BlackBerryInsight

Do you mean the ball wouldn’t roll physically or on the screen? I had the problem where it wouldn’t roll on the screen, left and right, but would up and down. I did a battery pull and it is all working fine now.

It was not a physical problem like the ball was stuck …

A reboot also didn’t solve this issue. Once I had the ball out of its box I saw the dirt that was before the sensor which tracks the ball’s movement. So cleaning seemed to be the only way here.

Thanks for your article on trackball removal and cleaning. Mine will not scroll down..I’ll follow your instructions, carefully.

Johnny Prewitt
Larkspur, CA.

Thanks!

My trackball wouldn’t move to the right, the ball itself would roll, but it wasn’t registering.

You saved me a lot of time and hassle (Bringing it to the store, arguing that I don’t have to pay for repairs, waiting for it to get fixed. Took about 15-20 minutes, and it would have taken less if I hadn’t forgot how the really skinny ring went back into place (pay attention when removing the pieces). I used a very tiny straight screw driver and a touch of delicacy. Good luck to all blackberry-ball-cleaners.

Mike O
Toronto, ON

Thanks! Carefully following your steps worked perfectly.

[...] Stuck Trackball – Today, 11:46 PM I hope that I am not the only one who has had the misfortune of having their trackball get stuck and not move in one direction… But I couldn’t find any posts on it so here is a link that I found helpful in getting mine back to going. BlackBerryInsight » How to clean your BlackBerry’s Trackball I’m not so sure that the trackball is going to last out my contract on the phone, it just doesn’t seem like it’s sturdy enough to make it. [...]

I had the same thing happen to my 8830. The trackball would not register to the right (it rolled right with no problem). The phone was only 2 weeks old. It fixed itself after about 8 hours, but not a good sign on such a new phone. I could still return it to Verizon, but I don’t have the chance anymore.
Thanks for the tip. I just wanted to state I had the same exact thing happen.

My trackball will not scroll down. I tried the cleaning thing but to no avail it still will not scroll down.

Worked like a charm!

hi i had that same issue and i cleaned my trackball it now works but that small ring that surrounds the trackball after you take the main cover off will not go on it how do i put it back on i have it off right now and my phone works with no issues but i dont want a ghettofied phone i want my old blackberry back

I think that the small internal silver ring goes on horizontal, that is the prongs go on the left and the right side. not top and bottom. I needed to guide them in with little screwdrivers. Interestingly, I checked out the bigger blackberry pearl (full keyboard/8300?) and its trackball does not have the silver internal ring. Not sure why they did away with the silver internal ring on that model.
Mine kinda works after the cleaning, but still thinks that it is scrolling up continuously at times. Hopefully it will “fix itself” in 8 hours like SteveG’s!

Oops! Turns out I somehow managed to put mine together wrong. See link showing that they go verticle.
http://www.blackberryforums.com/gene…ll+disassembly

I’ve had the problem a few times. The first time it was, as the person above described, repaired by a “hard reboot” — removing the battery and restarting the device.

This last time though, it was a problem with dirt in the trackball, so thanks for saving my blackberry from a trip to the t-mobile store

I would recommend trying the battery removal fix before cleaning the trackball as it is a little easier process.

Sure. Always try any other attempt first before opening your device!

how do u keep the trackball white?
or clean it so that it stays new?
please help…….

My 8800 would not scroll down, and the pearl felt “scratchy”. Finally, after a week of searching for a board with the solution, I found this one. A three minute job to clean out a grain of Lake Tahoe beach sand, now I’m back in business.

[...] How to clean your BlackBerry’s Trackball [...]

After about three months my trackball on the Pearl wouldn’t scroll to the right (well the ball would move but it just didn’t register). I tried to blow out any gunk with a can of compressed air to no avail but your fix worked like a charm.

Hola. My blackberry pearl refused to move to the right or up, so I took it apart and removed all the gunk from under the trackball. After I replaced it the problem persisted, so on a hunch I took it apart again and flipped the ball around. This did not fix it but changed the directions that didn’t work (instead of not going up or to the right, it wouldn’t go down or to the left). I looked closely and realized that two of the four little black cylinders on the back of the ball weren’t moving, leading me to believe these are the culprits of my Berry’s failure. How do I fix these??? It’s driving me crazy, I can’t BBM anyone!

What should I use to do the actual cleaning? Canned air? Rubbing alcohol and a q-tip?

[...] Here are some link: 1 — BlackBerryInsight » Blog Archive » How to clean your BlackBerry’s Trackball 2 — Trackball Disassembly, LED Color Change & Reassembly – BlackBerryForums.com : Your Number One BlackBerry Community This second is best… __________________ Visit my moblog @ http://moblog.co.uk/blog/mattmarenic [...]

put a drop of waterless cleaner, aka citrasolv or a hand sanitizer. works like a charm!

Just had the problem where it was scrolling right but the sensor wasn’t recognizing. I have the 8830 and used a tiny eyeglass screwdriver to pop the metal ring off. The trackball on the 8830 doesn’t appear to have the glassy ring but the trackball assembly comes right out… I wiggled it around and blew on all sides… popped it back in, works perfect.

Thanks for the tips everyone. Too bad I’ve only had this 3 weeks and already had to replace it after 2 days because the software kept crashing to the point that it couldn’t be rebooted. Good times.

My trackball rolls in all directions OK, but when I press it down to enter it does not work. Any help, is appreciated.

THanks

Mine wasn’t scrolling down, so I took the trackball apart, cleaned it (definitely dirty) and still had problems. I noticed that two of the black roller wheels looked like the black coating was scraped off a bit. I grabbed a Sharpie and colored the wheels black again…and back to smooth operation.

[...] BlackBerryInsight » How to clean your BlackBerryâ??s Trackball – Aha! How to clean the Pearly on your Blackberry Pearl [...]

I was having the same problem – my trackball would function in every direction but down. I popped it out to check, but didn’t really see any visible build up of dirt, pocket fuzz, or anything else. I finally used a little rubbing alcohol to clean off the ball and it started working perfectly again. I think in some cases the ball just eventually becomes coated in a translucent layer of oil and gunk from your fingers which affects its ability to make contact with the tracking sensor.

Here’s some more info for y’all. A couple of points which haven’t been mentioned. (NB mine’s an 8100.)

The trackball module itself can be taken apart from below. The ball falls out, and you can see four little axles that rub against the ball, and turn when you move it. The axles are white and have black barrel-like things on one end, which (when installed) hover above four black sensors on the circuit board.

The little black barrels? Those are MAGNETS. The sensors beneath them (when installed) are almost certainly Hall effect sensors, meaning, they react to magnetism. So, you don’t have to worry about keeping those looking good, they just have to be clean enough not to interfere with movement.

The white shafts (axles)? They have RIDGES going along them. This is to provide traction with the ball. So, the best way to clean them is by holding the black end and wiping towards the other end. (I used Windex and a paper napkin.)

I’m looking forward to new high scores in BrickBreaker now that this is all nice and clean…

Thanks, its a freakn miracle. Worked like a charm. Opened up the trackball completely cleaned out all the dust and dirt, put it back together and it works just like NEW!!!! I had replacement quotes for part (trackball) only $50-$75. Here it costed me 5 minutes of my time. Thanks

Thanks so much, I experienced the same problem couple days ago, and my blackberry is very important for my work..so I’ve found this page adn you saved me! Thanks so so much. Cheers, Gigi from Hong Kong

CP, I am having the same problem. Cleaning it didn’t help.

Thanks, it worked for me too.

Thanks! I followed your directions and used rubbing alchol on a q-tip to clean the ball too. My trackball works now!

And I thought I was the only one! Thanks so much for posting this! You’re the only resource I’ve found for this problem.

A few suggestions for navigating the Pearl when the trackball isn’t working (before you get a chance to clean it):

-If you’re having problems navigating the Applications menu, lock the phone (hold down the * key) and then unlock it. This will allow you to start from the top, leftmost application and continue on from there.

-If you’re trying to navigate the settings, including the Profiles, press the key corresponding to the first letter of the option. This will usually get you where you want to go.

I know it’s a hassle, but sometimes that’s all that you can do!

Great Help! This fixed my problem.

I took my blackberry pearl to the beach and accidently dropped it in the sand – 2 weekends in a row! after the first drop I couldnt’ scroll left. Then after the second drop I couldn’t scroll right!! It made life pretty difficult. ha. But this 1 minute fix made it all better. Thanks!

Thank you! My trackball stopped moving up today. This made the calendar very difficult to use, because once you look at next week’s appointments, you can’t go back to today’s! (Unless you resort to using Menu+T which I was doing for a couple of hours today). Googled for “blackberry pearl trackball stuck” and your site came right up, and it solved the problem. I used a computer toolkit (eyeglass screwdriver would have been easier, though). The fragile plastic clips on the Pearl’s trackball are on 3 sides — there isn’t one on top near the screen so don’t bother prying on that side. I think it must have been some invisible dust, because I didn’t see any real dirt inside, but just the act of taking the ball out, rolling it in all directions for a while, brushing off the rollers and putting it all back together made it work.

Thanks a lot for this post.

My trackball stop going to the right, at first I took the trackball apart and it didnt solve the problem, then I found out that the little black wheel wasnt turning, so that was the problem, then I read the comment that you can take it all apart and I did that to find that there was a huge ammount of pocket fuzz next to the wheel, and that was the source of the problem. I took it out with my fingers and now its better that ever, very responsive.

Thanks again.

I did what you did in the listing. I took it all apart mainly with a Exacto knife. Although it still doesn’t move where I need it to. Basically the trackball didn’t move down, so then when I did what you illustrated I ended up flipping it. So now it doesn’t scroll up. I cleaned it all out and stuff like that. I even found the little things that you said that give it direction, cleaned that out as well, still nothing. So the main problem is that it doesn’t scroll up now.

