Fix a 1998 Furby that won’t wake up or start up (without disassembly)

162 Replies
  • 12/2014 Update: I keep planning to take some pics of the “screw thing” to post with this, but keep forgetting. Sorry about that.
  • 11/2015 Update: This is the most viewed article on my site. Who knew there were so many folks out there with bad Furbys!
  • 12/2016 Update: A year later, and folks are still finding this article. There were about 300 views of it on Christmas day. Retro presents, I guess?
  • 01/24/2017 Update: Commenter Samuel submitted a photo of the gear. It doesn’t look like the spiral gear I remember, so either there is another gear I missed, or there was a variation of the Furby

If your old Furby won’t wake up or won’t start up and appears dead, you may be able to fix it in a few seconds without having to take it apart.

I recently tried to get my original 1998 Furby to work, and found that it was dead. I spent some time doing unsuccessful web searches, with none of the tips (“try new batteries”, “press the reset button”) helping. A second Furby has the same issue, and it looked like it might be related to a jammed motor, per this tutorial:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Push-Start-a-Comatose-Furby/

This procedure involved all kinds of disassembly, sewing things back together and hot glue. A similar YouTube video shed more light on the problem off the stuck motor:

http://youtu.be/fNaNM4_fKTo

I suspected you could just get to the motor using a small screwdriver and going in around the eye or beak, and indeed, it works. I was able to use a tiny flathead screwdriver, inserted above the beak and in to the left to gently rotate the corkscrew spiral connected to the motor a few times and within seconds, the Furby was alive again. Both units were fixed this easy, with no disassembly required.

Update: Thanks to Samuel (http://twitter.com/samsearight), we now have a photo. On my Furby, there is a corkscrew spiral gear I moved, and not this normal gear. I don’t know if the gear is also in mine or if this is a different revision. It looks easier to work with than the gear I found in mine. Thanks, Samuel!

162 thoughts on “Fix a 1998 Furby that won’t wake up or start up (without disassembly)”

      1. Sean

        Hey bud. Do you have any other info on how to spin the actual motor? did you just shove it to the left of the mouth? or Above the mouth and in?

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        1. allenhuffman Post author

          I used a small flathead screwdriver, and just stuck it in to a grove of the spiral and gave is some gentle pressure until it budged. I pushed the top beak down, and went in above the beak.

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          1. Poppy

            Thanks! I bought my kids some old in-the-box Furbies today and everyone was sad when they wouldn’t work. Your suggestion worked perfectly.

          3. Markie

            You might not see this but thank you for your fix it tip!!!
            I now have 3 working furbies and one excited 8 year old!!!

    3. allenhuffman Post author

      I plan to post some pics or a video — just haven’t gotten around to it. Thanks for the reminder. (Oddly, I never got notification I had pending comments. Ooop.)

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        1. Rebecca

          Well this certainly pointed to the problem I’m having. The whole gear assembly, the white pieces of plastic in your photo are completely missing! Back to square one. Guess I’ll have to get one for parts.

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          2. Rebecca J White

            We didn’t have to open it up. We set it on the floor and forgot about it for about 20 minutes and it started making sounds. I guess I was wrong because it works now. But if I bend the top beak down, you can’t see those parts at all. I am so impressed that this thing works after so many years!

          3. allenhuffman Post author

            I believe there were different versions of the Furby. Someone else posted that their model did not use the plastic coil. Mine was from the second batch (the first had a typo in the box, mine had the typo fixed) but i expect things evolved as the fad scaled up.

    6. Kewrock

      Thanks for clues. There must be more than one revision of these units. Mine did not have the horizontal gear so plainly visible to the left of the beak, like the photo above. Mine had a vertical spiral (corks crew) gear much further in. That was the only thing I could see in there with teeth in either side of the beak or behind the eyes. I needed a flashlight to see all the way in there. I stuck a jewelers flat head in there and gently pushed to turn. As soon as a put a little pressure, it started buzzing and came to life. He works great now. I bought him of a sidewalk vendor selling mixed junk in NYC. I paid $4. This is the first one I got that didn’t work. The thrift stores are full of these for a buck or two apiece. I buy them whenever I see them. I’m up to 17.

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    7. Jasper_Da_Goofy

      Hello, my name is Jasper and I’m 14. My dad got me a Furby from Ebay, around 3 years ago, an untouched one too, 1999 limited edition graduation Furby in box. It doesn’t work and I don’t see the gear anywhere. I pulled the beak down and saw nothing. I guess limited editions have different modeled gears and wiring because I saw nothing. Do you mind doing a video tutorial? Because either way nothing else is wrong with the Furby I have.

