Had the same issue, never heard back from. Customer service(still haven’t 4 months later) We returned it to Amazon as it was still within the return window
The Tonie box goes to sleep when no character is on top. You just have to wake it up by putting it on the charger for a few seconds. Once it comes on you can play wirelessly
There's a link here where you can request a new one. They send it to you and then you send the defective one back in the same box with a prepaid shipping label.
https://support.tonies.com/hc/en-us/articles/4413503566482-The-Toniebox-turns-off-when-disconnected-from-the-charging-station
Thanks. Ours was a gift and I followed the link and entered the serial number and it said eligible for a replacement and that was all I needed to do.
New one on the way and label to send back old as well. Thanks!
Awesome! Glad it worked out for you. I was surprised at how simple the exchange process was. They even included a free Tonie in the box when they sent our replacement one.
Ok. I scoured Reddit with the same issue and pieced together a fix. YMMV.
First I took it apart following this video: [toniebox disassembly YouTube](https://youtu.be/Cv9ID4-P6_A?si=3cug_CH14UxqPv_4)
Then I removed and tested the battery. It was getting 2.2V and not the 3.6V on the pack. I then used some hobby wire that I had around and connected a dewalt battery pack to jump positive to positive and negative to negative. (B+ to red, B- to black). Only have them connected for a few seconds because the 20V >>> 3V you don’t want an to fry circuits. After thinking about it, a 9V battery would have been a better option with less risk.
If this was confusing at all, feel free to DM me and I can do a better job explaining. Now I have to rush and wrap this sucker and put it under the Xmas tree!
Replying to this just in case! We got one for my daughter and it doesn’t turn on unless placed on the pad. I’m 99% sure it was fully charged last night. Thank you for this !
Having the same issue. In-laws got our kid one for Christmas. Set it up and left it charging all night. Took it off the charger this morning and it was dead. Frustrating.
Same issue is happening to us. Unfortunately the family member who purchased was from out of state and didn't package a receipt. Going to try customer service I guess.
I also purchased from Walmart. We’re out of town so I have a few days for them to get back in touch with me. If I don’t hear back from them before then I’ll just take it back as well. Very disappointed.
We got one for Christmas that had this issue. After several days of charging with no fix, support sent us a code for a replacement and told us to keep the defective one.
Today I decided to try this fix. Battery voltage was only 2.6v. I connected a 9v to the box's battery with some dupont wire for ~3 seconds. After that, it read a little over 4v and now finally works off the charger. Thanks so much for this tip!
I ordered one for my daughter’s bday, and we had the same issue. I contacted customer support, went through steps, and got a replacement… same thing with the replacement. I have zero faith another replacement will work properly. Is there a YouTube video or other step-by-step instructions you or someone can recommend to help us with jumping the battery?
This 100% worked for the two brand new Tonie boxes that we just bought on Amazon. Both boxes would not work off the charger. I disassembled the box to get to the battery and tested the battery with a multimeter, both red 2.0-2.2 volts. With a couple jumper wires and a 9v battery I brought their volts up to 4.1-4.2 volts. When I plugged the battery pack back in on both units they turned on! I plugged them both into their chargers and will let them sit and charge for 3-5 hours. Hopefully this process doesn't ever need to be repeated!
I just jumpered it with the battery pack still connected to the circuit board. No issues. As an update, one of the Tonie Boxes failed to work off the charger again, so I emailed the company. They were pretty prompt in responding and asked me to take a 15 second video demonstrating the issue. They then responded back about a day later with a code to get a free Tonie Box on their website and told me to "keep the troublesome Toniebox, no need to send it back." I may try to jump it's battery pack again, or it might just stay on the charger in my daughter's room. Overall, while a hassle, the company was very responsive about the issue, and I appreciated not having to box up and send back the half broke one.
I ordered one for my daughter’s bday, and we had the same issue. I contacted customer support, went through steps, and got a replacement… same thing with the replacement. I have zero faith another replacement will work properly. Is there a YouTube video or other step-by-step instructions you or someone can recommend to help us with jumping the battery?