Thanks for this though it helped me out a lot. I will have a talk with TMobile about the trackball in general, if I can just get that part or have it replaced. I doubt it but it’s worth a shot. The phone works great, finally got it back working. But I’d rather have the ability to use the full features while I’m at it. Thanks and good lookin out man.

I just fixed my blackbery pearl trackball with vodka.

If you dont have hand sanatizer or rubbing alcohol – VODKA works just fine. Then you can celebrate your well functioning phone with a cocktail.

AWESOME, TIP. Went to use my phone and the down scroll was not working. Followed the directions above and cleaned it with some air and it now works!!!! Thanks So Much

Great suggestion worked perfectly!

My trackball just quit working as well. It seems like this is a huge design flaw! RIM should definitely address this issue! I will attempt to clean it today.

Hey good fix my trackball stopped going to the right did a soft reset and it worked alright for a couple days then I took the ball completely out and now it works just fine thanks a lot!!!!

Worked like a charm. I used my fingernail to lift the ring. Lift from the bottom of the ring (on the 8800 between the T and Y keys). Came out easy and I fixed it in less than 2 minutes. Mine would not scroll to the right. Must have been dirt but works great now! Thanks!

Hey, great tip on cleaning the trackball. Mine gradually stopped rolling right and I suspected it was something like a ball mouse but didn’t know how to access the sensors until this how-to.

For everyone whom the initial cleaning doesn’t seem to work: this happened to me too and I found an extra step that might help. For me, the trackball would roll, but the right sensor wouldn’t register (the wheel didn’t turn). Look closely at the side of the unit where your non-functioning wheel is located. There should be a thin layer of metal over the plastic casing. CAREFULLY bend the metal upward (I did it with a straightened-out staple) and you can access the actual wheel axles. I found an absurd amount of dirt in there, which turned out to be the real culprit behind my problem.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for the tip. I was sitting here all morning trying to figure out why my track ball stopped working. Mine wouldn’t roll vertical. I was already prepared to take it in to Cingular.

Thanks again.

Thank you so much for this. I had the same problem except that mine wouldn’t scroll down. I popped it out and it was fixed. Thanks for the article!

I had a similar problem with the screen pointer not responding to the mouse. I tried to remove dirt, but it did not make a difference. Then I used the sharpie to over up a part of the black that was missing. That solved the problem.

I dropped my phone running to first base at my sons baseball game. As soon as I picked it up full of dust I knew I was in trouble. The mouse is stuck and not moving well, plus it will not go left at all. I find this post, follow the instructions and presto. It is even better then before. After disassembly, I put the trackball under the faucet, moving it all directions to make sure I cleaned it well. Next I took compressed air and made sure to get all of the water out before re installation. You must get all the water out or it will eventually rust. Mission accomplished. BB 8830 is back online and better than new. Thanks again for this helpful info.

My trackball would’nt scroll down. Tried cleaning it and resetting, did’nt work. Just took the trackball out following the instructions above, it was not dirty, but taking it out and putting it back together has cured it! Only took a couple of minutes to do.

I just did it and the it worked. The trackball is moving w/ no problem. Be careful w/ that inner silver ring. Make sure it does not bend when putting it back together.

I just tried it and it didn’t work. So I preceded to get a little more in depth. I took off the second metal ring off of the trackball. Next the bottom should come off. Then realized what was wrong, the rollers had dust on them so they would not turn. I removed each roller clean it of the dust and now it works! TRY THIS IF JUST REMOVING THE TRACKBALL DOESN’T WORK!!!

thankk uu very much!!! it worked perfectly..my trackball was stucked with sand and i couldnt go down so it was almost impossible to view my contact list or my messages etc… but now it works thank uu you saved my life..

a hug from panama!
byebye

Trackball moves physically, but does not register on screen movement. Simple fix for mine, I learned this from being a mac user, the trackball gets dirty all the time and the exact same thing happens. Easy Fix, alcohol and a Q-tip. Dip the tip into the alcohol and allow it to become soaked, then wipe off excess, I usually use the back of my hand, so that I can tell that the alcohol wont drip off the cotton. Then using the q-tip swab, rotate the trackball back and forth in all directions, repeat the procedure 2-3 times and it should be fixed. I just did it and its working perfectly! Hope this helps, its alot easier than taking it apart.

[...] a quick tip i’m happy to pass on…i was having trouble with my blackberry pearl’s trackball not tracking left.  i had a mate who had similar issues, but i’d been fortunate to not having anything, in spite of me probably not giving my pearl the best care in the world – i just tend to shove it into my pocket, so i’m sure there is all kinds of dust and lint in the wrong places.the solution to this problem was to pull the little trackball out and clean around the magnetic rollers and sensors.  it’s a delicate operation, but seems to work just fine.  the best info i could find about this is here.  read it careful, proceed carefully…  and BIG TIP OF THE DAY…  note carefully the orientation of the bits as you remove them!  :-)  have fun!  [...]

Worked perfectly for me. Thanks for the tip!

My 8800 trackball wouldn’t select. It would scroll in any direction, but would not select when pushed. I lock my bb w/ a password, so I could enter the password…then there was no other way to hit enter. Phone was useless. Took out silver ring. (pry from the top. There are 3 little latches on l, r, and bottom, but not on top). Ring pops out then the whole module comes out if you flip bb over. Used rubbing alcohol w/ qtip to clean the black residue off of the contacts both on the ball module, as well as the brass looking contact on the board underneath. There was more black on there than on the module. Put it back together, and wa-la….works like a charm. Long live these forums and those who contribute. Thanks, Thanks, Thanks, to all who contribute.

Worked like a charm on my BB 8800. But getting off the silver ring with a small screwdriver can be rather challenging to do with no scratches. Thus i would abstain from doing it with a screw driver in the future if ever needed, and i would appreciate any advice for doing the same procedure using a more delicate tool, if any?

FIX IT / REPLACE IT (TRACKBALL) FOR $25 – CALL 323-651-5555. DON’T SPEND TIME TRYING TO CLEAN IT.

Thanks a million. Worked like a bomb. Took 30 secs.
Try this before paying someone $25 and losing your phone for 30 days.
Cheers, Franc

Hey bro thanks a lot

I had the same problem today.. but guess what i did? I just blew right into the trackball, with all my force (around the trackball).. believe it or not.. it actually worked. I dn’t know if it will work out for u guys.. but it did work for me

I have a similar problem to all but not quite the same. can someone explain a possessed trackball. I’ve cleaned it but it still sounds like someone is moving the trackball. it wont move much just a few icons to the left and in a few minutes it will move up or down. Its probably the sensors or a haunted BB. I would appreciate someone shedding some light on this. Also, the track ball clicking sound can go on for minutes at a time…very annoying.
Thanks,

Does anybody have a link to some pictures of disassemblying the trackball, some more involved pictures?

Thank you very much for this short but very helpful description. Managed to clean my pearl and it’s good as new.

WOOOHOOO!! Thanks for the article. I couldn’t track left and now after following the instructions I was able to fix it. Thanks again!

My 8800 is like new, after just 45 seconds of cleaning (following one week of cursing before reading this page). Thanks.

5 min later it works!!

[...] If nothing else works, you can attempt to clean the trackball by removing the silver ring around it. Do this at your own risk. Here are some instructions on how to do it. BBGeeks.com takes no responsibility for any damage caused to your device by using this method.  Subscribe to the BBGeeks RSS Feed [...]

There is no reason to remove the trackball assembly, because it is a sealed unit. Cleaning the trackball itself with a bit of alcohol will work. If you remove the silver ring you might not be able to get it back on again.

Hey guys-
I just got a blackberry curve and the trackball moves, but it keeps makin me this clickin noise like it is stuck, and won’t move across the screen!! It’s like when a computer malfunctions and needs to be rebooted(which I did several times). I just got it today!! Any suggestions!? I’m so upset!!

You are the man. Article worked perfectly. I knew it would be similiar to cleaning a mouse ball, but didn’t know how to get in there.

Thanks

Wow. What a pain in the a$$ but it worked! After several failed attempts to clean I followed Thundt’s advice & disassembled the parts around the trackball and found more schmutz. Reassembling was no easy feat. Do take caution taking this apart minding how the metal bracket covering the rollers and trackball fit back on.

i have had this issue a few times now, on each occasion it works a treat for a couple of weeks before creeping back to its non moving in a particular direction state.!! problem is now the parts are getting loose with the ball assembly not being as tight as it once was, gettign worried that maybe the next time it wont go back together and stay together.!!!

i cant believe RIM wont address this problem.??? its obviously a design default obviously not helped by those amongst us who keep our BBs in our pockets instead of girly holsters….

My trackball on my 8830 only registered right and left and not up and down. Since I hesitate to remove the trackball unnecessarily I took the battery out for 1 minute and put it back in to reboot. I works fine now. I suggest trying this before any radical removal of the track ball.

WHOOO HOOO!!! Your tip worked…and for a second I sat on the phone w/ Tmobile talking about warranty issues..thanks for saving me time and now I can scroll left!! LOL

Worked after removing the wheel completely and cleaning each roller axle separately. One should be very careful in opening the trackball encasing and removing the ball and axles.

I was having trouble with my blackberry…I removed the trackball & all its pieces, cleaned it out, but when i tried putting everything back i forgot how it went and ended up bending the little metallic ring. I decided to leave it out and the phone seems to work fine W/out it. Do yall think thats gonna be problematic? WHats the point of the metallic ring?

This totally worked. I had my phone in the bathroom with me when I was taking a shower. I guess the steam had gotten to it because the trackball would move around, but would not let me select something. This trick worked like a charm. I just used a tissue to clean it out.

