LeapFrog Fridge Phonics problem

[daniele_ut]

Logan played with the LeapFrog Fridge Phonics at a friend's house a few weeks ago and enjoyed it a lot, so I picked it up at Wal-Mart (the only store in this part of rural Illinois/Iowa where we are for the summer that has toys) yesterday. The 'E' that was in the toy worked fine, but all of the other letters are scrambled! 'A' elicits a response of 'G'. 'B' says 'D'. You get the idea. The manual said to replace the batteries, which I did, with brand new ones, but that didn't help. Did anyone else have this problem with this toy right out of the box. I plan to just exchange it, but I wanted to see if there was another solution before I make the hour long round trip.

Could you imagine how warped he could be if he learned the alphabet incorrectly!!??

[purpleeyes]

I would call LeapFrog customer service before you return it. We had a problem with their basketball hoop (repeated letters, saying the wrong letters, etc.) and they replaced it with no problem.
I know it's pretty much the same thing as returning it to the store, but if you want to aviod the potential hassle of walmart ;) customer service may be a good choice.

Sorry it didn't work-it is still one of DS's favorite toys after a year!


Beth

[kali]

This is a really great toy--IF it works! Our first one did the same thing as yours. I read a review somewhere that some of them just have this problem from the start. So, I went back to Target and returned it, then went upstairs to the toy section and literally opened boxes and tested a few until I found one that worked. If anyone hassled me about it, I was prepared to point out that in addition to the one I'd just returned, the first two I pulled off the shelf and tested didn't work.

Even if LeapFrog sent you a new one, their quality control seems poor enough that you might just end up with another dud. So your best bet is probably to find one yourself that you know works. On the base, there are six little "tabs" that get pressed in different patterns when you insert the different letters. If those tabs aren't lined up, the thing just won't recognize the letters properly. But the one that finally passed my inspection has worked fine for the 3 months we've had it (and believe me, DS is not gentle with it).

Hope this helps!
Kali, Mom to Sammy, born 7/16/04

[schums]

The Fridge Word Whammer has the same problem. We ended up returning it to the store. Great toy, but try before you buy to make sure it works!

Sarah
Mom to Alex (3/2002) and Catherine (8/2003)

[daniele_ut]

Thank you all for your responses! We ended up having to go back to Wal-Mart this morning for work, so I returned it and then went to the back of the store and opened up and tested all of the other 3 on the shelf. They all had the same issue! I'm glad to know it isn't just me. It does seem like a fun toy, though, so I'll probably pursue it till I find one that actually works!

Hopefully next week we'll have some time to drive to Burlington and I can check all of the ones at Target! If we were back in Utah I would have 5 Targets in a 15 mile radius, but it's kind of different around here!

[kali]

Yes it's definitely a very fun and educational toy. DS will put a letter in and push it down and dance around while it sings the song. He isn't quite two yet, but he can recognize all the letters, and will point them out on street signs, billboards, t-shirts....

Be warned though, it can get sooooo annoying! Especially if your child has a favorite letter--ours is W: "W says WUH, W says WUH. Every letter makes a sound. W says WUH." ;-)

Mom to Sammy, born 7/16/04