Everything people ask us.
What you need to know before you start, answered straight.
The child and everyday use
From what age?
From age 3. That is when a child wants to choose what they listen to, and when putting a card down is a gesture they can manage without being able to read.
The core age range is 3 to 8. Past that the MusicBox still works, the child simply wants other things.
The project and the software
Is the software paid?
No, it is entirely free and you download it from this site.
No subscription is required, no account either, and no online service is needed to use it. Your library lives on your MusicBox: it depends on no service that could shut down one day and take it away.
The software reaches you as a compiled binary, all rights reserved. What you may do with it is set out in the terms of use.
Do I need to create an account?
No, no account is required. No sign-up, no email address to hand over: you plug the MusicBox in, connect it to your Wi-Fi, and it is yours.
How do I get a MusicBox?
Today, you build it. We document the hardware, you gather the parts and assemble it. Three build paths exist, from a breadboard to a dedicated board, depending on the time and tools you want to put in.
A commercial, ready-to-use version is in development.
In the meantime we do not sell any parts ourselves: the full list is on each version's page, with links to order them.
Network and privacy
Do I need an internet connection?
No. An internet connection is not required, and today it is not even needed: music leaves your phone and reaches the MusicBox over your own Wi-Fi, locally, without passing through any server.
Once the music is transferred you can even switch the house Wi-Fi off, and the box keeps playing.
One detail when you connect it: the MusicBox joins 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi. If your router broadcasts a single network across 2.4 and 5 GHz, it works with no changes.
What data do you collect?
No usage data. We do not know what your child listens to, when, or for how long: none of it leaves your home, because playback is entirely local.
The app can send a technical report when it hits an error, so we can fix it. That report describes the error and the device, not your library or your files.
The music
Who provides the music?
You do. We offer no catalogue for now: you use your own files, the ones you bought, recorded or created.
It is also what guarantees no licence will pull a story out of your child's library overnight.
Which audio formats are accepted?
MP3, today. It is the only format the MusicBox can play. Others will follow.
If your files are in another format, convert them to MP3 before sending them.
How much music can I store?
The only limit is the microSD card you put in. With a 32 GB card and MP3 at 192 kbit/s you store roughly 370 hours of audio, more than 450 albums.
There is no limit on the number of playlists or NFC cards.
One technical point: the card must be formatted as FAT32. Cards from 8 to 32 GB ship that way. Above that they arrive as exFAT and you have to reformat them to FAT32 yourself.
NFC cards
Which NFC cards work?
The common NFC tags sold everywhere: NTAG213, NTAG215, NTAG216, Mifare Classic and Mifare Ultralight, as cards or as stickers.
The MusicBox only reads the tag's serial number, never its contents. So there is nothing to encode or format, and an already locked tag works fine.
What does not work: FeliCa tags, ISO 14443-B tags, and card emulation by a smartphone, which presents a different number every time.
Can I use something other than cards?
Yes. We designed the product around illustrated cards, because that is what a child handles most easily, but an NFC sticker goes on whatever you like: a figurine, a block, the cover of a book.
Nothing stops you from modelling an enclosure that holds your own objects either. We drew one, ready to 3D print, for the HermitX development board: it is a development version, but it gives you a starting point.
What if a card is lost or broken?
Nothing serious, the playlist is untouched. In the app, open that playlist: under its title a pill shows the linked card, with a “Change” button.
You place a new card on the MusicBox, it takes the old one's place, and the old one no longer triggers anything.
The app and the hardware
Which phones does the app run on?
iPhone and iPad from iOS 15, and Android from version 7.0. It is called TMB.
The status of each platform, and the link to install it, are on the Build page.
A desktop version appeals to us, but it is not under way.
How long does the battery last?
On our prototype, with a 5,000 mAh battery, we measured two days of use. That is a first measurement, before any optimisation work: it should improve.
Can I use several MusicBoxes?
Yes, as many as you like, all driven from the same app. One for the whole family or one per child, it is up to you.
Write to us, we answer.
A question that is not here, a doubt before you start, a snag mid build: the community and I are there, and the answers help everyone.