-called Tonies – replace the audio cassettes (and thus avoid the well-known tape salad from 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.
Setting up the Toniebox: It’s quick and easy
Let’s imagine the following scenario: Your child will receive this colorful cube with ears as a present – for a birthday or Christmas, for example. Now it stands in front of you full of expectation, 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 – that’s what you need:
- a Toniebox (logically) with 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 activate your child’s or your children’s Toniebox. To do this, proceed as follows:
- Load the 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 about three hours to fully charge. The good news: Setting up and playing Tonies doesn’t have to wait, but can run parallel to the charging process.
- Set up a Toniebox account: Once you have supplied the Toniebox with power, you can set it up and activate it. For that you have to go to the Website create an account for free. As you know from other sites, you will then receive an email with a confirmation link that you have to click 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 will need it again when it comes to the WiFi connection. - Connect the Toniebox to WiFi: One difference between the Tonies and the cassettes we know 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 Toniebox’s ears 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 you go back to the (already opened) 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 redirected automatically. In the last step, you only have to couple the Tonie network and your home WiFi network. There is a drop-down menu in the set-up window in which you can select your WLAN. Quickly enter the password and the Toniebox is set up. The Toniebox confirms that it is in the WLAN with the greeting “Oh yes, now I’m ready for the Tonies! Have fun!”
From fairy tales to the ice queen and bedtime stories
Tonies are in abundance – that is anticipated. There are no thematic limits for your child or your children with the Toniebox. And even if the Toniebox itself is only officially available from the age of three, even very small children can have a lot of fun with it when it is operated by an adult or at least an older child.
Whether stories from Sandman or Bobo dormouse for the little ones, wilder adventures from Vicky or that Robber Hotzenplotz for something bigger or songs to fall asleep to by 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 next to Disney hits like that ice queen, the 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 while. For example, there is no digital display or an on-off switch. The battery status is particularly important so that the Toniebox does not suddenly fail when you are away from a socket. (Incidentally, a full battery charge lasts around seven hours at normal volume.)
Therefore, here is the explanation of the individual battery “stages”: A full battery causes the control lamp to light up green, while a fairly empty battery lights up orange. However, you should not switch to battery operation immediately when the orange tone lights up.
The manufacturer’s tip: Wait to charge until the Toniebox prompts you to do so. This is best for the processed battery and ensures a long life.
You can use creative Tonies to play on the Toniebox individually
As I said, the operation of the Toniebox is very easy after it has been set up. Your children will be able to do this better than you yourself in a very short time. But you can make some useful settings via the Toniebox account on the Internet. Next own recordings, which you can play online on the so-called creative tonies, the regulation of the maximum volume is a big plus point on the Toniebox set-up page.
If this volume control is not enough for you or if you just want to escape the children’s stories every now and then, you can also provide suitable ones for your offspring Children’s headphones , which are sold separately.
Tip: You could then use the rest, for example, to listen to an audio book yourself. There is a huge selection Audible with more than 200,000 titles and an initial 30-day trial membership.