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      1. allenhuffman Post author

        Thank you for leaving this comment. It looks like there are at least two variations of the first generation Furby’s. There was a typo on the box of the very first ones, and I think mine has the correct spelling (so, second production run? maybe same Furby model?). Beyond the photo of the normal gear version (in this post) and the corkscrew gear in mine, I wonder what else is out there?

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  2. Rachel

    I just did that on 2 Furbys that I thought had died.. If you flip Furbys beak down and look to the left (a torch will help) you’ll see a spiral gear, use a flat screwdriver and twist it to the left a couple of times.. Do this when Furbys batteries are in and then voila! He wakes up 😀
    Thanks for the advice!!

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      1. Tess Casados

        Please, please post a video – I bought 4 for my granddaughters for Christmas, and I can’t seem find the spiral gear! I can flip the beak down, but still don’t know what I’m looking for. Thank you!

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  4. Tim

    This worked! Thank you so much. I got my wife a 1999 furby for Christmas and it wouldn’t do anything, but I was able to pull the beak down to unclip it to allow me to pear in with a flashlight and found the corkscrew gear on the left. A small spin to this gear got it going! So glad I didn’t have to do the surgery. Thanks again!

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  5. chris

    just found my old furby and put batteries in it for the first time in 15 years. did this little trick but I used a small drill bit and it came right to life.

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      1. robin

        hi, have basically given my original ferby orthodontal care and can’t find the spiral motor that I need to get moving. please please please post pics or video… mechanical engineer hubby can’t fix him and I need to get him out of his coma

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  8. Karin

    your awesome my mom just picked up a furby brand new in a box at a yard sale we tried to bring it to life the normal way but nothing he was dead. I didn’t have a screw driver handy so I used a metal small nail file and it worked !!!! thank you so much my daughter now has a new friend thanks to your post. I personally don’t have faith in myself to take something like this apart.

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  9. Chris Lyons

    You’ ve made my son very happy and made me look like a hero. Thank you. I get home from work and troubleshoot a 16 year old Furby. Welcome to parenthood.

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  11. FurbyForever

    i have a defective 1998 furby, he is ladybug print and i cant get him to stop saying ” Me Sleep Again” and going to sleep. on to of that he goes into random glitching periods where he says “Foom” and burps randomly. i tried resetting, restarting and many new
    batteries and he’s still broken 🙁
    be has a broken beak and ear so one of his ears won’t move and he cant sense feeding, so a restart won’t work on him. please respond because i really need help for him! 🙁 🙁 🙁

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    1. Jann Perez

      Mine is doing the same thing. I reset he wakes up and goes back to sleep. Did you find any help on this? 1998 Tiger version.

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  12. Samantha Church

    Gah, thank you! I found my old Furby in the attic and wanted to see if it still worked. I put some batteries in and…nothing. I found this post and I’m happy to say my Furby is now fully functional! Though I removed the batteries and put it away just minutes after I got it working… Still kinda freaks me out ever since it told me it could see me… :/

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  13. Joey

    Hi All, may I know if the gear is in plastic or in metal as I see a metal pin and a white opaque plastic thing

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  15. Alicia

    I did it with my 1998 furby but now he dont stop moving, he is going crazy, wont talk, etc, does anyone now what to do?

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  18. Sydney

    I picked up a Furby from a garage sale today, a 1998 Tiger one, and do you think you could just post a simple picture of what the little thing is that you mess with? I havent had a functioning furby since i was a little kid and man i would love to live that life again

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  21. Kit

    I just bought an original mint in box Furby off of Ebay. Was super disappointed that it wouldn’t work. I tried different kinds of batteries and as I was about to give up, found this post! IT WORKED! Thank you so much for sharing the Furby reboot secret!

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  22. Alexis

    Okay so I was also having trouble finding the corkscrew spiral. It is white and plastic. As mentioned. Go through the top of the beak, to the left and down a bit. I totally looked past it several times. I couldn’t tell if it was moving easily so I just got the screwdriver in one of the grooves and just put pressure on it. It’s almost impossible to see what you are doing but I started to hear it grinding and making some noises and eventually it just came to life. Hope that helps some of you!!!

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    1. allenhuffman Post author

      I used a small flat head electronics screwdriver (from the kit Radio Shack sells) — like a larger version of the ones you would use on glasses.