[...] Originally Posted by Soul Rebel To make a long story short, I dropped my curve in a cup of ice cream and now the buttons and trackball are extremely sticky, but the phone itself works fine. I already cleaned the trackball by removing it and alcohol swabbing it, but I still cannot scroll right, left does work however with a firm push. Basically my question is how would I go about fixing the stickiness in both the keyboard and the trackball? Just remove everything and proceed with more alcohol? How are other components affected by the alcohol? Mahalo in advance. We wrote a quite comprehensive guide on how to clean the sensors of the trackball. It is too long to write everything down here but you can check the article here. It’s also illustrated with some pictures Please make sure to take of your parts. You should not break something Blog | HowTos | Deals & Free Downloads | Search | Ringtones [...]

My trackball worked but was a little glitchy. Followed your instructions and now it works like a charm.Thank you for your post.

thank you very much! you saved my life.
the dealers needed 10 days to SEE if it could be fixed,thanks to you it took me 10 mnutes.

thanks again

Thanks, worked like a breeze on my 8800 but broke the pins on the metal ring when putting it back

Thanks so much for the instructions. A little more clarification on putting the silver metal ring back on would be helpful.

On mine there were three prongs on the back of the silver metal ring. I placed the 3 prongs – one at the bottom and the other 2 on either sides leaving the top free from a prong. It slipped in and snuggly attached. Back to normal! Yeah!!

Thanks.

Thanks for the post! I have posted some pictures while cleaning my BlackBerry 8820.

I have a blackberry 8800, my wheel would move in all directions BUT the press in option would not function. I took off the track ball as suggested with my finger. I removed, cleaned the track ball with alcohol and a Q tip. Still nothing. I cleaned the bottom brass plate also with the Qtip removing black gunk build up. I used the Q tip to ensure the botton brass plate would actually depress and pop back out. I did this several times. It works perfectly now. Since I am on the road in Europe this is a considerable help. Thank you.

your awesome man, i called tmobile and they were no help, i google the problem and u helped me out. my trackball wouldnt select anything, i carefully unassembled it and cleaned it with air and a qtip. now i have a blackberry 8800 again. was kinda hoping it would’ve still been messed up because i want an excuse to my wife to buy a curve but oh well. thanks so much.

Thank you for posting this, I have a 8300 pearl, the trackball would move but on the screen it doesn’t budge, so I found this site, and I cleaned it myself following the instructions, great information, great help, saved me a lot of time, thanks again for sharing this.

AMAZING!!! this would have been the 3rd one Verizon would have had to replace for me, but by following your advice, my trackball works again!

mine wasnt scrolling down either, i was recent at a job and had to anwser the phone while i was working. got a tiny grain of sand in there, and i could hear it scratching the pearl. took the pearl out in 2 mins, and cleaned it in 1. works perfect, thanks for the help.

Thanks for the help, it fixed my blackberry 8800. It wont scroll down so i followed your instruction and it works!!

Awsome article. 5 minute job, very easy to perform. I cleaned my 8800. The difference was that after you remove the chromed plastic ring, the wheel assembly comes off directly. Then at your leisure you can disassemble it and clean it. Be careful with the sensor wheels (4 count – one for each direction) they are small and once you remove the metal braket that holds the wheel assembly together, they may fall. If this happens, use a small magnet to find them – the black heads of those sensors are magnets themselves (yea, its not optical).

Sorry for the double post but here is a piece of advice:

Exchange one of the left or right sensor wheels with the bottom one. The bottom sensor wheel is the most used one, all other remain relatively new… like rotating the tires on your car

Thanks for this most AMAZING post. I was about to call Verizon to have my Pearl 8830 replaced after just TWO DAYS because it suddenly stopped scrolling up and down.

But all is better. I wish they would go back to the wheel. =P

GUESS WHAT?? I tried using the air in the can to get the dirt off of my track ball and it WORKED wonders!!! This may be another fix to those who are scared to disemble their unit.

Thanks

Perfect Pearl fix!! Got your link from the ATT phone support person.

Thank you for this article! This keeps happening to me and I was hoping to not have to send it back in. You’re a lifesaver!

Thank you very much, it really worked!!! I can’t believe that it’s so simple! This is actually my second Pearl, the first one I had had the same problem, so I replaced it.

Thanks again!!!

My scroll ball isn’t working on my new blackberry curve, I only bout it a few weeks ago (my first cell phone) i worked 39 hours of over time to buy the blackberry now the scroll ball breaks, i’m not all that tech advanced so i called the customer service at at&t and they are sending me a replacement hopefully they find that the scroll ball is under warranty and i dont get charged $300 i was going to try to take the ball out but it seems like if i try to pry the ring off i’ll damage the phone

Okay very easy fix once you understand how the thing works

First, take the trackball out and and clean everywhere you can see and then try it again. If that doesn’t fix the problem then most likely one of the Black cylinders is not turning which is the main way that the tackball works. I’ve noticed that the little metal sensor that makes contact with phone when the trackball is used is attacked to the trackball unit from the bottom! so that is where pocket lint etc. will collect the easiest and that is the reason that most people are having trouble scrolling down! so to easily fix it you have to fully take it apart or just pry the side that is not working up just a little so that you can see the axle and clean out all the gunk where the ball makes contact with the cylinder!

thanks for the help everyone

Hey thanks alot. My trackball wudnt scroll up. I tried turning off the phone. Didn’t wk. Got on the internet n yahood trackball cleaning. Thanks so much. I cud of been a little more delicate because I did get a tiny scratch on my outter ring, but I think that my trackball working is more important!!!

Thank you so much for the article. It worked like a charm! I would have probably tried accessing the trackball from the back and thus probably broken my phone.

With my Blackberry Curve, it wouldn’t roll left. I tried, as Blackberry suggests, rolling it firmly in the affected direction to no avail (for about 20 minutes). Then, I tried canned air with no effect.

Finally, I tried this procedure, and it worked. One of the 4 magnetic rollers had some gunk in it (actually they all did, but the one especially). It’s not unlike cleaning a mouse roller ball if you’ve ever cleaned one of those, but it is a little more difficult. I had a little trouble putting the trackball component back together. Those four roller pins are magnetic, so they sometimes are thrown out of place by their charge. Then, I actually had to take it apart twice, since after cleaning it the first time, it still wouldn’t roll left. So, I cleaned it some more, then before placing the outer ring on, I tested it to make sure. I think one of the roller pins was slightly disjointed as to why it didn’t work the first time. Anyway, it now works like new again, and I managed to do absolutely no damage it.

THANKS A BUNCH!!!!

I was scared at first, but once I popped off the silver circle, the track ball came right out. I cleaned out the rolling parts on the sensor and IT WORKED!!!

***HINT: MAKE YOU TEST THE TRACK BALL before you place the silver circle back on. You could have placed the track ball wrong and up will be down and left is right.

THANKS!!!!!

Thanks for that. I was stuck only able to scroll down. Easy to flip the silver off, flip the metal bit out, roll the rollers round a bit to clean them and snap it all back together. Now I can go up and sideways again.

Hey there,

Thanks so much for the tips. I used the alcohol swab dipped in alcohol and wow it worked!!!! I am soooo happy. I didn’t even have to take the trackball apart. Quick fix. Thank you , Thank you, Thank you!!!!

Maria

After reading the article and feedback posts I removed the battery of my BB Pearl and took the trackball out cleaned it in alcohol and now I can scroll down

Thanks everyone.

Holy crap. This will sound silly since it’s such a simple fix, but you’re my hero. I can now scroll up!

i’m SO happy this actually worked! my blackberry phones trackball wouldn’t scroll up, i tried everything from taking out the battery, pushing the ball in hard, asking my friends (who said it can’t be fixed) and just randomly scrolling on it, eventually I called my cell phone provider told me they’d send me a new phone…2 weeks pass no phone..I call them back and they say they cancelled my order (w/o telling me) as they no longer had my phone available in white (the one i have). Eventually they say they can send me a black or red one, but I wanted white so i asked them if they could give me a repair place. So i call this repair place and this guy wanted $60…Not willing to pay as my phone is still under warranty..I googled and came up with this forum, and let me tell you…10 minutes later and figuring out which roller was having problems…its WORKING AGAIN!!
THANK you sooo much!

I’ve also been experiencing problems with the navigation trackball @ stumbled upon a ‘cure’ serendipitously, here goes….take a cotton shirt and dab it in some alcohol & clean the trackball by rubbing against it until you see movement(no need to dismantle the phone, it will not discolour the keys & it takes less than 5minutes). Hope this helps someone.

Thanks for this! My Pearl is working again – yea!

Excellent article. with the AT&T pearl, the ring comes off, then the whole assembly comes out. The small metal retainer can then be removed to access the scrolling wheels to be cleaned.

Thanks for this.. mine stopped scrolling down, right in the middle of scrolling a webpage, just gummed up. Prised the silver ring off with my thumbnail, turned the phone facedown and the ball dropped out, sure enough a piece of plastic (left over from manufacturing? – things only a month old) was stuck in one of the wheels. Snapped it back together and works great now. Cheers

Rock on! It worked

Wow!ball wouldn’t move down. Thumbnail to the ring, dropped out the ball, cleaned it and blew out the gunk, rotated the tires and good as new. THANK YOU!

