So I was doing some digging on why my trackball performance had started to degrade over the last few months and how I could fix it; I assumed it had gotten pretty grimy under there. After searching for information on the best way to clean it I found several forum threads on numerous sites all of which had pictures either missing, or too small to see any real detail.

I followed the instructions on a thread I had found here and took pictures along the way as a way of "giving back" something. So here they are as well as with more detailed instructions.

The images below are thumbnails which link to images that have been resized to 800x533. If you follow the link you can then click on them again for images that are 3456x2304. I have also watermarked them with the BlackBerry Forums image so no other sites rip them off.

Step 1:



Take a small screwdriver, your thumbnail, or any instrument small enough to pry off the trackball faux chrome plastic cover. Do this gently and carefully, it's lightweight plastic so you don't want to break it.

Step 2:



Look at all of the pocket lint and other nasty bits hanging around the outer edge of your trackball assembly.

Step 3:



Carefully pry up the small metallic retaining clip that sits over, and holds tightly in place, the trackball assembly. Be very careful with this ring, it's very small and you wouldn't want to misplace it. Also, this clip bends pretty easily, make sure you don't pinch it oddly and fold it in half, I don't think it would survive being bent straight again.

Step 4:



Remove the trackball assembly. If you have a magnetic tip screwdriver you can place the tip on the assembly and it will attract the magnetic rollers. The assembly is actually stuck to the screwdriver in this pic.

Step 5:



Carefully set your trackball assembly aside. Note the metal tab appears to be pointing down, this is the side that should be towards the keypad, or lower half of the phone when putting it back in.

Step 6:



Get some alcohol and a Q-tip and some canned air if you've got it. Use the canned air on the phone and then swab the internals with your Q-tip. You should have a small amount of alcohol on the Q-tip, do not soak it. Then hit the internals with the canned air one more time to get rid anything that was dislodged by the swabbing, and dry any residual alcohol. Also swab the trackball assembly itself, and hit it with the air to dry.

Step 7:



Note the grime on the Q-tip and think "What the hell is in my pockets?"

Step 8:



Make sure your internals are dry and just check them out in general. LEDs are laid out as follows: Upper Left = Green, Upper Right = Red, Lower Left = Blue, Lower Right = White. The copper pad in the center is the select pad when you depress the trackball.

Step 9:



Reassemble the trackball. Place the assembly itself in with the two side tabs on the left and right, also you want the bottom of the assembly to have the aforementioned "tab" pointing down. Then place the small metal retaining clip into place with the tabs to the top and bottom. Gently press this into place with your screwdriver tip and you will feel it click.

Step 10:



Place the faux chrome plastic trackball housing over the assembly with the tabs facing left, right, and down. Gently press this into place with your thumbnail. I recommend putting the bottom tab into place first and then pressing. I do not recommend using the screwdriver to push this into place as you may scratch the plastic. You're Done!


I wouldn't do this too often or you may accidentally break the assembly or one of the retaining clips, though it doesn't hurt if your trackball is already broken, or functioning erratically. If you do happen to break something or are too timid to try the above, you can always buy replacement parts at bbrepairshop.com. I haven't used them personally, but they do have the parts.

Anyway, I hope this is helpful and good luck to you.

Mods. This is a GREAT right up! Worth of it's own place! (of course you can buy a new one for $9.99 but still!)

E-

Agreed! This will work on any trackball model BB. The other models are short the small metal retaining ring but all is the same.

Stuck thread.

One of the best first posts I've seen. Thank you!

Are the pictures gone already, or is it just me?

It's not just you. My web host is moving my site to another server today. Of course the site uptime has been several years and a few days after I post these pics they decide to shift me to another server. They'll be back in a few hours.

I'm sure you have all figured this out already but.....the above mentioned cleaning method will only work for most dirty trackball issues. I recently had to disassemble mine completely in order to clean it. there are four tiny rollers with magnets under the trackball. you can remove the bottom plastic retainer to expose and clean them. just be careful to remember how the rollers and magnets are positioned when you reassemble them otherwise the ball will track in the wrong direction. example: when you scroll up the result will be a scroll to the right btw there was a bit of lint in the rollers that would not have been removed by the standard cleaning method.

Additional information on cleaning, and pictures:
http://www.blackberryforums.com/gene...pic-guide.html

im having trouble completing step 10. please help!:oops

Hi guys,

I have a white blackberry pearl 8100 and the track ball has turned dark exactly like the pictures of the ball above from "Grifter801" (btw, your thread was awesome =) ) Anyways, i want to order a new ball but some do not come with the retaining clip. Will i still be able to replace it without one or can i use the one i have from the original ball? Also, as the above pictures/thread shows, can i replace the ball just like that or do i have to take the whole phone apart? After seeing this thread, i didn't realize you could take the ball out without taking the phone apart.

Awaiting anyones reply!

thanks!:

The trackball assembly comes out without any other disassembly.

If you are careful you should be able to use the same old retaining clip.

