[ImageDynamix]

My tour is pretty new (bought it about two weeks ago or so) and I was able to get a bit of paper to go under the trackball. Nothing was on the paper, but I got it to the other side.

I used a relatively thin piece of paper and went north to south.

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[SimplyCoutured]

oOooOo this looks handy I'll have to try it when I get up in the morning...

[klynnc]

I wasn't able to get the paper all the way in but what I did get in seem to really help. Its working alot smoother now!

[kingzee]

Awesome! Yaaaay!

[carlosfb]

Hello does this work for the 8900 also?

[bigzeak85]

ok i can confirm this does work on old and new tours. the old tours have a hard track ball thats why its easier to get the paper through. the new tours have more of a soft gushy trackball so it took a little more work to get through. but check out what i did with the paper and the track ball. this was awesome i got the trackball out and cleaned out the inside with a can of air and its good as new!!

[Namji]

This is why, the new tour 2 or bold or whatever it will be called for vzw will be amazing.. no more trackballs to mess around with!

[carlosfb]

ok i can confirm this does work on old and new tours. the old tours have a hard track ball thats why its easier to get the paper through. the new tours have more of a soft gushy trackball so it took a little more work to get through. but check out what i did with the paper and the track ball. this was awesome i got the trackball out and cleaned out the inside with a can of air and its good as new!!

How did you took the trackball out? I wanna do that

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[jmac784]

This hint is wonderful!! Although it took me a bit to get this little paper through - it was SO worth the time. It worked - my trackball now works - I don't have to buy a new phone!!! Thank You - Thank You!

[PrttyBrwnEyez13]

You are the man! I would have never thought to do this. I couldn't get the strip to come out on the other side, so I just put the strip on different sides of the trackball to get the dirt from underneath, and then dipped a cloth lightly into some alcohol and ran it over the trackball. Good as new!

[kingzee]

You're welcome! Glad everyone is still benefiting!

[jorGeorge]

Want to say thanks Kingzee for the video; I woke up this morning and my trackball wouldn't move right at all. It was difficult to get the paper in and I couldn't roll it out the other side, but I did manage to get some junk out and get the ball moving again.

[Perezan]

Thanks this helped with my trackball

[Kegman]

well I couldn't do it either, but by trying for like 30 mins I managed to get two large lint balls out, can only imagine what else is in there. Try at your own risk, but I got a large lint ball out by cutting a label the size of his strips and sticky side facing the ball stuck it on the ball and rolled it in. You cant play with it like in the video but it pushed large lint out. I think theres even more in there, wished this worked for me.

edit**** just managed to do a variation that might work for others. taking that label, i fed it through like I said but when it came through the other side I cut strip and pushed it onto the ball. the two sides didn't touch or overlap as I feared it would be too thick....and It would have been. I pushed it in and thought, this was either a great alternative or the dumbest idea ever, so here goes........It worked, and worked pretty well. the ball threw some stuff out with the paper on it and got easier to move the more I did it. Start out only going in the direction of the paper and slowly add some turns into it. I was rotating the paper sideways and every direction at the end.

[natfro]

Kingzee, I'm a bit late to the party. But it worked like a charm! Just watched your video, worked the paper around just like you did...I figured it was going to work, after all we have the exact same scissors ;-)

Thanks again!

[phatboynyc]

Hmm tried this method but the trackball is flush with the housing and I can't seem to get a piece of paper to roll in. I've tried regular copy paper, notebook paper, post-its, etc.

[thecondor33]

Couldn't scroll my tour ball up, took it to the Sprint store (absolutely no help there). They just told me to check craigslist or ebay for a new phone or upgrade since I'm eligible. Won't be upgrading since I'll be leaving when my contract is up. Found this thread and gave it a try, worked great. Thanks!!

[birdy93]

After trying a bunch of different papers (thick and thin) and couldn't make it go out the other side, I decided to use clear scotch tape instead. This worked great for me and it's a lot easier to do and harder to rip inside the phone.

DISCLAIMER: TRY THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK. I AM NOT LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGE OR NON-FUNCTIONALITY OF YOUR PHONE IF YOU ATTEMPT THESE INSTRUCTIONS. MAKE SURE TO READ ALL OF THE INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE ATTEMPTING THESE INSTRUCTIONS.

I used a small flathead screwdriver for eyeglasses to help insert the tape in and when finished to peel it away.

Here's how I did it:

1. I cut a strip of tape (same width and length as the paper method) and stick one end on the ball.

2. Press down on the ball down and start rolling until the edge of the tape goes in the phone.

3. Release the ball and keep rolling until you see the tape come through to the other side.

4. Keep rolling until you have a thick enough roll of tape on the trackball that you feel some resistance. The thickness and the stickiness of the tape will help loosen and catch the gunk inside. You should see the gunk on the edges of the tape and on the ball itself coming through to the top as you spin in different directions. It helps to have a Q-tip dipped in alcohol to catch dirt as they come through.

5. When you're ready to remove the tape, use the small screwdriver to peel the end of the tape. When you have have enough to grab with your fingers, simply pull the tape out gently so as not to break it.

I used about 10 strips to get mine cleaned. It was really dirty. I also found trying different thicknesses of tape around the trackball is the most effective way. Having it too thick doesn't help (except to loosen dirt inside) because the dirt can't get through to the top. Too thin and you won't be able to loosen as much gunk. So various sizes help. Thick ones to loosen and thin ones to get it out.

Thanks to kingzee for the original idea. Hope my method helps those having trouble with the paper kind.