I dropped my 1 week old BB Curve today!!! :(

Well, now the followings keys no longer work:

z (7), c (9), n, m and the spacebar...

I have taken it to a service repair center who are not BB authorised (there are no BB authorised service centers in south Africa), they cannot fix it... Any ideas?

The parts that are needed?

Please HELP.

Thanks!!

Wirelessly posted (8300: BlackBerry8300/4.2.2 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102)

Can you do use the initial 1yr manufactures warranry? Contact Rim directly.

If there is obvious physical damage to the keyboard 8300 - Sony, Acer, Samsung, NEC, HTC, Panasonic, Alcatel, Tools, SonyEricsson, Accessor will carry it soon.

You might try disassembling the 8300 slightly to see if anything is misaligned with the instructions here: YouTube - Blackberry Curve 8300 Screen Removal & Take Apart

If the 'motherboard' of the 8300 is damaged you will most likely need to replace the whole phone. I dont know of any place selling them.

the problem is that I took it to a service center here and they opened it... So I assume, I've now lost the warranty...

Just call RIM and explain that it was dropped. You don't have to bring up the fact that it was ever opened.

Surely they'll see its been opened though?

I'm not sure what the guys tried inside it, they may have soldered etc... so I would assume that they would see its been opened and therefore not repair it under warranty...

Let RIM tell you No, dont say it for them. At worst you might have to pay shipping.

Physical damage to a device is not covered by warrenty.

I would like to try send the device to a service repair center, however, I'd like to wipe the handheld before doing so - PROBLEM - I cannot type blackberry in the field as some of those keys dont work...

Is there an override??

There is an option in Desktop Manager to do a device wipe. Here is the link and directions from AT&T. I will work for any carrier.
Support | AT&T
Master Reset via BlackBerry Desktop Manager
If the device's keyboard has failed or unable to perform a master reset on the RIM BlackBerry, perform the reset via Application Loader.
WARNING: Proceed with caution. A master reset will result in the loss of ALL user data! It is recommended to perform a backup of the RIM BlackBerry data.

Verify the latest version of Desktop Manager and Handheld software is installed on the user's PC.
If software update is needed, download and install the latest versions of software.
Connect the RIM BlackBerry to the user's PC.
Start the BlackBerry Desktop Manager.
Click Application Loader.


Follow the onscreen prompts until reaching the "Completing the Application Loader Wizard" screen.
Instead of clicking "Finish" click Advanced.
Check both check boxes to "Erase all application data" and "Erase currently installed applications". Click Next.
A status window appears. The RIM BlackBerry is being updated.
IMPORTANT: Do not disconnect the RIM BlackBerry from the desktop computer until the process is complete.
A confirmation message will appear once the loading process is complete. Click Close.