alright so my blackberry was doing the same thing i have the curve. what i did was i took out the trackball and under it the orange part that clicks i just rested a piece of paper ontop or now a thin piece of plastic works fine again. dont be scared to take out the trackball its not hard and will not ruin your phone just clicks right back in

My Curve had the same issue too (after a day of skiing - I'm an idiot.) In addition to the trackball not clicking, holding down alt or shift for a number/capital letter wouldn't work, and typing in general was slower (key presses were missed.)

I fixed it by removing the trackball, removing the copper colored piece on the circuit board that the "spoon" makes contact with, and then cleaning the contact underneath of that with a pencil eraser. I didn't see any, but there must have been a bit of corrosion there as now all of the functions work again! (I'm not sure how the keyboard ties into the trackball, but in this issue it does.) To reassemble, stick the copper piece back on (like a sticker) and reassemble the trackball and trim ring.

Pulling off the copper piece takes a bit of work, but go at a corner very carefully with an x-acto knife (or something very thin/blade-like) and slide underneath of it, and then use tweezers to remove it the rest of the way. (It's like a sticker.) Be careful not to cut the copper piece or lose it once it's out of the phone as replacements aren't available, so you'd have to find another BB to swap a new one from if yours is lost.

This is the correct procedure to follow if your trackball click function is lost. I have performed it quite a few times on multiple berry's and have had success every time. What happens sometimes is moisture can get into the contact's housing which causes some corrosion. By prying up the tape slightly exposing the contact, you can clean the corrosion with a small blade. What I have had the most trouble with is with the resetting of the contact into the housing. It can take multiple tries to get the contact to sit it the perfect position so that the edges make contact with the side contacts and the center of the button is able to touch the center contact upon depression. Be very careful when cleaning the contact itself with alcohol because if you do not allow enough time for the alcohol to dry, your contact will again become corroded and not function correctly. I would love to post a step by step instruction on this procedure but I do not have a high resolution camera to take pictures.

EDIT: I have found a nice guide by member CrackBerryHead that details the procedure: http://www.audsound.net/_share/bbtb_select_fix.pdf

Before I read this thread, I ripped the copper contact tape trying to clean it. Anyone know where I can find a replacement or an alternative? Thanks!

i think the leather case they give with the phone in the beginning is rim's solution to prevent this from happening. ;) . this has happened to me and i regret not using the case

Clear tape, not too thick, should do the trick.

I actually did that a while ago and forgot to post my results. I used regular clear tape and it worked like a charm. Thanks!

Absolutely hilarious, I just wrung my blackberry's neck and it too started to respond. You are the man dude. I was wondering forever what the hell happened, it would just periodically click when I pushed hard. . . but now that I squeezed it (length wise) it's working good as new.

So glad you posted this guide.
Had my Blackberry in my jeans all day without the little case that I usually use (I somehow lost it in my bed last night while sleeping, found it now though) and didn't think anything would come of it. Get home after 8 hours of work, and it won't click! Popped that little guy off and cleaned it, and stuck it back on (which was a pain) and works perfect now.
I'm worrying what the next self-repair I'm gonna have to do will be.

Thanks to all that have posted here.

Before I actually try removing this square copper film I just want to clarify something.

Are we talking about the actualy PHYSICAL CLICK that the trackball does when you press it "in"? Or are we just talking about the ability for the trackcall to execute the "select" command when pressing it "in".

In my case (Pearl) the PHYSICAL CLICK is missing. I can still "select" by pressing "in" on the ball, but that physical click isn't there anymore.

To be clear I'm talking about something that is non-electronic. That is to say that even if the power is off and the battery is out, every trackball should still have that physical "click" when you press it in. It's a phycial "spring" felling or something that physically pushed the track ball back up once depressed. This is what I'm talking about.

So will the removal and cleaning of this square copper film repair that physical resistance that you should get when you press the trackball down? Or is this just to fix the inability of the trackball to "select" whatever is on the screen at the time?

I'm interested in how to fix the physical click...that is now missing from my Pearl.

I actually had the physical "click" but it just didn't work (most of the time). I took my phone to www . bb repair shop . com and they replaced the copper pad for me. But if you don't have the click, then your problem might be with the ball itself? Have you tried replacing that - they are relatively cheap...
I don't know what your (financial) situation is, but if you can spare the $, just take/ship the phone to the BB repair guys, I found them to be very honest and wonderful to work with.

If your trackball wont click at all check this video out that shows you how to fix it.

If your trackball wont click at all check this video out that shows you how to fix it.

@Raptor464: This is what solved my problem! Thank you so much for posting this solution. I was getting ready to throw my BB against the wall.

Thank you thank you!!

my trackball 'click' started acting up over the weekend and I was getting rather upset. I saw the copper tab under there and thought that could be the problem but had no idea what to do. I read and followed your post and now it works again!

Got mine working with the link from above showing how to clean under the ball!

It works now. I have to click it harder than normal, but it does work!

For the record, you can also buy replacement trackballs on ebay for $4/ea. I replace mine every 6 mos or so - thats usually when they start to act up, cleaning them has never worked for me. And for $4 - why bother cleaning it when you can get a nice new one for cheap!

That won't fix the select issue when you get corrosion under the contact.... but I'm with you. I replace my frequently, can't stand a dirty looking ball!

E-

I followed your instructions on how to clean under the contact and it worked like a charm. Using a knife to scrape the corrosion off seems to work better than a cotton swab with rubbing alcohol.

Thanks for the help.

[quote=Raptor464;1330107]This is the correct procedure to follow if your trackball click function is lost. I have performed it quite a few times on multiple berry's and have had success every time. What happens sometimes is moisture can get into the contact's housing which causes some corrosion. By prying up the tape slightly exposing the contact, you can clean the corrosion with a small blade. What I have had the most trouble with is with the resetting of the contact into the housing. It can take multiple tries to get the contact to sit it the perfect position so that the edges make contact with the side contacts and the center of the button is able to touch the center contact upon depression. Be very careful when cleaning the contact itself with alcohol because if you do not allow enough time for the alcohol to dry, your contact will again become corroded and not function correctly. I would love to post a step by step instruction on this procedure but I do not have a high resolution camera to take pictures.



I tried the CrackBerryHead procedure that you posted and followed all the instructions. When I strated up my phone again and clicked on the trackball the click was more of a click, it pushed deeper but it still didn't register as a click on the phone. So although it would seem that it works better by the way pushing the trackball feels (and sounds) I am still stuck with the same problem...
Any ideas?