Just wanted to let you know that your post here is continuing to help people. My Pearl, like a bad girlfriend, decided that it wasn’t going to go down, and no amount of asking nicely, begging, shaking or hitting was solving the problem. I really felt as if paying to get it to go down would make me feel dirty, so the only answer was to open her up and see what the problem was. Sure, I felt like I shouldn’t be doing this, but after prying her open with a screwdriver, there was no turning back. I will say that there were far more pieces than I expected inside, and some stuck to my screwdriver. I fashioned a pair of tweezers out of toothpicks and rubber bands to solve that issue. Pearl made a funny noise while she was lying there with her insides splayed out on the table, but I paid it no mind. After wiping down her internal workings with an alcohol pad, I began to put the pieces back together and unfortunately it was not as easy as removing them. When I finally finished the work, I pushed her buttons just right and got Pearl turned on again. Immediately, I gave the movement that would normally mean that I wanted Pearl to go down and it happened! I couldn’t believe it, I must have made it happen 5 or 6 times in a row and it worked without fail. Now, an hour later, I look at her laying there, with only a small scratch on her face as evidence of what had happened and wonder if she will be upset at me for what I have done. One thing I do know, Pearl will not hesitate to go down when it’s required to again, if she knows what is good for her.

minez juxt str8 up broken haha

Thanks so much, this totally fixed my problem!

This was a huge help! I’ve looked for advice on the trackball problem, and this was the only post that really addressed the issue. When I took it apart, there was a huge amount of lint and gunk preventing the mechanism from rolling freely. It’s amazing it had worked at all!

Suggestion: Try to avoid removing the silver ring holding together the trackball mechanism — it’s a real pain to put back together. (I’m not talking about the plastic ring that holds it in…) You can probably remove a lot of lint and gunk without taking it apart, once it’s free from the device.

Hey I was cleaning my BB trackball, and the case that holds the ball came apart!!! I am having some difficulty putting it back together, is there a diagram that could show me how the parts all fit !!! Need help urgently. I have a BB Pearl

Pictures would be a tremendous help, but none of the sites above are current.
Please help.

omg! that shit worked it wasnt stuck it acted like it was on crack cliking a million times with out touching it. also when it stoped it would roll but when i clicked it didnt do any thing now it works thanks!

You are a life saver! Thanks so much for posting this!

I think that cleaning the trackball is not the perfect solution, because a dirty trackball apparatus is only one thing that can make the trackball fail to register in a particular direction.

I’ve had my 8830 for about 8 months now, and after about 3 months, I noticed the ball wouldn’t register upwards when rolled in that direction. I searched on the net and found that cleaning the trackball with alcohol might help. I wet a Q-Tip with alcohol, scrubbed the trackball, and sure enough it worked.

Periodically, about every month or so, the same thing would happen. The trackball would stop registering upwards when rolled… I’d clean it with alcohol, and it would start working again.

Within the past 2 months or so, a new problem has started. Every so often the trackball stops registering when rolled upwards. I cannot scroll upwards through my telephone directory, and I can’t scroll upwards through the display of functions icons. This basically makes the device almost useless.)

However, if I manage to get to the Internet browser, and get on the Internet, I am perfectly able to scroll upwards on a web page. It may be a little more difficult than usual, but it’s really no problem. The big problem is scrolling upwards when I’m not using the Internet. And no amount of cleaning the trackball with alcohol helps it!

Weirdly, when this happens, this problem sometimes solves itself spontaneously, after a few hours to a day. When it solves itself, scrolling upwards becomes very easy again, just like scrolling in any other direction. It becomes a breeze — which leads me to believe the problem is not a dirty connection in the trackball apparatus, but something electronic.

A couple of times while traveling in Europe in the past few weeks, I noticed around train stations, where there are a lot of electromagnetic cables, this problem arose. The trackball wouldn’t register when I slided it upwards, no matter how hard or how fast I rolled it.

Then after a few hours, when we were far from the train station, and far from all those EM wires and cables, the ball worked fine again.

Since then, this problem has been sporadic, and has not responded to repeated cleanings. So I think this problem can also be caused by a sort of EM overload or something, which may put a strain on the device. I’m not an electrician or communications technology expert, do don’t laugh at my guess…

All I know is that this trackball problem is very frustrating, and frequently makes my 8-month old BlackBerry 8830 almost completely useless. I am seriously thinking about getting a new phone… probably not a BlackBerry, because it is ridiculous that such an expensive, state-of-the-art device should be totally defeated by such a stupid component as a trackball, which the company didn’t HAVE to include, they just did it because they wanted to.

Washing the hands more often might be a solution as well

No, seriously: After my trackball got stuck the first time and I cleaned it (btw: that was the time the crappy images above were made ) I never had a problem with the trackball again.

Thank you so much! BlackBerry support from T-Mobile was NOT helpful, they kept telling me it was a software issue and that I needed to reset my entire phone system . Thankfully I found this!

I don’t understand why everyone has to tell this guy their problems with the phone…if the ball doesn’t work, follow the instructions exactly and it should be fine that’s it! Thanks for the help.

I’m telling you. I did the trackball pull and clean and hard reboot and nothing would allow my trackball to go left. One drop of hand sanitizer directly on the ball, then I dabbed most of it dry with paper towel, spun it like a mad-man and blam! It works!

The vodka tip is cool!

I returned my BB Pearl 2 months ago to the shop after having used it for 6 months, because the trackball wouldn’t register its movements anymore. I had to wait 6 weeks for a complete replacement of the device. In less then a month the same problem occurred on the brand new device! I followed the vodka tip, took a Q-tip and soaked it in some vodka – the brand didn’t even matter – then I moisturized the trackball and rolled it in all directions and tada! It worked again! Next time I’ll try gin )

I had it to where my Curve 8310 wouldn’t allow it to track downwards.
It’s actually rather simple people!! all u need is steady hands an slightly lift the ring out. Then NOTICE the prongs an when the ring is out lift on the corner of the trackball. ONCE again NOTICE how it’s set… Then carefully look at the 4 mini rollers an grab a air can an blow them loose of any debris. Take a tweezer or small screwdriver an roll the mini balls.. then WOOOOOOOSAAAAAA… put it back together by the way u took it an an you moving an grooving!!! took me all of 3-5 minutes.

worked like a treat on my 8310 – took 3 minutes and my ball was moving in all directions again!!! THANKS for the GREAT advise!!!!

[...] you too finding that your trackball has suddenly stopped working? I would recommend this tutorial as it certainly served me well. Have a great weekend [...]

[...] you too finding that your trackball has suddenly stopped working? I would recommend this tutorial as it certainly served me well. Have a great weekend [...]

[...] you too finding that your trackball has suddenly stopped working? I would recommend this tutorial as it certainly served me well. Have a great weekend [...]

I have a BB 8820. I’ve always noticed that my track ball would stick at times so I would mess with it and it would work again. For this type of problem (the trackball not working) it’s important to think about how you handle your phone. Do you use one of those gay belt clips that says, “My phone is a fashion accessory.” or do you keep the thing in your pocket?

Personally I keep my phone in my pocket… If your reading this, reach inside your pockets and turn them out. Unless your OCD and you think to remove all the lint from your pockets, this is what clogs your BB’s trackball.

ALSO, the pearl is different from the 8820, there is no internal second ring to remove. The problem is that in order to remove the lint from the magnetic sensor, you have to take the track ball assembly apart, otherwise you can’t get to the rollers that are covered in lint. BE CAREFUL, it is a pain in the ass to put back together. STUDY THE PARTS AS YOU REMOVE THEM AND TAKE NOTES ON A PIECE OF SCRAP PAPER IF YOU CAN’T REMEMBER. DO NOT REMOVE THE LITTLE ROLLERS, just the bottom half of the white plastic piece that is held in with the metal clips that cover the sides of the trackball assembly from the top. DON’t DROP IT Either.

Anyway, if you do remove this and you find yourself stuck you can call me at 5704552011 and I will walk you through.

ANYWAY, your article saved me from having to move down one line of text and move to the left to back up to the right side of the upper line. The phone is much more responsive now that it was before. PROPS…

This article helped solve my little irritating problem and saved lot of time and money. I had the same problem, my track ball suddenly decided to go only right but doesn’t want to turn back, but will go up and down. I think this is the same problem we used to have with our old computer mouse which had the track ball and all dirt used to get stuck on the ball and we had to clean it once in a while. Any way thanks for your article and everybody’s comments. SHARING is CARING. Let’s have peace in the world.

[...] [...]

Great article, worked like a charm! Thanks!

I hope you all know that you invalidated the warranty the second you removed the trackball. And Don’t use alcohol because t-mobile says that is the worst thing you can do (after the first rep told me to do it) That will invalidate the warranty too. But since mine is out of warranty I am about to take the trackball out and try it since reloading the software has not worked. thanks

Thanks so much for your web page. I repaired my 8800, in 15 minutes.
Trackball was working in all direction except down.
Used a credit card to flip open the trackball ring cover (over the Y key but under the upper silver ring).
Also used “hand sanitation liquid” to clean the ball.
Took longer than expected to reassemble the silver plastic ring.
Works perfect now.
Thanks.

Devesh Sahney

So, I called my wireless provider, Rogers, in Canada here because my trackball stopped working when I tried to scroll down. I was told the Blackberry 8800 I had was a month out of warranty and if I wanted a replacement, it would cost $325.
Considering the amount of money I pay them each month for cable, Internet and wireless, I found that ridiculous, so I went searching around and found this site.
The cleaning helped and the trackball works again.
I also found that Amazon.com sells replacement trackballs for $10.

These telcoms are such scam artists, it’s ridiculous. I want some competition in Canada.

It worked. My track ball wasn’t scrolling left (is that weird because almost everyone else said that theirs wouldn’t scroll right?) and so I popped it out and dusted off the ball and rollers and it still didn’t work. Then I took it out again, dabbed it with a little windex on a kleenex, and now it works fine.

To the person who said it voids your warranty–here’s a thought–don’t tell them! As long as you don’t crack it in half putting it back together, they’ll have no way of knowing you tinkered with it.