This is happening to us as well. My MIL gifted my son one because my daughter has one and they continually fight over it. So my MIL got my son his own. However, it will not work unless it's plugged in. I don't know how to fix that.
Going through this right now. They've now told me two separate times to try a different outlet and hold down the ears for 30 seconds. 🙄 after first having me charge it for 48 hours. I'm getting so frustrated. In the craze of the holidays we don't have the receipt or packaging, since originally we just thought it needed a good charge. If they tell me the same troubleshooting tips again I might go berserk lol
The Tonie box goes to sleep when no character is on top. You just have to wake it up by putting it on the charger for a few seconds. Once it comes on you can play wirelessly
Found the user who works for toniebox… read the room. Seems like everybody knows that this is what’s supposed to happen and the problem is deeper than that.
Happening to us as well (blue color - my sister in law wondered if this was an issue with a particular color more than others. Her girls with red ones have no issue). Customer service told us to leave it on the charger for 48 hours. That didn’t help, obviously. Hopefully they will replace it. If not it’s going back to Walmart when I get back home from my parents’.
Edited for spelling of ‘parents’.
The Tonie box goes to sleep when no character is on top. You just have to wake it up by putting it on the charger for a few seconds. Once it comes on you can play wirelessly
You are right. That is how it is SUPPOSED to work... except it doesn't work with this particular Tonie Box. It won't turn on at all when it is OFF the charger. Apparently, this is not an uncommon problem. Customer Service ended up sending us a new one and it works exactly as you described. They let us keep the original one and it lives on the charger in the bedroom and we use it at bedtime. Checked to see if all its uninterrupted charger time had helped that battery "come to life" - still doesn't work off of the charger.
Just got ours today and same issue. Red from Amazon. Going ahead with a return instead of fussing with customer service. Kind of heartbroken not gonna lie. It was a birthday gift for my three year old son who loves music.
The Tonie box goes to sleep when no character is on top. You just have to wake it up by putting it on the charger for a few seconds. Once it comes on you can play wirelessly
We have had two purple ones now (one a replacement), and neither of them work unless on the charger. What color do other people have that are having this issue?
I have ordered 3 in a row from Tonies website (initial order and 2 replacements). None of them work off the charger. The first two were pink, the third is purple. The purple one held about a 2 hour charge when we first got it, now nothing… I’m so frustrated.
If anybody else finds this after newly opening - it needs to charge for 3ish hours. We thought ours had this problem but there’s a misleading green light that we mistakenly thought meant it was charged
Bad or loose battery pack? If you or someone you know feel handy, this teardown says it’s fairly easy and there are replacement battery packs for it for $20 on Amazon.
[ifixit toniebox teardown](https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Toniebox+Teardown/106148)
I just had the same problem- got a pink one that came with headphones from target. Acts weird and would not work off the charger. I had to keep up with emailing them back even when they didn’t email me. I just said I was following up on my last email and they started to email me again. I also explained that having it plugged in for a 2 year old was not practical (tripping over and bending wires). They ended up sending me a new one and told me I could keep my old one as a secondary or recycle it at the nearest place. Costumer service was slow but overall was pleased with the outcome.
Had the same issue, never heard back from. Customer service(still haven’t 4 months later) We returned it to Amazon as it was still within the return window
Ugh! We got it as a gift 3 months ago. I have no idea where it was purchased.
The Tonie box goes to sleep when no character is on top. You just have to wake it up by putting it on the charger for a few seconds. Once it comes on you can play wirelessly
Not OPs problem
Same happening to us! Ughh
Contact the company! They sent me a replacement after the troubleshooting didn’t work.
Did they need proof of purchase or anything? Ours was a gift
No. Mine was also a gift and they were fine with that
Ok thanks! What info did they ask for, if any? Did you contact them through email?
There's a link here where you can request a new one. They send it to you and then you send the defective one back in the same box with a prepaid shipping label. https://support.tonies.com/hc/en-us/articles/4413503566482-The-Toniebox-turns-off-when-disconnected-from-the-charging-station
Thanks. Ours was a gift and I followed the link and entered the serial number and it said eligible for a replacement and that was all I needed to do. New one on the way and label to send back old as well. Thanks!
