We have this and it’s great: https://a.co/d/atIciIJ

On Spotify you can download songs on WiFi to play offline with an inexpensive subscription. It really don’t make sense to buy songs anymore unless you are planning to just get like 20 you’ll use for life

PP here- this is the one I have. To me, the UX is terrible, but my 8 year old DD is able to use it just fine.

https://www.amazon.com/Bluetooth-High-Capacity-Battery-Sport-Contains-Earphones/dp/B0CS2DC59W/ref=sr_1_19?crid=2XSL5OQW65G3Q&keywords=mp3+player&qid=1706302801&sprefix=mp3+player%2Caps%2C171&sr=8-19

The bluetooth connection is actually better than some fancier devices we have, which is baffling.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I use an old iPhone for this - bonus that you can also put the Libby app on it and have endless free audio books for them

You can buy a refurbished iPhone for cheap

Be careful with this- we thought we had one that would work but it couldn’t be updated to an OS that was compatible with our MacBook.

Why do you need it to be compatible with your MacBook? Mine works just fine with no MacBook

If you want to use it to transfer songs that already belong to you via a computer, then you need a computer. I guess if you are relying on streaming then it would work fine. In my case I prefer to have a device that doesn’t need a WiFi connection especially since it gets used for travel, to play dance music at friends’ houses, etc.

NP - I need a couple of mp3 players that I can load with songs for my kids at camp. There’s no Wi-Fi. We have a Sony mp3 player, but my MacBook won’t recognize it. My husband’s ancient MacBook did recognize the Sony, but it died last year.

I'm the PP who cautioned about MacBook compatibility. I figured out an easy workaround. We have a no-name mp3 player from amazon that my MacBook would not recognize no matter what I did. It has a micro SD card. We got a micro SD card reader for cheap and ejected the card from the mp3 player and plugged it into my MacBook. It recognized the card and I loaded songs onto the card. mp3 player works perfectly now so I definitely recommend this if you are trying to make a no-phone, apple-compatible solution work.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I use an old iPhone for this - bonus that you can also put the Libby app on it and have endless free audio books for them

You can buy a refurbished iPhone for cheap

Be careful with this- we thought we had one that would work but it couldn’t be updated to an OS that was compatible with our MacBook.

Why do you need it to be compatible with your MacBook? Mine works just fine with no MacBook

If you want to use it to transfer songs that already belong to you via a computer, then you need a computer. I guess if you are relying on streaming then it would work fine. In my case I prefer to have a device that doesn’t need a WiFi connection especially since it gets used for travel, to play dance music at friends’ houses, etc.

NP - I need a couple of mp3 players that I can load with songs for my kids at camp. There’s no Wi-Fi. We have a Sony mp3 player, but my MacBook won’t recognize it. My husband’s ancient MacBook did recognize the Sony, but it died last year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I use an old iPhone for this - bonus that you can also put the Libby app on it and have endless free audio books for them

You can buy a refurbished iPhone for cheap

Be careful with this- we thought we had one that would work but it couldn’t be updated to an OS that was compatible with our MacBook.

Why do you need it to be compatible with your MacBook? Mine works just fine with no MacBook

If you want to use it to transfer songs that already belong to you via a computer, then you need a computer. I guess if you are relying on streaming then it would work fine. In my case I prefer to have a device that doesn’t need a WiFi connection especially since it gets used for travel, to play dance music at friends’ houses, etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I use an old iPhone for this - bonus that you can also put the Libby app on it and have endless free audio books for them

You can buy a refurbished iPhone for cheap

Be careful with this- we thought we had one that would work but it couldn’t be updated to an OS that was compatible with our MacBook.

Why do you need it to be compatible with your MacBook? Mine works just fine with no MacBook

Anonymous wrote:I use an old iPhone for this - bonus that you can also put the Libby app on it and have endless free audio books for them

You can buy a refurbished iPhone for cheap

Be careful with this- we thought we had one that would work but it couldn’t be updated to an OS that was compatible with our MacBook.

Anonymous wrote:We got this, since we didn’t want to get ours a phone, and use a 3rd party app to put songs from Spotify on it (can’t use Spotify directly on it): 32GB Mp3 Player with Bluetooth... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08CVR9PVS

I looked for a long time but could never find anything that would let him access Spotify directly that’s not a phone or for toddlers. There is one without a screen, but that seemed kinda useless.

You know you don’t have to provide cell service to your phone right? An old phone can be used for WiFi internet and apps with no phone number connected to it. Just like a tablet but smaller

I use an old iPhone for this - bonus that you can also put the Libby app on it and have endless free audio books for them

You can buy a refurbished iPhone for cheap

I had the one listed above but my MacBook Air refused to recognize it so I had to send it back. I tried a slightly different one and it worked once before being seemingly blocked again by Apple software.

We have a sandisk one now and it is compatible with my MacBook but doesn’t have Bluetooth so it’s being used by my DD with wired headphones only. I’m still on the hunt for an Apple-compatible alternative.

We got this, since we didn’t want to get ours a phone, and use a 3rd party app to put songs from Spotify on it (can’t use Spotify directly on it): 32GB Mp3 Player with Bluetooth... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08CVR9PVS

I looked for a long time but could never find anything that would let him access Spotify directly that’s not a phone or for toddlers. There is one without a screen, but that seemed kinda useless.

Old android phone that our child doesn't have the code to, the lock screen lets him pause and play music and audio books (we use the free libby app through our library). Libby let's you rewind and fast forwrd from the lock screen but we need to unlock it to get him another book but most of the stuff he likes are pretty long so it's not a problem.

Does anyone have a recommendation for an mp3 player for kids? Not a Tonie box or Yoto player, we need something where we can add things from spotify for DS5 to listen to during frequent travel that he can operate on his own. The Jooki looks good but is pricey, which is fine if it works well.