[rlf1]

Just upgraded to 8130 Verizon.
I�ve been using the T-Mobile Pearl for the last two years.
I am very unhappy with the 8130 Track Ball.
It seems very loose and does not roll as nicely as my old Pearl.
Feels really cheep. I can hear it rattling around while I�m speaking on the phone.
I�ve already exchanged it once.
Is this normal for the 8130 TrackBall?
Or do I need to exchange again?

[murky024]

Yup, that is the 8130 pearl for you... I have the same opinion of the Verizon phone vs. the ATT pearl I had. I think Verizon just has their phones made cheaper so they can make more money. This is just my opinion though.

If you have your old phone see if you can swap the old one out into the 8130.
I think they gave me a Curve's ball and it works much better.

[superaj]

I have no problems with my 8130 Pearl but I have nothing to compare it to. I have never used the old T-Mobile Pearl. Mine does not rattle and rolls smooth so your may be defective.

[cheppe]

I had trouble with mine being loose for about 5 months. Finally it quit scrolling up all together. I sent it off to best buy to repair and now it feels just like an 8330 track ball.

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[Berryful]

My track ball doesn't work too well, either. I bought it used, however, so I can't say how it was brand new. I assume from other posters' experiences that it was probably as loose and "cheap" feeling as it was when first bought.

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[murky024]

These things are easy to swap out. Just pull the track ball cover up from the top side of the circle. Once you get it up just try and pull it off as evening as possible. From there you can just pull the track-ball out of the socket and clean or or replace it.

If your clips on the track-ball retainer are bent it won't hold well

If your trackball is loose in the socket it wont work well either.

[Crusaders41]

I heard you can change the color of your trackball. Anyone know how to do this?

[hilmar2k]

On an 8130 you have to physically color the LED that lights it. You can do that with a marker, or some have placed a small piece of paper over it.

Lots of how-to videos on youtube.

[Zak8022]

I heard you can change the color of your trackball. Anyone know how to do this?

That is only on the original Pearl 8100.

On an 8130 you have to physically color the LED that lights it. You can do that with a marker, or some have placed a small piece of paper over it.

Lots of how-to videos on youtube.

Yep.


And to the original poster(s).... it is a known 'thing' that the 8130s from vzw (i don't recall if the Sprint ones have the same problem) have weird tracking issues. Some people refer to it as a 'gritty' trackball. What i ended up doing was replacing mine on my own, because the rest of the phone functioned normally. It was quite cheap. Here is a link to where i ordered it... many other people on the board have ordered from here in the past.

BlackBerry 81xx/83xx/88xx OEM trackball- Alcatel, Acer, HTC, Sony, Panasonic, Samsung, LG, BlackBerry, Tools, Accessories

Be aware that their shipping isn't the fastest since they are overseas. That is the only downside, but their product is great.

[luvitlo]

Mine was loose too I ordered some new ones and swapped it out the new one is tight and smooth rolling. You may want to try that, but these trackballs are cheap you may go threw 5 before you find a perfect one.

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[kentcy]

Yeah. I didn't know mine was as bad as it was until my friend (who has an 8100) used my phone. She let me check the feel of the 8100 trackball and it was so much smoother. I took my phone back to us cellular and they swapped it out but I still have a gritty old trackball. I've tried to clean it but that didn't work. I'm just dealing with it.

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[michele454rocket]

I have 4 blackberry 8130's on my account with BELL and they all have trackball issues! : (

[michele454rocket]

P.S. I still love my blackberry...since I've updated to 4.5 there are less issues...but the trackball is a PITA...I'll put up with it til I get the STORM then NO MORE TRACKBALL! : )

[Reparkable]

I've heard rumours the new 'atomic' trackball in the new Curve 8900's might be backwards compatible with current berries. I'm interested to see if this is true because this atomic trackball is supposed to be amazing and doesn't allow grit to get in.

[tingram97]

I have a 8130 from Verizon. I have went through 3 phones and eight track balls all in the last 6 months. I am so tired of this phone messing up every couple of week. Any suggestions of what I need to do?

[Flimmy]

I had two 8830's before I got my pearl and out of the three, pearl has the best trackball.

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[onebad08titan]

I'm having the same problem with my 8130. The original ball had gotten real loose and was rattling when I talked on the phone and felt grity. I ordered a red trackball from some place out of hongkong on ebay and although it fits tight it has that real un-smooth, gritty feeling and I hate it. My wife has a BB curve and hers is as smooth as butter and I love it. Can I buy a trackball for a curve and put in it? Or is it a problem with the 8130 pearl phone itself? This ball actually makes it annoying to play on my phone which sucks because it's an awsome phone short of that.