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    2. allenhuffman Post author

      I just push it with my finger, though my eyesight has gotten worse since I first did it so I can’t see the coil until I get my glasses updated 🙂 I will try to post a photo soon, but on the first gen units you can push the top beak down and a gap opens between the top of the beak and the top of the unit. Just be careful, as there are some small parts where it pivots in there.

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      1. Daniel

        I’m at this stage but I can’t seem to turn the spiral, the screwdriver keeps slipping and I can’t fit my finger. Any other ideas?

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    1. Glenn Frye

      Turn the spindel but the other gear dose not move !! Took finger put pressure on it !! Turn spindel turn gear l
      All way around !!! Still nothing ?

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  25. Dan

    You are the best it worked like a charm. I bought it new from ebay and it came broken. Followed your advise and now it is singing, burping and sneezing like it was new.

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  26. Helen

    I got a Furby at a thrift store. It had corroded batteries and I cleaned the case out and put in fresh ones. Still dead. Tried your suggestion, and it did wake him!. However, he has no audio. How can I tell a “no like” from a “yum?” 🙁 He moves, ears go up and down, eyes open and shut, he rocks, but no voice. I don’t even know his name. Very sad. Any suggestions welcome.

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  27. Daniel

    I pulled the beak down and I see the white spiral gear but I’m unsure as to how exactly I can turn it. I tried applying pressure with a screwdriver various times but it felt like it just kept slipping without turning it. Any tips? Thanks

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  30. Furby leavesAgain

    Yes this worked!! If you put your thumb on the top beak and pull downwards the beak comes off the hinge and you can easily see the white gear motor under the left eye as mentioned.

    After moving the gear 3-6 times downward the furby started to make a tiny growling sound! A few seconds later boom alive again. Simply genly push the top beak and it will snap on the hinges again.

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  31. Belinda

    I woke my Furby by pushing on his tongue and shaking him. None of the suggestions above worked. I did some more research online and found this suggestion to push on the tongue and shake shake shake.

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  32. doggiebisket

    Thanks so much!!! Thrift shop find of 1999 Furby Baby, with box..$1! Corroded batteries….replaced them. Nothing. Found your post and gave it a whirl. Took a few tries. But I got it!!! Push beak gently, while looking at it, on the left side take a small flathead screwdriver and push gently. Took a few pushes and then the gears started turning and baby talked!

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  34. Robert Walkden

    Thanks for your advice just clearing out my sons old toys he is 26 lol but couldn’t bare to theow his furby out. Motor was jammed and this advice worked perfectly one happy firby 😉

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  37. Laura Bence

    Forget the screwdriver, tweezers and anything finicky. My son just got a 1998 Furby at a Comi-con and the Furry-*&^% thing didn’t work. When all else fails…another way to get the screw moving is to give a GOOD shake (I’ve done this before, he has two other ones); shake once, shake twice and then shake it like it gonna die! Wait, it lives!

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  38. Michelle

    I can’t believe how easy that was! Thanks for the awesome tip! My 3 year old is now playing with the furby I got for Christmas 18 years ago!

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    1. allenhuffman Post author

      You have my sympathy 😉 Did they EVER give these things a power off switch? I had some in the back of my car and hit a bump and they all woke up and chattered away the rest of the drive.

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  39. David Brown

    Just tried this method on a new in box and never used 1999 Furby. Worked like a charm! Tho I had put new batteries in it a week prior and I think the week of possibly trying to run the motor drained them. It did come to life after moving the worm gear but acted very odd. Weird sounds, not words, simple motions etc. I put in new batteries after moving the gear and it jumped to life talking up to storm. then went to sleep. Very happy with such a simple fix !

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    1. allenhuffman Post author

      Thanks for the report! This article has been getting a bunch of views this past week. I wonder if old Furbys have been making the list as a restro Christmas gift or something.

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  41. Reed

    My curvy doesn’t stop running…. as in the mouth opens and closes, eyes blink, ears move, motor is loud and emits a foul odor. Suggestions?

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  42. Julie

    My furby just kept going to sleep. I tried going in through the beak and was able to move the gear around many times and it didn’t work. Then I tried holding down it’s tongue while shaking it really hard and he woke right up and is working like new now!!!!

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  45. Kiely

    I did this on a Furby and a Furby Baby and it worked except I think both speakers need to be replaced. I pulled the top of the beak down off of the hinge and both of them had the corkscrew thing. It was further towards the back than I would have thought. I used a bobby pin and just kept pressing down on the corkscrew. After a few more pushes following a pathetic grumble or 2 they both started working. Now to skin them and check the speakers…..sigh! Thank you for posting this!

