I've had an 8310 for a little over a month. One day the trackball would not function correctly...I could navigate, but the "click" feature will not work.

I took the trackball out, cleaned the mechanism and inside with air and nothing. I also swabbed some rubbing alcohol on the ball as I've read in some posts and also no results. I also put the trackball from an 8800 in there and it also did not function.

Is there some setting I may have hit somewhere to disable the click feature? I am getting annoyed with having to navigate with the trackball and then hit enter or menu to be able to proceed.

This is my fifth BlackBerry and I'm becoming very impatent with the company. As they add more features, they are becoming more and more unreliable. I may just return to my 7290 again and forget about all the bells and whistles.

Thanks!

go to Setting>screen/keyboard> scroll down to the bottom and set audible roll to "click"

Thanks--I did change that and still nothing. I press and hold down the trackball and it will not select what I clicked on.

I think the OP is referring to pushing on the trackball to select something, not the audible click sound made when the trackball is rolled.

There is no setting for this. If it doesn't work it's likely a hardware issue and you will need to have the device repaired or replaced.

you could try this:

BlackBerry 81xx/83xx/88xx OEM trackball- LG, Alcatel, SonyEricsson, NEC, Tools, Motorola, BlackBerry, Accessories Store,

Well since you already seem brave enough to yank the trackball out (and since you cannot select you really have nothing to lose unless you are under warranty (I that case run don't walk to the nearest store)... Ok (AFTER removing the battery), remove the trackball and under it you will see what looks somewhat like a copper "spoon" this piece presses down on a contact to perform the "enter" function. GENTLY pry it up so that you can see under it. You might see some green corrosion. You can use a knife or small flathead to gently scrap it off (both the bottom side of the "spoon" and the contact below. Blow some compressed air when you are done install the trackball and give it a shot.

Let me know!

E-

I have had this problem occur 2-3 times since I have had my Curve. I tried many things - removing/cleaning the trackball numerous times, messing with the "copper spoon" as Thatzmister2 mentions above, full power off (battery removal) many times, even procured and installed a whole new trackball assembly - and none these worked. BUT what did seem to clear it up was when I "tweaked" the unit somewhat - i.e. wrangling it's neck, so to speak - by grabbing it length-wise in both hands and the clicking function started working again. This sounds crazy, but after exhausting all I could think of, I assumed something was wrong internally and had nothing to lose. Since the episodes of the of the non-functional clicking came about only after I would have my Curve in my jeans pocket while doing chores/work around the house, maybe the unit got messed up during that activity. I now only carry the unit in the holster and the clicking issue has not occurred again.

rojocrandall...you hit the nail on the head! It stopped working properly on a day when I had it in my jeans pocket!

I did try the squeeze method and so far it has worked a couple of times. Thanks!

Thatzmister2u, I did try your method, but it didn't work.

Thanks all for offering assistance!

Good to hear...

Hi rojocrandall, I´m having the exact same issue after having my Curve in my jean pocket. What do you mean by tweaking it?

I´ve tried holding the neck like you said and tried to move it around, but nothing... this is so frustrating

thanks!

Yeah I'm having this issue too. Mine was bought off of ebay but it was supposed to be in mint condition. My trackball will navigate but when selecting something i have to press it realllly hard in order for anything to be selected. i cleaned the ball and everything but it still isnt working. rojocrandall what do you mean by wrangling it? could you demonstrate with pictures or something?

it stopped functioning properly after a long day in my (tight) jeans!
I tried to bend the BB "outward" and this seemed to help a little bit.

I bought a new trackball while troubleshooting this problem. what about taking the metal handle from the old trackball (the part that makes contact with the copper pad on the BB motherboard) and glueing it onto the new trackball - thus increasing it's width.

has anyone tried this?
Brad

I've been having this same problem, but none of the 'cures' have worked for me. I guess I'll just see if they can fix it at the store where I bought it. Does anyone know if insurance will cover this?

One thing to try rather than prying up the contact switch is putting something on the bottom of the trackball. If you pull the trackball and the contact switch is springy if you press it with something pointy, then the contact switch isn't the problem.

I added a small piece of plastic to the underside of the trackball, held with a small piece of scotch tape. Pictures attached.

There's a slight circular bump in the metal on the bottom of the trackball housing. The edge of it is just barely visible underneath the plastic in the blurry picture. The piece of plastic just adds to the bump without having to physically bend the metal.

Don't use anything too thick or it will put constant pressure on the switch. I used one of those fake credit cards that comes in credit card offers. Pretty clumsy cutting, but although it's too big, it worked.

This advice worked!

I had the exact same thing happen. Had the phone in the back pocket of my jeans when playing fooseball. .....twist it like your wringing out a wet sponge. Thanks Alot! Who would have thought!

The problem is not in the trackball, but in the contact on the motherboard (at least in my unit it was). I had an old pearl laying around so I cannibalized it for parts. It's a pretty simple fix but it requires patience, a q-tip, some rubbing alcohol, and a pair of pointed tweezers.

When you remove your trackball you see a raised square that is covered with a piece of copper colored tape (of the same size). That tape secures the convex contact that is responsible for making the "click" sound and providing the feedback when the trackball is pressed. The problem is that sometimes these become worn out and lose their elasticity. Solution? Replace the contact.

Like I said before, I had to remove this part from an old phone I had laying around. I couldn't find this particular part anywhere on the net. Test to make sure your spare part makes the click sound before you remove it and put it in your new(er) phone. Here's how it works:

Take the batteries out of both phones. Remove both trackballs and use a q-tip and some alcohol to make sure the parts are clean. Remove the contact in the scrap phone by taking a pair of pointed tweezers and working the edge until you get a corner up enough to grab hold and peel away from the motherboard (note the orientation of the part relative to the rest of the phone before removing). Be careful not to tear the tape or damage the part when removing. The contact (small circular convex metal piece in the center) should remain intact with the tape.

Assuming you have a usable replacement, remove the damaged one from the other unit in the same manner and set aside. Using your tweezers, position the working contact in the exact same position as the old. Make sure that the edges are flush and square on the motherboard. When you think it looks right, take the dry side of the q-tip and press all around the edges to help the residual glue to adhere.

Replace the trackball, retaining clip, and chrome o-ring and give it a press. It should feel exactly how you remember. Replace the battery, turn the phone on and cross your fingers Mine worked perfectly - hopefully yours turns out the same.

PS. This is the same part in both the pearl and the curve, no worries.

Don't eat chips and then prior to wiping your hands (of the salt) use your BB. I freaked out at lunch one day. It took a while to work the grit out.

WooHoo! I may have found a solution to this. I had my Bold in my pocket last night and this morning the trackball stopped clicking. It worked fine for a few hours and then nothing. I had to hit "enter" to get anything to select. I was about to resign myself to calling for a warranty exchange. Instead, I blew some compressed air in the trackball while flicking it and clicking it rapidly. It works perfectly now. It may have been lint or some other debris.

Good luck to the other clicker challenged!

Let us all learn from this...

Blackberry in jeans pocket leads to a trackball that does not want to work properly. I now will no longer throw it in my pocket at work.

Thanks for this insight.

i never put it into my jean pocket. but i do put it in my coat pocket. is this a problem?

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?