Replacing Blackberry 9900 keyboard

Hey guys, Im thinking about replacing my blackberry keyboard - (NOT the trackpad), because the only dodgy thing is a part where the top buttons are (menu, back, etc) because a side has cracked very slightly and it makes a little creaking sound every time I press a button and is pretty much annoying.... I was wondering if it's possible to just replace the top row without touching the whole keyboard? Because in all the reviews I find, they all remove keyboard + the trackpad altogether. But I only want to replace the top row, and if not the whole keyboard, is there any way?
Also, here is a link on eBay of the keyboard I was thinking of buying... what is your opinion?
Genuine Blackberry Bold 9900 9930 Black UK Keypad QWERTY Keyboard Buttons | eBay
Thank you

Well, I'm not sure why you wouldn't want to replace the entire thing since its all one piece but the short answer is you need to replace the entire thing. The good news is its very easy to swap out the keypad. The 9900 is the easiest model to work on that I have ever seen.

Might wanna get some Torx drivers and a plastic pry bar while your at it.

Oh, almost forgot, you can find videos on YouTube showing you how to disassemble the phone and exactly what tools you need. I usually pause the videos and go step by step.

You should just replace the entire keyboard. I got a white 9900 and was trying to get the top row of call/menu/back/end call to be more flat, so I did something dumb...I detached the keyboard and used Krazy Glue and ended up getting the top row STUCK to the clickable surface underneath.

So I bought an OEM keyboard on eBay, it was like $8 and it came with the plastic prying tool. You will need a Torx T5 screw driver too. It's really simple to do, and the only reason I suggest replacing the entire keyboard is because the trackpad is connected to the keyboard and you might end up messing it up if you try and detach your current trackpad and using it with your new keyboard buttons.

YouTube had a great video on the disassembly of the 9900. You just put the pryer tool into that small microphone slit, to the right of your cellphone provider logo on the front bottom of your phone. That little piece is stuck on there using an adhesive, it's basically like one long sticker haha. Then you use the T5 screwdriver to unscrew the 2 screws (one will have a white dot on it, it's just a water damage indicator paper). Then you use the screwdriver to pry the keyboard off in the little hole in the plastic on the lower left side, and the keyboard wiggles out, but you gotta be careful to not pull it too hard because of the connector cable.

So if you get an entire new keyboard and trackpad, it's way easy because you just use the prying tool to undo the cable (YouTube search "Bold 9900 Teardown instructions" it's by DirectFix). Then you just attach your new keyboard's connector cable, snap the keyboard into place, screw the screws in, put the little sticky part at the bottom back, and you're good to go!!


EDIT: I attached a picture of the back of one of my old keyboards. The black zigzagging thing is the connector cable, and you can see that the trackpad is pretty snugly attached to the keyboard :)

I recently turned my bold white...and I definately agree here. Replace the whole keyboard unit, not just the keyboard. If you do just the keyboard, you have to seperate the KB from the backplate that has the ribbon (I ripped my ribbon doing this very thing) and also...its hard to get the keys seated just right after...so often you have dead spots on your kb that you just have to press hard (they dont have that nice click feel) Look for replacement keyboard + trackpad + ribbon when your looking for parts...it will come assembled and its much easier to put in. Search for the youtube video mentioned above by SK its very good! Hope these things help!

http://forums.crackberry.com/blackbe...y-pics-754384/ just some fun pics of my 9930 apart and in transition

Wow, really helpful answers - thank you all so much!
Should I buy the whole keypad on eBay, or do you recommend any other good places to buy it? I have bought keyboards for my old curve on eBay, and they turned out to be cheap quality copies from Hong Kong, resulting very hard to type with, as you really had to press down on each button for it to respond. (this was just the keyboard, wich was really like a thin layer). So that kind of worries me, I still want to have the nice, smooth keyboard that my bold currently has.
And westiewanderer, i just saw your link changing your black bold to white, it looks amazing! Is there any high risks of damage by doing this, even if done by a professional?
Again, thank you!!! :)

i bought my keyboard from a cheap set on ebay and its still as soft as my oem one, id offer you my old black one for just the shipping price if youre in the uk and dont mind that one of the frets has a piece of the silver paint missing

Originally Posted by gisellakatt

Wow, really helpful answers - thank you all so much!
Should I buy the whole keypad on eBay, or do you recommend any other good places to buy it? I have bought keyboards for my old curve on eBay, and they turned out to be cheap quality copies from Hong Kong, resulting very hard to type with, as you really had to press down on each button for it to respond. (this was just the keyboard, wich was really like a thin layer). So that kind of worries me, I still want to have the nice, smooth keyboard that my bold currently has.
And westiewanderer, i just saw your link changing your black bold to white, it looks amazing! Is there any high risks of damage by doing this, even if done by a professional?

Again, thank you!!! :)

There is always a little risk...but if done by a professional(hard to come by in the US, as far as modding a BB and avail to the public) I would say low risk. They do it so often...practice makes darn near perfect! *grins* Amazon also sells keyboard units...I bought mine there and it came feeling just like my OE 9930 KB!

Blackberry Parts, Blackberry Housing, Blackberry Faceplates, Blackberry Accessories here is another good place...little more expensive...but quality OE parts! I have bought from here as well....little more time in shipping due to customs

This is great to see. My 9930kb is bouncing real bad and needs to be replaced. My friendly Verizon rep told me I was out of luck and wouldn't I like to see a new iPhone...
Thanks for the info.

I just noticed a crack next to my Berry Button. Looks like I will be getting a new keypad too. :D

I've got German layout keyboard and wish to switch it to English layout (the Y and Z keys are reversed and it drives me batty). Will just putting in the new / different keyboard automatically fix that or is there some other dependency?

Originally Posted by CrackMachine

I've got German layout keyboard and wish to switch it to English layout (the Y and Z keys are reversed and it drives me batty). Will just putting in the new / different keyboard automatically fix that or is there some other dependency?

If you order an english keyboard from amazon...it will automatically fix it! *Grins*

Originally Posted by westiewanderer

If you order an english keyboard from amazon...it will automatically fix it!

No it won't, it's hardware locked.
There are rumours that certain OS versions will correct the key placement to QWERTY on AZERTY and QWERTZ models, but that is dubious, and those OS builds are rubbish anyway.

Originally Posted by Phill_UK

No it won't, it's hardware locked.
There are rumours that certain OS versions will correct the key placement to QWERTY on AZERTY and QWERTZ models, but that is dubious, and those OS builds are rubbish anyway.

So phil...the official versions of the latest os WONT auto correct this with a new KB? Ive heard that it will.....but rumors can be dangerous! LOL, have no experience with trying this myself...But I thought, if you install a full english keyboard...the os recognizes it and makes the adjustment...( IE, NOT just changing the KB pad but the whole unit)