1. linden122's Avatar
    Anyone know how to fix or maybe even clean the roller ball for the Blackberry 9000 Bold. Need help.
    01-27-09 01:23 PM
  2. BlackBerryBob's Avatar
    Anyone know how to fix or maybe even clean the roller ball for the Blackberry 9000 Bold. Need help.
    A good way to clean the trackball is to rub some rubbing alcohol on the ball with your finger. DO NOT use a q-tip. It's a good idea to do this often. If it's not moving at all, use a can of compressed air and shoot a couple of shots into the assembly. Becareful and don't put the air too close, it may do some damage.

    If you plan on taking the trackball assembly apart, you may want to purchase a backup first. They are a #$%! to put back together. (at least mine was)
    01-27-09 01:28 PM
  3. pakman92's Avatar
    cnn.cn has a video on taking the phone apart to get to the trackball. If you are brave enough, you may want to give it a try.
    01-27-09 02:51 PM
  4. bubba_84120's Avatar
    I trimmed a drinking straw so there was a 1/4" "finger" at the end. That fit down inside very well and got the gunk out.

    Here's to hoping for the fancy optical pad soon!
    Shakytom likes this.
    07-07-09 02:09 PM
  5. jasonlitka's Avatar
    What I do is take an LCD monitor wipe, let it sit out and dry for a few seconds to the point where it doesn't drip after a mild squeeze, turn my phone upside down, and then rub the wipe over the ball. This way the little bit of liquid on the wipe doesn't get inside the phone.
    07-07-09 02:42 PM
  6. gbuhler's Avatar
    I trimmed a drinking straw so there was a 1/4" "finger" at the end. That fit down inside very well and got the gunk out.

    Here's to hoping for the fancy optical pad soon!
    this worked FABULOUS!!! Thank you.
    10-24-09 10:04 PM
  7. K1drobt's Avatar
    If it doesn't move in a direction, press down on the trackball all the way down firmly and roll it around in every direction. This would cause the piece of lint or whatever to be dislodge
    10-24-09 10:33 PM
  8. bberry726's Avatar
    I trimmed a drinking straw so there was a 1/4" "finger" at the end. That fit down inside very well and got the gunk out.

    Here's to hoping for the fancy optical pad soon!
    I can't thank you enough for suggesting this! I was about an inch away from my bold with a screwdriver ready to rip it apart and the straw idea was a miracle!
    02-15-10 05:11 PM
  9. ckeller07's Avatar
    I'm impressed. I was about to go to drcellphone.

    30 secs w/ a straw - and it's fixed. A piece of soda straw goes in my travelbag.

    Thanks
    02-27-10 11:07 AM
  10. c5karl's Avatar
    Another endorsement of the straw method: I tried alcohol swabs, and that only seemed to make the trackball angry. But the straw method worked like a charm. Thanks for the tip!
    03-09-10 12:52 PM
  11. MrObvious's Avatar
    There is a thread on how to use a paper strip in the Tour section. I tried it and it worked great.
    03-09-10 02:40 PM
  12. Starchest's Avatar
    I am not a native english speaker, can someone please explain the straw method to me?
    03-09-10 05:18 PM
  13. HyTrojan's Avatar
    +10 on the "Straw Method". My Bold 9000 has love for me again.
    03-12-10 11:52 AM
  14. Snock's Avatar
    I am not a native english speaker, can someone please explain the straw method to me?
    I trimmed a drinking straw so there was a 1/4" "finger" at the end. That fit down inside very well and got the gunk out.