Amazing. In 3 minutes was able to resolve problem. Thank you.

Same here. Followed the instruction… cleaned it well… now it’s working fine. Thanks for the help.

Thanks, Fixed my phone in 5 min.

Thanks to the article this helped me solve my problem. I was about to buy a new phone. I did remove the pieces above (shown in the photo) and when I put it back together my track ball still did not move up or down. I actually went in and took everything apart be advised it takes patience to put it back together and I did. I removed however the second metallic ring and it works perfectly fine.
Thanks =)

Wow nice mortgage loan content and link drops… i hope the SEs penalize you heavily.

Thank you very much, i used a really small precision flathead screwdriver, slowly pried it out just above the TY button and pop came off the silver ring, turned out the mini rollers on the corners are magnetic and small bits of metal were stuck to it, just picked it off carefully until it was all gone and put it all back together, presto, i love my blackberry again!

BIG thanks. Woke up this morning to my track ball not scrolling right. I was highly upset. This had happened before and seemed to work itself out after a couple of very frustrating moments!! I got to work this morning and type in my problem. And your post came up. I did as you explain and it still wouldnt scroll right but I put it in a different way. Then I decided to clean it for the second time and check on the sensors. After everything is said and done my bb now works like its suppose to. I was prepared to go spend money to replace the track wheel…had already been to ebay. Thanks again!!

I Broke mine, and I ordered a new one. It came the next day and I fixed it myself in a minute. It was so much cheaper than bringing it to someone else!

I had a problem identical to yours, the truck ball wouldn’t move to the right. I did what you’ve said and it works!
Thank you very much!

[...] 8100, 8300, 8310, 8320. Although you may want to avoid the costs and simply clean you old ball, How to clean your BlackBerry’s Trackball | BlackBerryInsight Whatever floats your boat. [...]

Worked like a charm on my 8820. Popped the ring off from the top with a fingernail. Took assembly apart and cleaned with rubbing alcohol and a q-tip, but had to use tweezers to put metal clip back on. Plastic ring will snap back in easily if you have it aligned the right way, so don’t force it. It’s like I got a new phone, thanks.

PS AT&T store denied that any such fix existed, surprise.

thanks tons..
Life saving link!!

WoW! you save me so much time, thank you!
i was so frustrated bc my track ball would move all around but I was unable to press down and select anything.
The directions were very clear and easy, especially for someone like me who is horrible with anything technilogical.

thanks again!

Tatiana
miami, fl

Floss!! I used floss to clean in between the little rollers. Worked like a charm.

Thanks for the directions — I was so frustrated with having a non-moving ball for so long.

My trackball would not go up on the screen. I thought I was going to have to completely disassemble my phone until I saw you site. I had my phone back to working in 2 minutes! Thanks for making it so clear and easy to understand. The pictures were super helpful too!

thanks so much! I was getting really flustered because I couldn’t figure out how to clean it and it wouldn’t track down on the screen.
This was a big help, and it works like new again!

Thanks for the tips on disassembly and cleaning, worked well on my 8300

Thanks!! I was completely freaking out — worked like a charm!

I cleaned it but there are actually one more part that need to be taken off first. thin metal plate that holds all four rollers on. Don’t worry of they fall they can all go back in any order. After you remove the plate can scoop out the gunk. I also took a cotton tip and using goo-gone gently cleaned all the parts. It now works like new!

[...] My Problem..your The One Who Can Help Me…thank You So Much,,and God Bless.. Check this out: How to clean your BlackBerry’s Trackball P.S.: This is the wrong forum as well as the wrong thread to ask those questions! Blog | [...]

thank you so much!
this worked perfectly and was very easy to do!

yep! Nothing beats an internet how-to when contemplating a terrifying step!

Popped it out on a 8800 when it no longer would scroll right – first attempt at cleaning visible gunk and fluff didn’t help, but on the second go, cleaned the rollers as well as suggested by 19. PeterMeter – all systems are now “go”!!!

Pac-Man has newfound agility!

Lovely!!!

I had only had my phone for a couple of days and the scroll ball stopped moving up and down. the ball would physically move but would not move on the screen, I followed the instructions listed and removed the ball and cleaned the sensors and the problem has gone away. I have a blackberry curve 8310, the only thing different was my phone did not have the middle piece illustrated in the picture above.

for the longest time mine wouldn’t scroll down but i just cleaned it cause i cant afford to buy a new one im only 17 so i just did the cleaning everything is working but its tripping out like if i scroll it would open something i didnt want to open so yeah

Thanks for the tip…
It is working like new.

TrackBall for Sale!
Contact: Moutasim Waheed – 0314-2002064 ( for Pakistan ).

I have a 8130 ,fix sounds simple but the 8130 if your not careful
the roller ball has alot of pieces.If the rollers fall out ,your in trouble if you have big hands. It works but be careful!!!!!

Thank you so much all!
Have the 8800, the tracker ball was is fine when using it to move sround the screen however stopped selecting.

I removed the ball unit, cleaned it with alcohol and a cotton bud, this resolved the problem.

Seems moisture had caused the problem as the device was in my pocket for the whole day whilst I was working.

This instruction saved my life. I was soo close to throwing my phone against a wall. Now its back! Thanks man, God Bless!

Thanks a lot providing such valuable information save my money & time too once again thanks a lot

First off, I’d reccomend getting 99% alcohol (isopropyl) available at any drug store…you can use it on other electronics (digital cameras ipaqs, etc) it evaporates 100% and does not eat in to casings or leave residue, like I heard someone using windex would (ammonia). Get some q-tips, kleenex does not work well around and inside mechanisms.
also get a needle or a pin.

I picked out all of the fluff, then put some liquid on the track ball and pushed all the wheels until they were clean (picking out even the tiny holes in the plastic with the pinhead. This still was not as I’d like it, so I cleaned the cavity out as well,paying particular attention to where those track roller magnets would seat on the sensors of the bb. I can tell you now after taking it apart and putting it together five times? It works better than when it was new now. Also if you’re trying to figure out which way the ring goes in…
take note that there are 3 sets of forks and the must be oriented in the 3, 6, 9 pm position on my 8820. Make sure they are set up on the female end of the fork on the sensor before you snap that ring in, those pieces could easily break off.

Despite this obvious shortsited design flaw, this is still the only phone I ever liked

p.s. make sure all of those foil tabs are properly seated on the track ball module. If any are bent or untabbed..this could pose an issue!!

this worked perfectly, thanks!

I did exactly what it said but it didn’t worked fully so I cleaned the trackball with a little alcohol and dried it very good and if you go to options and select screen/keyboard and go down to trackball sensitivity select a number higher than you had it and the trackball will be flying…

Hey, great information on this site regarding cleaning the trackball. Just one problem….what can i do if I lost my silver plastic ring that covers the ball (dropped my phone and the cover wasnt’ recovered) I saw a keyboard and new trackball on ebay…don’t want to open the phone but may have to. Any suggestions?? Thank You.

Cheers Mate!!
It worked like magic..Thanks!

Thanks for this! I bought an ‘as-new’ 8800 and discovered it wouldn’t go right unless I gave it a bit more thumb pressure – couldn’t believe the amount of fluff stuck to the 4 tiny magnetic rollers inside the trackball mechanism (similar to taking the ball out of an olden-day ball mouse and cleaning the gunk that got wrapped around the two rollers). All fixed! Thanks again!

You have my gratitude for posting this easy how-to. I was prepared to take apart my whole front face of my BB Pearl, until I found this. You saved me so much frustration and hassle(not to mention money because nothing in this world is free!). You explained everything very well without going details that would leave readers confused.

I pried mine open with a small pocket knife (carefully of coarse!) A quick tip for people doing this: don’t forget to rotate the tiny wheels to get every little particle of dust off, because I had to repeat everything 3 times over.

If the Termination story ever comes true all humans need to do is kick up a huge dust storm and the machines will be screwed. lol!

Thanks again,
Steven from Chicago

Thanks so much for helping me. I have a Blackberry Curve (8310) and my trackball wasn’t moving up. I just took a mini screwdriver and carefully pried open the silver ring by pointing the screwdriver towards the return key. Then I turned the phone upside down and tapped the other side until the ball fell out (I read previous comments and made sure not to have the small rollers drop out). Then I took q-tip soaked in isopropyl alcohol and rubbed the roller, ball, and ring; I dried it afterwards with the dry part of the q-tip. I then snapped the trackball (arrow pointing down) and ring (with prongs in 3-6-9 position) back into place.

I used a tray so that I wouldn’t lose any pieces.

The whole process took me 5 minutes, and I’m the kind of guy who has to read instructions for setting the time on the microwave! Thanks again.

I cleaned everything including the small rollers (which I also took out). But the real reason was : the rollers are actually magnets, and California beach sands have inclusions of some metal, piece of which got stuck onto the magnet-roller. I could see it there and just removed with my fingers.

Thanks to the author!

I’ve got the 8120 and after a couple months, I noticed it was hard to actually “click” the wheel in. I’ve never had problems scrolling, but it got to where I had to push so hard it hurt my finger to get it to click in.
I took apart with help from this article, cleaned the button that clicks in the phone with rubbing alcohol and a Q-Tip, and filled the lid of the rubbing alcohol bottle with rubbing alcohol. I just let the ball assembly soak in that for 5 minutes then let it dry for ten (sit for a minute, roll around on a paper towel, and let it sit another minute). My trackball now works like new!
it’s not white though, but I’m okay with that. it’s sort off off-white, like the plastic that holds it in.

Hi Everyone,

My trackball isn’t working anymore. When I click it, I enter the phonebook. To select an item in my menu, I have to push the enter button (bottom right)…should I try the same process?

Thx for your help.