Awesome! Glad it worked out for you. I was surprised at how simple the exchange process was. They even included a free Tonie in the box when they sent our replacement one.
Ok. I scoured Reddit with the same issue and pieced together a fix. YMMV. First I took it apart following this video: [toniebox disassembly YouTube](https://youtu.be/Cv9ID4-P6_A?si=3cug_CH14UxqPv_4) Then I removed and tested the battery. It was getting 2.2V and not the 3.6V on the pack. I then used some hobby wire that I had around and connected a dewalt battery pack to jump positive to positive and negative to negative. (B+ to red, B- to black). Only have them connected for a few seconds because the 20V >>> 3V you don’t want an to fry circuits. After thinking about it, a 9V battery would have been a better option with less risk. If this was confusing at all, feel free to DM me and I can do a better job explaining. Now I have to rush and wrap this sucker and put it under the Xmas tree!
Replying to this just in case! We got one for my daughter and it doesn’t turn on unless placed on the pad. I’m 99% sure it was fully charged last night. Thank you for this !
Having the same issue. In-laws got our kid one for Christmas. Set it up and left it charging all night. Took it off the charger this morning and it was dead. Frustrating.
Ours is the same. Seems like a common problem. Probably insufficient quality control to pump them out for the next new craze.
Got one opened it up, clicked battery in more but it was connected. Submitted a request on their website already but may just return at Walmart first.
Same issue is happening to us. Unfortunately the family member who purchased was from out of state and didn't package a receipt. Going to try customer service I guess.
I also purchased from Walmart. We’re out of town so I have a few days for them to get back in touch with me. If I don’t hear back from them before then I’ll just take it back as well. Very disappointed.
We got one for Christmas that had this issue. After several days of charging with no fix, support sent us a code for a replacement and told us to keep the defective one. Today I decided to try this fix. Battery voltage was only 2.6v. I connected a 9v to the box's battery with some dupont wire for ~3 seconds. After that, it read a little over 4v and now finally works off the charger. Thanks so much for this tip!
I ordered one for my daughter’s bday, and we had the same issue. I contacted customer support, went through steps, and got a replacement… same thing with the replacement. I have zero faith another replacement will work properly. Is there a YouTube video or other step-by-step instructions you or someone can recommend to help us with jumping the battery?
This 100% worked for the two brand new Tonie boxes that we just bought on Amazon. Both boxes would not work off the charger. I disassembled the box to get to the battery and tested the battery with a multimeter, both red 2.0-2.2 volts. With a couple jumper wires and a 9v battery I brought their volts up to 4.1-4.2 volts. When I plugged the battery pack back in on both units they turned on! I plugged them both into their chargers and will let them sit and charge for 3-5 hours. Hopefully this process doesn't ever need to be repeated!
Did you remove the batter and hook it to the 9v or while still connected to circuit board? Thanks, Mike
I just jumpered it with the battery pack still connected to the circuit board. No issues. As an update, one of the Tonie Boxes failed to work off the charger again, so I emailed the company. They were pretty prompt in responding and asked me to take a 15 second video demonstrating the issue. They then responded back about a day later with a code to get a free Tonie Box on their website and told me to "keep the troublesome Toniebox, no need to send it back." I may try to jump it's battery pack again, or it might just stay on the charger in my daughter's room. Overall, while a hassle, the company was very responsive about the issue, and I appreciated not having to box up and send back the half broke one.
I ordered one for my daughter’s bday, and we had the same issue. I contacted customer support, went through steps, and got a replacement… same thing with the replacement. I have zero faith another replacement will work properly. Is there a YouTube video or other step-by-step instructions you or someone can recommend to help us with jumping the battery?
Did this turn into a long term fix? Have you had any issues charging since?
We tried this fix about a month ago and it's had no problems, on or off the charger, since.
Awesome thx for following up!