    Here's to hoping for the fancy optical pad soon!
    03-12-10 12:07 PM
  15. luqman24's Avatar
    Or u can push down your trackball and roll it at the same time. Works for me

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    03-20-10 01:01 AM
  16. Stixy's Avatar
    OMG!!! Thank You Bubba_84120 & BlackberryBob!!! The combined techniques using the Drinking Straw & Cleaning with Alcohol by Finger Method are GENIUS!!! The TB on my 8320, has been stuck for 9 months! T-Mo was useless on numerous occasions, as usual. They only warned against voiding my warranty, if taken apart. My TB wouldn't scroll down (only), but was Really jammed! I took quite a while, although I noticed some lint coming out of it. (I used to wipe it with a good cleaning cloth a few times a day). But, it was still stuck & the integrity of the straw was giving out. So, I figured, since my useless warranty was up 2 1/2 weeks ago, WTF? What can I do.... Break it More? So, I got a new piece of straw & got a little more aggressive w/ the cleaning. Then the strangest thing happened! The straw got stuck! When I pulled it straight out, the Entire TB Mechanism came out w/ No Damage (that I know of)! I cleaned it all with alcohol & it Works LIKE NEW!!! Now, I just have to figure out how to replace the ring, w/o breaking the clips! How difficult can THAT be? I'm Totally Blown Away!!! Thanks Again!!!
    03-20-10 09:26 PM
  17. SkySoldier's Avatar
    Wow! Using the straw works great! I couldn't believe how much lint I was able to take out. Kinda like a belly button. Thanks for the tip as the trackball is really my only gripe about my 9000.
    03-21-10 11:21 PM
  18. Ctrl_Alt_Del's Avatar
    I'm just out of luck here. I tried the straw trick, the semi-wet wipe, the paper under the ball, alcohol, rolling it hard when pressing it down...they all failed. It still sticks when rolling down and to the left. Up and right are just fine.

    So...this is my second Tour and my refurb is on the way. That'll make two Tours within 9 months all for the same reason.

    I try my best to never touch it without making sure my thumb is clean first. With all that cleaning I did with the straw, the wipes and so forth, nothing came out. No dirt, no lint...nothing. Even though my present refurb was built long after the first round of trackball failures was fixed, the second Tour failed within 3 months. Not a very good track record.

    So...I await patiently for the Tour2/Bold whatever it's called, because of the trackpad. I believe that'll fix the issue of the scrolling device on the Berry's. After all, we all know about the track record of the old computer mouse where the rollers inside the mouse gets dirty and it sticks. Today's mouse is optical and those never have issues.

    I know those are built differently, but work on the same principal. No rollers to gather dirt and what-not, just smooth scrolling.
    03-22-10 12:05 AM
  19. GoombaKing's Avatar
    Yeah, I can't wait for the trackpad tour!
    03-25-10 08:47 PM
  20. smz's Avatar
    it works!! the straw tricks.. my track ball wont budged to the left at all just now.. now its working.. that's why i love crackberry!!!
    06-03-10 10:45 PM
  21. hondapro's Avatar
    I did the straw thing and it made it worse wat I did was pull the ring out and then pull the ball and its compartment out. I GENTLY took the compartment apart by removing the back piece and then u find urself with the front side the back side the ball and four magnetic rollers clean the rollers good and put everything back together carefully and ur trackball will be GOODMONEY lol

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    07-28-10 06:40 AM
  22. robbed's Avatar
    I tried the straw 'finger' and I'm afraid it didn't work for me ... but then I realised that the whole straw was exactly the diameter of the rollerball. So I fed down the uncut end, swivelled it a few times and ... magic! The whole straw thing is such a clever idea.
    scooby125 likes this.
    08-12-10 07:04 PM
  23. escrowkelly's Avatar
    The straw trick worked great! Thanks!
    09-14-10 06:29 PM
  24. thymes01's Avatar
    Simple solution that worked for me - no assembly required!
    I wiped a 'Wet One' back and forth across the roller ball and it became 'unstuck' very quickly. No tools - no mess.
    09-28-10 11:21 AM
  25. fgumo's Avatar
    I'm not really good at messing with hardware, but I was able to replace the trackball on my 9000 quite easily. Just make a search on Youtube for a detailed tutorial and order a new trackball on eBay. They are quiet cheap and can come with the tools needed (for less than $10 I got the trackball and the tool). Just be careful and don't force things. After you've done it it's like having a new BB.
    10-04-10 07:46 PM
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