Great Post. This helped get me in the right direction, but you really have to take the trackball assembly apart as well. mine was so dirty that gunk had acumulated on the 4 roller assemblies. The part you have to take apart is the piece that holds the ball itself, and has the 4 black rollers attached to tiny axles. Do it with good light, on a surface where you won’t lose a piece if you drop it. They are tiny. Use tweezers to extract all the gunk. I used alcohol to clean the connections, and compressed air when I was all done. If unsure of yourself, take pictures of each part before disassembly. Works like brand new now.

thank you thank you thank you. after months of blackberry support telling me with 99% certainty that it was a software problem, I found this article and I removed the trackball. I found 2 years worth of “ew” and I cleaned it all out. Now my pearl moves in all directions again. Yayayay!

Thanks. You just saved me $$$$ buying a new machine

Thanks a lot – very helpful. Blackberry was back to roll in a minute!

This worked great! Thank you!

Awesome fix!!

dude this sh*t worked man its not 100% like it use to be but f**k it al least it scrolls down now bro THANX!

I popped the ring out with my finger nail (easy) and took a clorox wipe and qtip and cleaned my ball. Worked like a charm!

YESSSSSS it worked thanks soo muchh

Yay! Thank you so much for your help my (bb.curve 8320) trackball works perfectly fine! I was actually going to sell it on craigslist just because the trackball didn’t work! hhaha

Wow……….. Thank you. This makes my day.

Thank you for writing this article! My trackball was moving in all directions ok but it was not responding that well in certain directions. I’d scroll and the selction would not change, scroll again, no change, scroll again and it would skip my desired selection. Repeat. Bad times. So the cleaning job really helped.

I did take it one step farther than you had in your instructions and didn’t take the time to read the shockingly large number of reply posts so sorry if this is duplicative:

After I had the trackball assembly removed from the chasis I proceeded to remove the silver metal bracket around the trackball assembly. This made it possible to completely remove and clean the trackball, rollers (which have these little teeth on them that were full of dirt in mine), and the inner trackball housing (which was also full of nasty dirt). WARNING: Once you remove the silver bracket, the trackball assembly will…disassemble…quickly. Be careful to keep track of all the little parts and how they fit together!! As long as you do this, putting it back together is reasonably simple; Just be patient and careful.

By the way, I did all of this using one large paperclip (unfolded – to remove the plastic silver ring), my fingers (and fingernails to remove the metal bracket), and some of those sterilizing alcohol wipes (for cleaning the parts and sensors).

I found that after taking the trackball component out, instead of taking it apart, i just soaked it in alcohol and rolled it around so that all the gunk would come out

just make sure its completely dry before re-inserting it

also… be careful of pulling the outer cover too hard… i broke on of the six prongs, if i broke more then it might not have clipped back in

Works!! thanks Man, you saved me a lot of trouble

Thank you so much for your information. It helps!
I was afraid of couldn’t have my data while my BB being repaired, but voila I can repair it by myself guided by your post.

My trackball would not move down. After a frustrating day of this, I found this post. However, I was not too keen on taking the trackball out after reading how difficult it was to put back together, particular since my company actually owns the phone. Instead, I went the route of a little isopropyl alcohol on a q tip and rubbed the pearl and surrounding silver ring with it. I could not believe the gunk that came off on the Q tip. I ended up using three Q tip ends before it finally came clean. At first, it seemed to do no good, but within minutes it was suddently working and scrolling down better than ever.

I would definitely recommend trying this method before you go to the trouble of taking it apart.

Clean it thoroughly, then wait a few seconds to see if you get any results. I also followed the tip of going into Options and adjusting the trackball senstivity. I went from the present 70 to 100 and it moves with such ease now, it’s better than new.

I am unsure why one person cautioned against using alcohol to clean; it should be perfect as it evaporates. Good luck!

Thanks bro…worked like a charm!

Anyone who doesn’t dare to take the ball out – you can also roll a strip of tape across the ball. The adhesive on the tape will pull off some of the less stubborn stuff, but it won’t help with anything down below. It’s worth a try for those who fear prying the rings and ball out.

The roller is not working perfect.Goes rigth and up but not down.May it has jumped.So how can i do.Iam only receiving calls because i cant search names and some program through roller. It rolling with no searching.Second is the networking it ends at gprs means i cant send the sms what can do.

Just be careful doing it and patience is all it takes.
Actually, everything is very simple to do it. When everything comes apart, just do not be panic, try to put all back together, there is no certain position to put all the parts back together.
Once it came off, you would not believe how much gunk in it.
Good luck!

thankz man , yo my trackball couldnt move left , right , or down …. it workz now so im good , but yea good tip homie

My blackberry is now working like new thanks to all the tips.
Just to add:
1) When prising ring off it has clips right,left and bottom. So to avoid them breaking prise off from the keyboard side, once slightly from the left until you hear a click, then once from the right and then it should come off all the way.Don’t prise from the screen side as you might snap the bottom clip.

2) I had to pull apart the trackerball assembly to get to the grooved rods out with the magnets on the end.Using a cotten bud and some lens cleaning spray as wiped off the dirt in the directions of the grooves. Only problem was I forgot which way around they were when I put them back. This endend up with my trackball tracking the wrong way, up and down instead of left and right. So I had to pull it all a part again to change them over. With the trackball mechanism facing down on the table, the rod at the top, the magnet end is on the right, one on the right magnet is down,rod at the bottom magnet on the left, and rod on the left magnet on the top. This is for a BB 8830.

3) When you put the mechanism back the two white lugs either side should go back positioned left and right in the phone.

I have always had a problem with dirty balls and now no more. This worked so well I think I will clean my balls every week now.

I build custom cabinets for a living and one day when i found out that the trackball wouldn’t work I tryed every thing then I took it into the shop and used the air compresser to blow it out, holding the phone at a good distance this also worked great and only took a matter of seconds

Thanks!! it worked like a charm. I couldn’t track right and now
smooth as silk.

thanx sooo much to this articel above and all people who share there wisdom in the internet… internet rules and helped me so many times… actually the people around the world have….
cheers and thanx again…blackberry functions again the way it did before…

Thank you so much for this post
Now at least it works for 2 directions the bottom one which is most imp

Easy to do. Took 10 minutes to take apart, clean, and put it all back together. watch out for the rollers, they do come out and you can lose them quite easily if you aren’t careful.

Thanks for this article. Mine wouldn’t scroll up on my Curve 8310. In the past, playing with it for a few moments or rebooting/pulling battery would work, but not this time.
Glad I ran across your article. Thanks!

Thank you SO much. I just bought a BB curve and it would not scroll down (you can imagine how annoying it was for me). I followed your instructions carefully and well..it works perfectly! you’re brilliant!

I’m not sure if I cleaned it the RIGHT way; but it works. I wasn’t to clear on what exactly I had to rub off, but I found the four 4 black wheels had….crap on them or w.e, and I used the side of a tooth pick to lightly scrub it off.
&Now it workss! Thankssssssss

I was so disgusted when my track ball stopped rolling in the up direction last night. Tried the obvious pulling the battery, no luck. Shake, don’t break, no luck. Was ready to call it in this morning and decided to do a quick Google on the problem first. This page was the first in the list. Disassembly was easy (used my pocketknife), couldn’t see any crud but blew it out with canned air, reassembled, and the trackball works again!

Saved my day!

Thanks for the tip!!!!!

I was successful by taking rubbing alcohol, it will evaporate quickly a dab with a foam Qtip, brush around and then pushing and moving trac ball released the problem for me. this has happened a few times since I purchase. Good Idea to keep Bberry in a carrying case to avoid dirt etc. from getting into the swivel ball of these devises.
The phone is still usable without trac ball, the space bar or hitting the first letter of selection will take you to the function, just like using computer without mouse.

OH and a can of AIr in a Can…just hit the keyboard with strong burst of air. You should do this routine every few weeks as a matter of course cleaning the unit .

Thanks so much! My trackball lacked two directions – now it’s working again like a charm )

So great! I used a toothpick and rubbing alcohol – worked like no other.jb

Thanks a lot for the kudos guys! I had the same problem like you and therefor I just wrote this article. I never thought of it becoming that popular!

Anyway, I just sorted out the last line of defense. So in case you cannot clean your trackball anymore check out our recommended replacement trackballs below. They are very cheap just like the original built-in one.

I did the above after my trackball was not working in several directions to no avail. Then I took the actual ball assembly and took off the small and very thin aluminum bracket that holds the whole thing together. Then I could access the internal wheels that were LOADED with gunk. Its a fairly tedious process to remove all the stuff, but now, works like it is brand new.

Thanks worked great!!!

I just bought a blackberry 8100, having some weird issues with the trackball. Im not sure if its sticking or just going insane; last night while i was texting it suddenly started sending the message over and over then would bounce in and out of applications, making phone calls etc. It was funny but not really! I tried taking the ball out and cleaning it, although i may not have been thorough enough. Does this sound like a trackball issue or a possessed phone? Thanks for any help!!

i licked my finger and rolled it a few times. solved the problem within five seconds.

Thanks for your article, my trackball would not scroll down and I was able to fix it myself.

No Need to remove the assembly rub bit of alcohol on the track ball and it would work.

This worked great, my trackball was moving, but wouldn’t scroll down on the screen.
Removing the battery to reboot it did not work.
I have a Blackberry Curve 8310.

I am a dairy farmer and needless to say I don’t treat my BBerry Curve like a temple. I removed the outside ring but had to remove the inside ring and remove and clean the axles to get it to work properly (thats where I found oodles of cow debris)it was a bitch to get back together with my big farmer fingers. May be a good job for a small fingered woman. My wife likes fixing my ball anyway.

