Putting music on Yoto player cards

September 10, 2024 9:07 AM

I'm maybe interested in getting a Yoto player for my young child. I'm not enthused with the selection of cards they sell and I can't get a clear picture of what it's like to make cards with my own audio. Can you explain what it's like / how easy it is to just put mp3s (or whatever) on a blank card? Can I do it without a smartphone?
posted by Wolfdog to Computers & Internet (6 answers total)

I have had a Yoto for nearly 4 years. I have created the playlist for a make your own card on a Windows computer. I’m able to either convert content to MP3 or record it as MP3 and drag and drop it into a playlist on Yoto’s website that is connected to my account.

But, I am not sure there is a way to link the playlist to a specific card without using a smart phone. If I recall correctly, I’ve always used the Yoto app on a smart phone or in order to link a specific playlist to a card and make it work. You may have to contact Yoto customer service to find out if there is a way to do this without a smart phone.
posted by dog-eared paperback at 9:51 AM on September 10

flabdablet: The following may or may not be valuable for you but the parents I know who like their Yoto talk about:

* Tactile relationship between cards and content, which children grasp better than a purely abstract "it's in the player"

* Images better for young kids than MP3 player with no screen or just a text screen

* Ability to gift or confiscate cards as rewards, punishment, or just "I'm sick of hearing this so I'm taking it away."

Basically, all the advantages of this are tied to the fact that it's for kids. For that matter, the design is appealing to kids - big and friendly with big friendly buttons too - which is not true of a $5 generic screenless M3 player from Alibaba.
posted by Tomorrowful at 10:43 AM on September 10

If you send me a message I can connect you with mr. brilliantine, who has been managing these cards for our kiddos.
posted by brilliantine at 11:42 AM on September 10

The actual creation of playlists is really straightforward on a computer (and even better with the MYO Studio Chrome extension). You don’t have to have a Yoto to set up an account and have a go at making your own playlist to see how it works.

But I don’t think it’s possible to link the playlist to a card without the app. The app is also needed for other parts of setting up the Yoto - alarms, nightlight settings, volume limiting etc - so you do miss out on functionality without a smartphone.
posted by featherboa at 12:35 PM on September 10

Yes you do need a smartphone to link the playlist to the card. Which is annoying, because it's pretty hard to make a playlist on a smartphone so you kinda need to switch between devices partway through the process. It definitely isn't the most streamlined thing I've ever done with technology but it's worth it to get some decent music on those cards.
posted by potrzebie at 1:50 PM on September 10

The cards do not store the music on them. The music has to be on Yoto's servers, then your device downloads the music from there. So you won't ever be able to update without using their software.
posted by flimflam at 10:03 PM on September 12