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  46. Candi

    It worked!! I gifted my kids a piece of my childhood! And I thought for sure Christmas was ruined when 2 of the 3 didn’t work! However I looked at this forum and they r alive!! Yay!! Thank y’all soo much for posting this!

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  47. JF Picasso

    Thank you very much for your post, it worked perfectly on my wife’s 1999 Furby. Just a heads gentle push with a small Flathead screwdriver on the white corkscrew gear on the top left corner behind the beak. Amazing! Thanks again from Buenos Aires, Argentina​!

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      1. Sue Meyer

        Allen, I’m so glad you’re still looking at this post!
        I got my 1998 Furby to wake up now, but he has no voice. Any ideas?

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        1. allenhuffman Post author

          That’s not an issue I’ve encountered, but if it moves without voice, it could be as simple as a wire coming loose from a speaker inside. I don’t know the technical details of the “brains” of the Furby to know for sure, though.

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  50. Karen

    I just purchased a new Furby from eBay. Spent about 90 minutes trying to getting to work. Was just about to give up and cry (not really, but I wasn’t happy!) and then I came upon this suggestion. Thank you so much! The photo posted was extremely helpful. We used a toothpick to turn the gear. I am so happy and now can sleep in peace! 🙂

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  51. Karen

    Hi, I have another Furby which is working fine, but squeaks intermittently (usually while falling asleep). I considered using oil, but don’t want to hurt Furby. Any suggestions? Thanks!

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  52. Teana Abernathy

    Hello, I don’t know if anyone remembers seeing this in the instructions of the old furbies or not but, if a furby is not fed or goes to sleep for a long time it can be really hard to wake up. I have often brought a furby back to life by simply being more stubborn than the furby. 1. Constantly taking in and out the same new batteries. 2. Pushing the reset button while the batteries are in and out of the furby. 3. Turning and swinging the furby upside down. 4. There is no order to any of these steps just repetition of all steps. (May take many time.) 5. After the furby wakes up it is going to want to go back to sleep. Keep waking it up, feeding, swinging and playing with it until it wants to stay awake. (These steps will not work if it has been damaged some other way.)

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    1. Moshy

      Wow, it took me over an hour,and trying several different implements…small flat head screwdriver, paper clip, smallest drill bit in the box, applied a little pressure on the white plastic piece inside above the beak to the left and finally it worked. Thanks for keeping this post around!

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  56. Corey

    So my mom had an original 1998 Furby still new in box and wanted to give it to my 2 year old son (her grandson) for Christmas but when we tested it it was dead even tho it has never been played with or had batteries in it. Found out they die from just sitting. After quite a bit of searching I found this site and it did the trick. Thank u so much. My mom is so happy and now my son will be as well Christmas morning.

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  58. Snow

    Bought a furby about a month ago off of ebay and it didnt work, i want to try this method but the top bit of the beak doesnt pull down like that? im a little scared to use too much force in fear of breaking it, any suggestions?

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    1. allenhuffman Post author

      I only had the original version, so if they changed the beak mechanism I don’t know about it. I really need to dig mine out to get photos or a video. It might be the same as yours, but my instructions aren’t real clear.

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    1. allenhuffman Post author

      Does it power up? The Furby was a very clever design. It used one motor, and some kind of fancy set of gears that would open/close the eyes and the mouth, as well as do the tilt, based on where it rotated. It let them do several animations with just one motor. If it’s stuck open, the gear is probably in that position, and it should rotate back to a “home” position (mouth closed) if it still runs.

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      1. C

        I can’t get the beak to pull down enough. I have 2 dead furbys. I took one apart, he works now but keeps going to sleep. I can’t keep him awake. Any ideas how to get him to stay awake? Also before taking apart the second one, any way to get the beak down without breaking it?

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  61. obxlight

    Thank you very much! I thought I had killed him! He is one of the original year Furbys and now he is just talking away again!!!

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  62. Megan Hanley

    My daughter wanted an original furby for Christmas. Found one NIB. After she opened it and put brand new batteries in it, it just sat there doing nothing. Tried holding tongue and reset which also didn’t do it. Found the instructable you have listed above but didn’t want to get that involved. Found your post after and tried that. Mine also had the corkscrew which I turned a few times and all of a sudden he came back to life! Not sure who was more excited, Me or my daughter for having fixed it. Thank you so much for posting this!