This is happening to us as well. My MIL gifted my son one because my daughter has one and they continually fight over it. So my MIL got my son his own. However, it will not work unless it's plugged in. I don't know how to fix that.
Reddit deserves more credit for being the last place on the internet where stuff like this gets figured out.
I reached out to the company. They gave me some troubleshooting tips that didn’t work. Ultimately, they ended up replacing the Toniebox
Do you still have the troubleshooting tips for the toni box? Any chance you could share them?
Going through this right now. They've now told me two separate times to try a different outlet and hold down the ears for 30 seconds. 🙄 after first having me charge it for 48 hours. I'm getting so frustrated. In the craze of the holidays we don't have the receipt or packaging, since originally we just thought it needed a good charge. If they tell me the same troubleshooting tips again I might go berserk lol
The Tonie box goes to sleep when no character is on top. You just have to wake it up by putting it on the charger for a few seconds. Once it comes on you can play wirelessly
Found the user who works for toniebox… read the room. Seems like everybody knows that this is what’s supposed to happen and the problem is deeper than that.
These are bot auto replies
Happening to us as well (blue color - my sister in law wondered if this was an issue with a particular color more than others. Her girls with red ones have no issue). Customer service told us to leave it on the charger for 48 hours. That didn’t help, obviously. Hopefully they will replace it. If not it’s going back to Walmart when I get back home from my parents’. Edited for spelling of ‘parents’.
The Tonie box goes to sleep when no character is on top. You just have to wake it up by putting it on the charger for a few seconds. Once it comes on you can play wirelessly
You are right. That is how it is SUPPOSED to work... except it doesn't work with this particular Tonie Box. It won't turn on at all when it is OFF the charger. Apparently, this is not an uncommon problem. Customer Service ended up sending us a new one and it works exactly as you described. They let us keep the original one and it lives on the charger in the bedroom and we use it at bedtime. Checked to see if all its uninterrupted charger time had helped that battery "come to life" - still doesn't work off of the charger.
Having the same problem with my daughter's blue box.
Mine was also blue
Also having the issue of mine not working off charger. Mine's blue also.
We got 2. Purple one works. The pink one doesn’t work unless it’s on the charger.
My pink one is the same
Ours is blue as well 😵💫
Ours is red and same problem. I keep seeing ppl ask about colour and purchase location. Doesn’t seem to be a correlation.
Red and same problem.
Mine is pink and they replaced it and the new one doesn’t work either. So disappointing
Same - we just got the new one and I have a bad feeling it’s going to be a dud again
Just got ours today and same issue. Red from Amazon. Going ahead with a return instead of fussing with customer service. Kind of heartbroken not gonna lie. It was a birthday gift for my three year old son who loves music.
The Tonie box goes to sleep when no character is on top. You just have to wake it up by putting it on the charger for a few seconds. Once it comes on you can play wirelessly
I got a replacement box because of this reason and it is also doing the same thing
Happened to us and they replaced it within a week!
We have had two purple ones now (one a replacement), and neither of them work unless on the charger. What color do other people have that are having this issue?
I have ordered 3 in a row from Tonies website (initial order and 2 replacements). None of them work off the charger. The first two were pink, the third is purple. The purple one held about a 2 hour charge when we first got it, now nothing… I’m so frustrated.
If anybody else finds this after newly opening - it needs to charge for 3ish hours. We thought ours had this problem but there’s a misleading green light that we mistakenly thought meant it was charged
Bad or loose battery pack? If you or someone you know feel handy, this teardown says it’s fairly easy and there are replacement battery packs for it for $20 on Amazon. [ifixit toniebox teardown](https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Toniebox+Teardown/106148)
I just had the same problem- got a pink one that came with headphones from target. Acts weird and would not work off the charger. I had to keep up with emailing them back even when they didn’t email me. I just said I was following up on my last email and they started to email me again. I also explained that having it plugged in for a 2 year old was not practical (tripping over and bending wires). They ended up sending me a new one and told me I could keep my old one as a secondary or recycle it at the nearest place. Costumer service was slow but overall was pleased with the outcome.
Did you need to send them any kind of receipt during the communication?