[...] our quite popular article “How to clean your BlackBerry Trackball” I needed to disassemble a brand new BlackBerry Bold. Even though I was just playing Texas [...]

I had one of the more serious stuck trackballs tonight, and was about 2 minutes from saying to heck with it. But then I noticed that one of the little axles/rollers underneath the ball assembly wasn’t moving when I moved the ball. So after much frustration, I *carefully* popped open one of the really tiny brackets underneath that specific roller… the bracket shaped like /–\. Under that, I could see another ribbed roller in the middle of the edge of the assembly, like a cog that turned when the ball would move. Looking carefully in there, without bending that open bracket too much, I found some VERY miniscule pieces of lint and dust that I was able to clean out with the end of a needle. Once I did that, the roller moved freely, so I snapped the bracket back in place and reassembled. So if you have tried the simple cleaning method and that didn’t work, and tried using alcohol and a swab on the rollers underneath without much success, I guess then you’ll want to make a judgment call as to whether you have steady enough hands and are desperate enough to attempt slightly lifting the thin metal bracket at the stuck end to see if you can clean lint or dirt out of the cog-like roller. It worked for me. I actually had to do it twice since the first time it still wasn’t rolling 100% smoothly, but after the second cleaning of that little barrel-shaped cog inside, it works like a charm.

That said, I may go out and invest in a $10 piece just to keep as a backup for the future. I would hate to be without my device.

how do you make your trackball change different colors when you are recieving a phone call

Thanks for you article, I took my 8830 apart, cleaned it, it now works fine.

Thank you. Stuart

Bloody Fantastic !!!!!!
I have not been able to go up on my 8100 pearl for months now very close to smashing it to bits and getting a I-phone !!
took the silver casing off then the ball component then read this and found out you take a third bit off the the little magnetic wheels fall out covered with loads of fur balls.
Thanks again

YOU are my heroe!

Blackberry Bold, couple of weeks old, very concerned that wouldn’t scroll down (and to potentially go without whilst being fixed). This also happened to a Curve I was setting up almost fresh from the packet. Definate design weakness.

Compressed air didnt work until I depressed the ball at the same time as blowing air. Happy again. I think the ring is smaller and more fiddly than on a Curve, was pleased not to have to disassemble, but thanks for tip.

aah! i had to clean it like 3 times… ugh! But finally it works thank you!

Thanks for the help! My BlackBerry curve had dust and dirt all in it. Just taking the trackball out itself help tremendously! I deeply appreciate it! Also, while I had the trackball out, I decided to take a Sharpie and color the LED light blue. (tip for all you people who cant color your trackballs on the curve.) Thanks again you all are a big help!!

i had the same problem (my trackball wouldn’t scroll up) but i just used a q-tip and some hydrogen peroxide and it works fine now

thanx alot i was preety mad bt now i fixed my not mine i mean my pearl’s track ball haha thanx alot guys
peace out

I was panicked because I’m leaving the country and just put in the global sim card which must have rearranged some lint on the sensors. As I pulled off the chrome ring I bent one of the brackets and when I bent it back it broke. I leave in two days and couldn’t find a repair place in town so continued messing with my 8830. it worked fine without the chrome holder but I couldn’t get it to work with it. … I got a brighter light, needles and now after cleaning and replacing the chrome piece correctly it works fine. So if you do this be sure to lift the chrome ring off from two sides at once and when you replace it put it back EXACTLY as it comes off. also have a backup plan if you break something!

Thank you so much, this 2 minute fix really worked!!!

The ball is working again!

Thank you for posting this. I have had the problem that my trackball wouldn’t go down anymore on my blackberry pearl (not physically, but on the screen). I carefully disassembled the trackball and found the cause: lots of tiny hair got caught in the roller that is trigger the down sensor. Now it works perfectly again. Only bummer is I should have investigated this sooner, then I could have spared many moments cursing my blackberry… Thanks!!

this worked awesome! i have had a blackberry curve 8320 for about2weeks now,( if that) and it got stuck today. it wouldnt scroll to the right very well at all. it was annoying. i thought i was going to have to turn it in or something. but i follwed the steps closely and cleaned it(i used a Qtip) and now it works perfect! thank you!

it worked on my 8330 Curve – tiny flat head screw driver, worked slowly – once out i really didn’t see any gunk inside, but I still cleaned it using a damp Q-tip. I had not turned my device off, but had to when I put the track ball back in followed by the silver ring because pushing the silver ring back in kept selecting things… so with it off, I snapped the ring back in and wah lah… it’s working again. thanks for the photos and thorough description

It is people like you who make all our lives just a little bit easier – many thanks – I can now use my phone again! I find it incredible the time and effort put into the design of these gadgets for them to be distributed with such glaring flaws – it takes so little time for the trackball (and phone) to be rendered completely useless. Whatever happened to scrolling using the keypad?

thank you, thank you, thank you. you have no idea how frustrating this phone has been and you have resolved my most major problem with it! it was so easy to fix and i am by no means technical. i was so nervous to take it apart, but it literally took me one minute to fix. THANK YOU!!!!!

I have the Pearl and if worked perfect in about 3 minutes. Thanks. Matt

Thanks dude! I was getting worried that I’d be screwed into paying to have this fixed. Took me all of 5 minutes and it’s good as new.

Mine wouldn’t scroll up, works awesome now. thanks.

Totally worked and it only took a minute. Thanks

WOW! Thank you so much for posting this. You really saved me. :] THREE THUMBS UP!

Thanks! My trackball on my 8820 stopped scrolling upwards completely. I followed your directions and its working perfectly. I just flipped the silver ring up with my finger nail and took the trackball component out, played with it some, didnt have peroxide or anything to clean it with but i did find a little grain of something, now its working perfectly. thanks a lot!!

Thank you SO MUCH!
I got my pearl two weeks ago and I am in *LOVE* with it, so I was traumatized when I woke up and discovered that the trackball refused to move right.

thanks. i too had problem with my BB’s trackball. the downward scroll was not smooth. i cleaned as per your suggestions and its now working fine.

Thank you BlackBerryInsight Superheroes!!

My trackball gave up today, but your link came to my rescue immediately. The sharp end of a pair of dividers had the silver ring off in a trice.

I applied Gordons Gin instead of Kryptonite to the square contact beneath the trackball. After that It was up and running in seconds, leaving ample time for a celebratory Gin and Tonic!

Thanks for this post. I’d about lost my mind trying to get my trackball to scroll up and down. Took about 15 mins to get it all done and it’s like new. BRICKBREAKER!

wow it took me 30 mminutes because i dont know how but wen i put it again wen i rolled up it went left or down it went right but it was fun

Hay thanks a ton my tracking ball would not move so it was had 2 play brick bracker! i could not find any web site half as good as this one for help!
Thanks again!
Kel

I mean Brick breaker

BB 8820:

For those who venture to taking the assy completely apart, here’s what I learned (the hard way):

From upside down, the rollers are oriented this way-
Right-magnet down
Left-magnet up
top and bottom follow logically.

Drop the ball in next.

Orient carrier (the white thing containing the ball and magnets): The 8 posts that stick out to the side are different. Two have “shelves” that stick out to the side, the other two are flat. The sides with the “shelves” should be pointing left and right. The flat posts go up and down.

Place on metal clip- Very carefully bend the metal clips back so they’re all slightly inward facing of 90 degrees. Place ball/roller/carrier assembly on metal retaining ring so metal posts with holes are on left and right side. It doesn’t lock to anything yet so you have to hold it all together. Just try to hold by the sides and don’t push on the ball.

Place the back with button lever so the metal post sticks upward. The bump on the button should “bump out” toward you. Place the back on the assembly and secure the metal clips. Use a nail/needle/dentist tool to coax the four clips on. They should all fit on flush and not stick out at all. It doesn’t take much effort. If you find it taking more effort, you probably goofed the orientation of the ball/magnet roller carrier and the retaining ring, rotate one 90 degrees.

Once the whole thing is together, there are two bumps that stick out on the back, orient them to the left/right and drop the thing in. It should fit in easily. Snap the plastic ring back on, the posts should face left-right and down. Don’t force it.

Thanks a lot, I did the cleaning in my BB Pearl and now is working just fine.You saved my phone.

Hey Dude..
Thanku so much.. My trackball on my 8100 stopped scrolling upwards completely. I followed your directions and its working perfectly. I use plucker for take it out trackbal )lol.& it was realy easy to do by your instraction & now its working cool. thanks a lot! Man..U rock

Dude, this article saved my phone from being thrown into a wall. Thanks so much!

Thanks! my phone works now. I was about to throw it too on the wall just like Dave. It sucks if trackball don’t work.

it worked!

took 3 minutes – i also found that for some reason, after i fixed it, initially it didnt work properly.

However, I borrowed another blackberry from an unsuspecting colleague, swapped the trackballs and found that both blackberrys now work!

go figure

There is a GOD!
I read the gadzillion entries and was paralyzed at the idea of disassembling my blackberry pearl. AT&T pretty much didn’t want to discuss any device issues… they just want you to scrap what you have and buy new. Thanks to a guy at Radio Shack, I found this site.

It is working for now. I turned my phone off. I took an alcohol swab and rolled the ball in all directions..pressing the ball with the alcohol swab and rolling it in all directions. I did see a few little dirt speck on the swab. (I would be skeptical of a Q-tip if anything with lint)

TAH DAH! I pray it lasts…. But I do have more of those things they use at the hospital!
Very grateful for everyone’s imput!

Worked great! Thanks!

Thanks, you rock!