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      1. Megan Hanley

        They ranged in price from 25 (not new or working) to 350.00 (NIB) on eBay. I then checked Facebook marketplace and got mine for 50.00 NIB. They (person selling) was local so we met in a shopping center parking lot so I didn’t have to pay shipping.

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  63. A M King

    Worked on my Easter 1998 Special Limited Edition.
    Mine had a corkscrew gear about 1/2” behind the beak. I barely touched it and Furby came to life. Thank you so much for this post. Resale value just went up

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  65. Alexandra Neal

    I have a Graduation Furby and don’t want to risk ruining it, would the same directions work for it or is there something different.

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    1. allenhuffman Post author

      I only have the original 1997 versions and do not know if they revised it. If you can easily push the beak so you can see behind it and spot a plastic screw mechanism, it likely will. But be gentle with the beak. Not sure if you can just open the mouth and look that way, but try that first since the mouth normally opens and won’t break anything.

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  66. Adrianne

    This guide was a lifesaver today when Mom & Dad needed to start up a ‘98 NRFB Furby that our tween got for Christmas. Thank you!

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      1. Pat Morse

        I think my two are maybe second/third generation. I have tried everything listed and regarding the “screw” mechanism, I don’t either visible when I put the beak down (either on the side or corkscrew in middle). Any further suggestion or a Furby repairperson I can send mine off to! Thx,

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    1. allenhuffman Post author

      Any time I go looking for something on the Internet and cannot find it, I try to post an article about what I learn in the process. I am glad it worked with your Furby!

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  68. Nicole

    Thank you so much! I’m so glad I found this article! I just bought an original 1998 tiger furby “new” in box, wanted to re-live my childhood nostalgia! Lol I got him today, put the batteries in…and nothing! I was so bummed but then I found this, flipped the beak down, twisted the white spiral screw and then he started buzzing and came to life! Working perfectly now! So happy!

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    1. allenhuffman Post author

      That is wonderful to hear! I had really hoped we’d see some video tutorials and such about this, but I am unaware of any. If I ever run across mine again, I may just have to make one. Until then, I’m glad folks find this posting.

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      1. Scott

        This site helped a ton! I just brought back to life a Furby I got for my kids. They had a lot of interest after watching ‘Mitchel’s vs The Machines’ on NetFlix (I highly recommend btw). The fix for me was turning the corkscrew gear! Thanks again!

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        1. allenhuffman Post author

          You are most certainly welcome. This article is the gift that keeps on giving. I don’t think anything I have posted online since 1995 has had this kind of staying power 😉

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  70. Scott

    I found this article and it helped me immensely! I have a 1998 Furby NIB that I took out for my kids. It needed the cork screw gear turned to bring back to life. Thank you so much for this article!

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  72. Brandy

    Here because I asked for a furby for Christmas. My husband got me a 1999 millennium furby, new in box. Opened it to find it didn’t work. Found this post tried the beak technique and seen the cork screw looking gear really far back. Was hard to see at first, but it WORKED!! AND I WAS SO DISAPPOINTED AND READY TO RETURN HIM THIS MORNING. SOOOO GLAD I FOUND THIS!! THANK YOU SO MUCH AND MERRY CHRISTMAS. 2023 and this post is still going strong. AWESOME.

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  73. Brandy

    This worked on a 1999 Millennium furby. There was a corkscrew looking mechanism in top of beak when pulled down beak. Far back. THANK YOU!!!!! You saved my Christmas.

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  74. Mrs Glenys M Brooks

    My 1998 furby hums but doesn’t do anything else. I have tried everything except skinning it and stripping it down. Trying to avoid that. Any other advise appreciated.

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    1. allenhuffman Post author

      From comments here, I have learned there was more than one design. Some folks report they did not have the spiral screw gear thing like mine has. The real question I have is what caused them to get stuck. Maybe spraying compressed air or something inside might blow out some dust or gunk. Does yours have the spiral gear?

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      1. Pat

        I have tried everything. If anyone knows/thinks they know how to “revive” my 2 Furbies, I am happy to pay to send them pay to have them sent back & pay a reasonable fee for having them fixed. Please contact me at pmorse57@gmail.com.
        Thx, Pat

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  75. Richard E Pauwels

    I love threads like this. Thank you for reviving my wife’s childhood toy. It has brought a much needed light in a difficult time for her. Grateful for the advice.

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