Edited 5/1/24: I would now purchase this part which streamlines some of the instructions below.
We love our Yoto player, but it uses an easily broken and easily lost proprietary puck charger that’s $25 to replace. No thanks! The mini model uses USB-C and has the same 5V input as the larger model. Our charger broke a few days ago, so I decided to add USB-C charging before a trip. Works great so far!
Mount vs cable: I decided to use a mounted female usb-c port, but you could also leave a long female end dangling out the end, or even a long enough male cord which you could plug in directly.
Existing charger: I wanted to leave the puck-charger wired and working – so I connected the USB-C in parallel with the existing charger.
2 pin connectors: I didn’t want to cut any wires inside, so I bought matching male and female connectors to attach to the existing Yoto connectors. Works great and can easily be un-done in the future if needed.
Want to do it? Here’s what you need:
- JST-PH 2.0mm 2 Pin Connectors – male and female ($8 for 20, $0.40 each)
- USB C Male to Female Extension Cable ($10) OR you could get this one for $2.58 on Aliexpress OR this style for $7 might work well.
- 2x M3 x 12mm screws ($13 for 360, $0.03 each)
- 2x Solder seal wire connectors ($9 for 120, $0.07 each)
Total cost: $11. Cost if you use a spare USB-C cable and cut it in half: $1
You’ll need these tools:
- Small phillips screwdriver (PH1)
- Drill and various sized bits
- Hex key for M3 screws
- Wire cutters
- Heat gun for wire connectors
Gallery / Instructions:
Brilliant hack and exactly what I was looking for – someone else who had done what I was planning.
thanks for sharing!
I found these which do the job with zero soldering:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/266300332403?hash=item3e00bc9973:g:~ZwAAOSwbrpkjB2e&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4JGjaDURZpLRZYuxFrMS6uSiG%2FXsIEkI4pYDNSYAUclpXYBg%2FNlpdF5eEb3XX0ZZY1FvZnKEQ8dNxhXRXuQMupdUi5fF2avnPWwNNeK6LEDI1dKWfaHxjNhANiR3SCdllx6bSKuUdaUjCg%2FFmTSIZMj7CSqgadUxO9dTcolP97vjopQusJJ9mKHIuILKhwERPuPkZHMS5xQzdfUX1jTESVekEAfPHMcMrg7B4GM1gyhYY4Jm5HUsGCoZzHp9NmO3edVl2pe74Eid4J2u7%2FKwxw%2BMSrHeqKOWYTvEB4i94D8z%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR_DIporHYg
Thank you so much for these instructions,
I used the updated part and the player is now charging. I have one happy little boy and I’m so glad I don’t have to buy a whole new player just because I can’t get hold of a charger!
The part I used had the wires the wrong way around in the plastic clip. From pictures online most are like this but it was easy enough to switch them around.
This is excellent, but for anyone reading this in future – I contacted Yoto (I’m in the UK) after my charging dock broke, and they are now sending me a whole new gen 3 player for free. I guess the charging dock was breaking a lot and they’re having to dish the new ones out in replacement now? Not sure, but I’m happy!
thank you so much for posting this! Planning to upgrade the sd card & add a usb charging port at the same time. One thing i’m wondering is do you need to worry about a usb wall wart/power bank sending more than 5v along the USB c line (which could in theory send up to 20v)? Would it be safer to use USB-A since that standard is generally limited to 5v?
Nope – USB is smart enough and will only draw the correct amount.
Does this hack (and the updated part) work on the Yoto Gen 3? Thank you!!
I’m not sure – I haven’t opened that one up yet.