Thanks for this post! I'm away from home for several weeks and last night my trackball stopped moving right. I followed you guide (I'm lucky and have the newer style "chrome" ring) and now it's working great! The only tools I used was my fingernail and a tiny swiss army knife (it has a small set of tweezers).

i've been forced to do this cleaning procedure every few weeks since getting my pearl. it stops rolling in one of the directions quite frequently

recently, i've had to take the trackball assembly apart to actually clean the little magnetic rollers

apparently RIM didn't remember the horrors of old 'ball' mice, and the grime that would collect within them during regular use

usually locking the device, pressing down and rolling firly in the direction that the ball gets stuck will work for this. that or blowing air into the assembly.

It should be noted that even after soaking the trackball itself in alcohol overnight, it still will never become perfectly clear again. It's like the dirt has gotten deep into the core of the ball.

I just got my Blackberry Pearl from Verizon and am pleased with the coverage, clarity, etc. but several people I have talked to say it seems loud when I talk. Is it me, or can it be adjusted on the phone?

Wrong section

Check to see if the enhanced volume is turned on.

oh and welcome to the forums.

thats why I colored my led so it doesnt look as dirty lol

Great Post, easy to understand and follow.

I wish someone would make a crystal clear trackball.

another excellent post

how would i get around dissasembling the whole keypad? I want to see what the problem is (See my thread called Keypad problem)

This is great! I was looking for the best way to do this I was trying the old Q-tip and Alcohol trick... alot of props to this post thanks



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Great tutorial but I would like to add a few comments to it if I may.

- Before attempting to clean your trackball shut the phone off and remove the battery so you don’t risk shorting out anything on the exposed sensors located under the trackball when you remove it.

EDIT: Just realized that there is indeed a metal clip on the older style Pearls but not on the newer ones.- After removing the plastic chrome ring from around the trackball, you do not need to remove the metal retaining ring located around the trackball. The whole assembly should just pop out by turning the phone around. The metal ring only holds the trackball in the white “cage” that also holds the rollers in place. If you need to remove the retaining ring to clean the rollers and ball, take out the assembly first and then remove the metal clip from the sides of the cage assembly. You’ll see the clips that hold the ring on, just gently pry them away front the plastic cage.

- Yes, the little black rollers are magnets which interact with the small magnetic proximity sensors inside the phone. Unfortunately after cleaning them with Alcohol you remove the very small amount of lubrication that is on them. Since the magnets come into close contact with the sensors, it will sometimes prevent the magnets from rotating hence the reason why some people have to keep repeating this cleaning procedure almost on a weekly basis or the cleaning just doesn’t work for them.

After cleaning the track ball by using this guide, before popping the track ball back into your phone, get a clean Q-Tip and a can of Dry Silicone lubricating spray. Do not use WD-40 or any other type of spray lube, use only dry Silicone spray as this stuff will dry (so it won’t drip) and leaving a lubricated surface. Spray some of it onto the Q-Tip, shake the Q-Tip out to remove any excess then gently and lightly apply the lubricant directly to the 4 magnetic rollers ONLY. Do not apply it to the actual trackball, only the black magnets. Also, don't use to much of it just enough to "dampen" the black magnets.

Once done re-assemble and rotate the track ball around to dispers the lubricant, you may find that you will have to apply another coating of lubricant after this step, just repeat (don't clean it) the lubrication step.

I've done this to my blackberry and afterwards, it works better then new.

helped A LOT THANKS!

Posts: 4
Join Date: May 2008
Model: 8100
PIN: N/A
Carrier: ATT Pearl vs. Curve Trackball - Today, 05:39 PM

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I have a Pearl and recently purchased a Curve on ebay to see if I would like the QWERTY better. The trackball on the Pearl has "travel" and clicks when you press down on it(like pressing a button. The Curve trackball has no downward play and no click or any response tactully when you push it, it does work and execute the choice, but you don't know you did anything till you see the screen.
I thought it was defective and bought an OEM replacement which is supposed to be for the Curve or Pearl, it functions in the same way however.
Is this normal for the Curve!
Thanks for Your help.
Rolech

*SO* not necessary!! Just get a lint-free cloth with some rubbing alcohol! Work the ball around, esp in the direction it's not wanting to go -- you will find the alcohol will eliminate whatever goo may have clogged the ball. **NO** disassembly reqd and I swear i've done this several times and it works 10000 billion percent.

Your ball will be as good as new :D

Well, if the ball has no "click" when pressing down on it then the actual contact on the circuit board has lost it's "snap." You have a defective device.

Edit: just noticed the post above is almost a month old.

@mulberry, sometimes removing the trackball is necessary for cleaning or replacing and this is a good tutorial.

Thanks for the tutorial, worked great for me

doesnt explain how to clean the sensors tho ? :(

Sooo funny to read this post!! Us crackberry users are all the same! I have tried everything noted above to clean the actual ball. It will never look good again so I did the same... Piece of coloured plastic right over the led.

thanks this was helpful

i clean the damn trackball about once a week hahaha

grubby bastard.. lol

Great tutorial, thanks for your dedication on uploading screenies also

I Have Done This

nice. great writeup!

did anyone reload their software to get the trackball functioning again?

this was the first thing i had to do to my pearl when i got it after breaking my last phone.

felt like the previous owner had dropped the thing in a box of sand when moving the trackball. some alcohol swabs and a can of air later, feels great.

just note how things came out, will make reassembly much easier.

Brilliant, thanks.

i have black trackball too..... i hate it lol