⚠️Yoto Mini Recall ⚠️
On April 11, 2024, Yoto voluntarily recalled Yoto Mini players due to burn and fire hazards. Read the total recall from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and instructions from Yoto on what to do next.
Per Yoto: Stop using your device immediately.
Since getting my son a Yoto Mini player for Christmas, I have created all kinds of Yoto “Make Your Own” (MYO) cards.
There is so much information about DIY Yoto cards, so I wanted to streamline the process and give you step-by-step instructions on creating cards.
PLUS: If you’re like me and love the custom Yoto artwork on your cards, I’ve even created a FREE editable MYO Yoto Card Sticker template, so your homemade cards can be just as adorable as the store-bought ones!
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How To DIY a MYO Yoto Card
- Buy a Yoto Make Your Own Card: You can buy them one at a time, include them in your Yoto Club membership, or buy them in packs (best bang for your buck).
Pro Tip: Did you know the starter card in your box is a MYO card? - Create a Yoto Account: You’ll use a free account on the website and the Yoto app.
- Download MP3 Content: It must be an MP3 or MP4 format.
- OR Create a Recording: Record your voice using your computer or the Yoto app.
- Create a Playlist: On the Yoto app or my.yotoplay.com.
- Link the Playlist to a Card: Link your playlist from the Yoto app.
Hint: You’ll need the physical card with you to do this.
Creating a Playlist
- Name your playlist and write a description (optional).
- Choose artwork for the playlist (browse the Yoto library or upload your own).
- Upload audio to the playlist.
- Add a track icon (optional).
- Save the playlist.
- Link the playlist to a card.
Creating a Podcast or Radio Card
Either choose from Yoto’s large library (76 free podcasts & 19 free radio stations and counting), or MYO!
To link a podcast or radio station from Yoto:
- Open the podcast or radio station on your app.
- Click the “Link to a MYO” card.
To link any podcast to Yoto:
- Find the RSS feed for that podcast. Hint: Snap Happy Mom does all the work for you.
- Open my.yotoplay.com and toggle to PODCAST at the top. You would not believe how long I spent getting the error “Unfortunately, we couldn’t find a supported audio stream at this URL.” because I was trying to add a stream to a card.
- Click “Add Podcast.”
- Paste the RSS link.
To link any radio station to Yoto:
- Find the radio station link. Hint: The Montessori Room has some great ones.
- Open my.yotoplay.com and toggle to PLAYLIST.
- Create a playlist following the directions above.
- Click “Add Stream.”
- Paste the radio station link.
Linking a Playlist to a MYO Card
- Open the Yoto app.
- Select the playlist.
- Select “Link to MYO Card.”
- Choose whether to link using your phone (handy if you have the card nearby) or the player (handy if the card is already in the player).
Adding Icons and Artwork to Your Playlist
I think it’s worthwhile to add custom icons and artwork to your playlist.
- It makes it easier to find the playlist you’re looking for (for example, download and save the exact book cover or DVD cover).
- Icons make the tracks easier to recognize for your child if they can’t read numbers (for example, a Paw Patrol track about Skye could have a Skye icon, and a track about Rubble could have a Rubble icon).
Adding artwork is simple:
- Google your content and save a picture to your computer or phone to upload.
- Create your own graphic online and save it as a JPEG or PNG to upload.
Parent-to-Parent: As long as you’re using the images for personal use (i.e., not selling them), copying and pasting right from Google images is fine. This is what I do 100% of the time!
Adding icons is simple (but not required):
- Go to yotoicons.com and search for your character, book, theme, emoji, etc.
- Download the icon for free to your phone or computer.
- Upload the icon and link it to a track.
MYO Yoto Card Sticker Template
MYO cards have basic graphics (some are more decorated than others). If you have a card that will be associated with a custom playlist for a while or have a lot of MYO cards, consider adding stickers to the cards so your child knows what’s on each one.
Pro Tip: You can buy Yoto card stickers already made, but I think it’s just as easy to make your own!
What You’ll Need:
- Glossy Vinyl Sticker Paper: Matte vinyl tends to flake off inkjet prints.
- MYO Sticker Template: Free Canva template. I’ll send it to your email with instructions here.
- Canva Account: Don’t worry if you’ve never used Canva; it’s free and super easy, and I have step-by-step instructions. This whole sheet took me 3 minutes to make!
- A Printer: If you don’t have a printer, you can buy vinyl labels and write on them with a sharpie.
- Scissors.
?“Why vinyl?” You ask. Vinyl is waterproof (those messy toddler fingers don’t stand a chance!), is easy to remove from the card (when you’re ready to change the playlist), and won’t tear. If your sticker gets stuck, you can use Dawn Dishsoap or Goo-Gone to get it off.
Where to Find MP3s for Yoto?
- CD or DVDs: If you have a physical CD or DVD, you should be able to extract and save MP3s to your computer and upload them.
- The Library: Some Yoto moms claim you can get MP3 audiobooks from your library; this hasn’t been the case for me. However, your library can provide you with two options for content:
- Borrow CDs and DVDs and record the audio (you must delete the audio when you return).
- Ask your librarian to offer Yoto cards to check out. I recently did this, and my library was happy to look into the cards for me. They are always looking for ways to get kids excited about books!
- Amazon Instant Downloads: Search for a song on Amazon and select “MP3” as the format. Choose from entire albums or single songs.
- Podcasts: Podcast MYO’s are great because they automatically update with new episodes! Note: You do need Wi-Fi to use podcasts.
- Record Your Own: The Yoto app has an easy-to-use interface to record your stories. You can even hit a chime as you read to signal it’s time to turn the page! Create recordings and read-alongs of your child’s favorite books.
A note about sketchier downloads: If you’re computer savvy, you can find all kinds of audio or even download audio from YouTube, Reddit forums, Facebook groups, etc. This audio likely violates copyright infringement, and you can potentially download viruses with it (think Limewire circa 2002?). Use this audio at your own risk.
Do you have a favorite place to find kid’s audio MP3s for Yoto?! Let me know in the comments! I’d love to add it to the list.
MYO FAQ’s
You can put a whopping 100 audio tracks on each MYO card ?. A single track must be 60 minutes or less and 100MB or less. The total card capacity is 500MB.
1. Make the recording (name it to make it easier to find).
2. Add the recording to a playlist.
3. Link the playlist to your MYO card.
No. Audible doesn’t let you download your book as an MP3 (that I’m aware of).
You can link up to 100 radio stations on a MYO card. Pro Tip: Create a “Radio” card, and differentiate the stations with different icons!
No. Only one podcast stream per card.
Yes! They are infinitely reusable. You can switch between playlists in the app in an instant. Once a playlist is created, it can be loaded to a card in seconds. Quickly switch up what your little one is listening to this way.
Yes! MYO cards do support MP4/AAC files downloaded from iTunes.
Like Audible, Spotify does not let you download MP3 content and cannot be linked to MYO cards.
No. You can only link one playlist at a time. If you are under the 100-track limit, you can create “jumbo” playlists with all your audio files. But you can’t link two separate playlists at once. It only takes a second (literally) to link a playlist, though, so it’s not a huge barrier.