Freaking-A, bro! Thank you. Working like a charm and done well within confines of weekly project status call

Howdee All Crackberry Fans

Have a Pearl 8100 and the trackball wouldn’t go down but would go side to side and up. Like many of you out there I was a bit hesitant to take the phone apart ….. so I used the classic “wet wipes” or baby cloths as we call them here in New Zealand and Australia. They are just plain old cloths soaked in a cleaning solution and marketed under so many names. So it worked for me (after no help from Vodafone what so ever) and I didn’t have to take my phone apart !

[...] to Crackberry! I would try cleaning the trackball first. Here is nice tutorial on how to do that. How to clean your BlackBerry’s Trackball | BlackBerryInsight Often, this is a sign of liquid or moisture damage to the device. Also you can try under options, [...]

Hey Great Tip…If I can do this anyone can!!!! My pearl wouldn’t scroll down..so took it apart and cleaned it… Now it works great.Thanks so much

Thanks, the instructions were right on time. I called the OEm and was told the systemwould have to be replaced. I read and followed your instructions to disassembly the sytem and found all the crude that kept the roller from working. I used an eraser and a small golf club brush to clean the roller and the contacts. The BB works now. Thanks again.

[...] How to clean your BlackBerry’s Trackball | BlackBerryInsight [...]

thanks work good

I bought BlackBerry Bold after few month my track ball is not working.

I am very disappointed.

It is easy to clean the trackball of a Blacberry without removing a lot of parts. Simply pop up the ring around the trackball with an exacto knife. Pop up the assembly holding the trackball. Clean the debris at the bottom of the trackball as well as the piece right below it. Push the pieces back in place making sure they are in the right orinentation.

Thanks ! ! Great instructions. I feel like I should be a Blackberry fix it dude !! I worried my Blackberry was shot. Trackball works even better now.

Thanks for your post! I have re-arranged my mobile existance when my perl would not scroll to the the right at all and limited movement downwards. Losing down was easy to get around as there is a keyboard pagedown option, but not being able to go right was a bitch. I moved my “most used” apps to the left most position so I could acess what I needed with just a scroll up/down! About a month has passed and my 2 yr contract is about to come up for renewal next week. I thought I would definately be forced to get the new curve (javalin) which I am not excited about as it is not 3g. The 3g version should be out mid year, so I can now get a bit more milage out of my PERL! Thanks again…

I had the same issue, and I fixed many of the trackballs (since I work for a wireless company) – its relatively simple to clean the trackball and the other four wheels thats just below the trackball. Make sure your hand are clean when operating the phone, thats one of the many reason you end up with a dirty trackball.

Cleaned the trackball thoroughly. Still no up direction. I just sent the phone off to a repair service for the charging port and didnt have this issue before. After getting it back, the date and time are all wrong, which makes me think it could be an OS issue.

Would replacing the trackball help at all?

What about a software issue?

[...] noise when using the trackball. Here is a link that shows how to clean the trackball as well: How to clean your BlackBerry’s Trackball | BlackBerryInsight Good Luck! __________________ Blackberry Lecture series :: Helpful Keyboard Shortcuts :: [...]

Great post! You saved me $200.
I used tuner cleaner spray from Radio Shack on the trackball and it works like new.

this is a great website…thanks for the tip mine works just fine now

All I can say is…THANK YOU!

Lots of good advice, but I can’t believe the ease with which everyone manages to clean their “Ball”.
I’ve tried the Rubbing Alcohol, Hand Cleaner. Metho, Turps, Preen & Gelzyme (Laundry Pre Wash), Dish washing liquid, Spa Cleaner (Off the wall), Sugar Soap, Neat Bleach, Ammonia, Assorted bathroom cleaners, several types of Nail Polish Remover, Industrial strength Degreasers & Detergents, Concentrated Windscreen Washer Additive, Car Polish, Toothpaste, Citrus cleaner, Eucalyptus, Lavender, Hydrogen peroxide and hours in an ultrasonic bath.
I also tried beer because I don’t have any Vodka, but after my efforts, I’m tempted to buy some as by now, I NEED a Drink!
I look after maybe 20 handsets and quite often repair one to give to a new user and trying to make it as new, is the reason I’m looking for the perfect solvent. Certainly, most of the discoloration is gone, but there is always a “Patchy Brown Cloud” that is seen when the “Light is On”. Either the surface is permeable / porous or it has a “skin” and dirt can get underneath.
Does anyone have a “Silver Bullet” or should I just give up and perhaps find a pusher that can supply my habit (well some new balls at least)

Woo-hoo, worked like a charm. Just used an alcohol swab to clean it, popped it back in, and I’m back in business. Thank you so much!

For all of those not sure about this let me offer my two cents. I work on Blackberries on a daily basis as I am the Blackberry tech for the law firm I am employed by. This is a VERY common occurance that is not unlike the rollerball on an old school mouse having problems. As with those devices you need to clean the ball and the bars that it makes contact with. The problem isn’t so much that the ball gets dirty but that it tracks dirt onto the bars that actually affect the movement of the mouse on the screen. Each bar has small little grooves in it that allow the ball to catch thus turning the bar and thereby the magnetic end that is sensed by the movement sensors on the circut board. It is when these grooves get full of gunk that you will see diminished manuverability. Simply clean these and reasseble and you should be golden. If your device is older I would recommend just purchasing a new trackball assembly as the ball and these bars will get worn with use and not work well no matter how much you clean them.

my blackberry 8110, u can see the scroll on the screen but u cant click. i mean it will Fiscally click but the screen/thing wont recognize it!!

I just cleaned mine as best I could with basic dish handsoap with warm water a few times and it now works….For how long it will??????

[...] March 3, 2009 at 9:08 am · Filed under Hardware Though BlackBerry users sometimes have some problems with the trackball – they love [...]

my trackball a click, but it won’t scroll… i think i’ll try the cleaning procedures

My 8830 trackball became unusually sensitive, such that just pressing it moderately (without the click) was just like pressing it to click it. I had to scroll with a very light touch and then press slightly harder (without even clicking) to simulate clicking on my screen choice. It was “touch-and-go” for a while until my warranty got the entire unit replaced. I beat the warranty deadline by a few weeks, fortunately. Unfortunately you can never quite get the replacement 8830 set up the same as the original and one spends a lot of time reloading and adjusting the add-on software onto the replacement. Oh well….

Just perfect! Removed the covering ring using my thumbnail, removed the trackball assembly, gave it a blowjob and popped it back into place. Good as new!

Only thing worth noting is that I couldnt locate that second ring thats mentioned in the tutorial. I’m guessing the 8120 doesnt have one.

my blackberry you can see the scroll on the screen but u cant click. i mean it will Fiscally click but the screen/thing wont recognize it!!i did all the cleaning, but still not working. any suggestion?
john said,

Regarding the 8120, I too noticed that the locking ring seems to have been discontinued. On the 8100, many people have trouble getting it back in and leave it out and is doesn’t seem to matter. Regarding my recent post #287, I forgot to add the Fizzy denture cleaning tablets, but really, can everyone get their balls clean with a quick wipe??Operationally, my trackball assembly works fine, the ball just looks “nasty” after a while and I can’t find a way to make it look like a new one.
As for the “Click” not working (post #296) or working too easily(#294), I have a cure for the brave and this also applies to any other key that may stop working.
Each Key (including the pearl) is in fact a seperate switch and is just a small convex metal disk stuck over two circuit tracks with a tiny square of sticky stuff. Moisture (coke, coffee, etc…) can get underneath and cause corrosion and the key to stop working.

Using the tip of a small knife or the tip of a pin, it’s possible to lift up a corner to start with and then peel off the complete “Key”.
Use EXTREME caution to avoid damaging the circuit board although I’ve done 6 by now without any casualties.
You can then clean the tracks with a cotton bud (Q-Tip) and alchohol (eg metho) You need to also clean the underside of the small metal disk, but use care not use damage the sticky around the disk so you can put it back and not to use too much force because if you deform the shape, it will change the pressure and feel of the switch (see post #294). You must be precise with the location when you put it back. If the Pearl click is too light a touch, swap the key for a location that you don’t care about so much.

If when you finish, the key repeats or gives two different characters, it’s most likely because the “key” is misaligned or that there is still moisture from the cleaning that will need to dry out.

Since I discovered this, I’ve taken three handsets out of my “Junk Box” and put them back into service. Hopefully this tip will see many other handsets back in action, because it seems the failure of a key is quite common.

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Thanks so much for that tip. The last time it happened I had the ball replaced. Unfortunately, it cost me US$50 as I am in the Caribbean. This time I decided to check online for a solution. You just saved me US$50. I used my eyeglass screwdriver and had to remove only 2 parts on the pearl – the silver ring and the part with the trackball.

Thank you!! I didnt even need the BP toolkit. I used my twizzers & a hair clip! The trackball even held on to the hair clip due to the magnet. I hope this doesnt happen again. I didnt see any junk in there but whatever it worked

The trackball on my Curve wasn’t moving to the right. I was getting ready to go to Verizon to see what they could do, but I decided to check some forums and found this one. I took out the trackball component and used a swab and rubbing alcohol to clean the trackball and the rollers. It now works like new! Thanks for your advice and possibly saving me some money!

Well when i was searching through my apps. i found out that one my trackball wheel wouldnt go to the right. so what i did was took off the trackball wheel face plate and i rolled it each way and i found a little metal object stuck in it so i removed it and my trackball worked again like new.

Googled clean blackberry track ball, this site came up, with some courage I took a screwdriver to my fragile piece of technology and removed the ball. Cleaned away some dirt and it’s working, still can’t beleive it was that simple.

thanks for all your help!

thanks! it was very helpful!!! I almost spent $50 for this…

Beware of using contact spray when cleaning the contacts of the Blackberry Pearl (or any other). I couldn’t find any alcohol, so I squirted a quick burst of contact cleaner directly into the trackball circuit board area (trackball was removed). Now I have a display with a back shadow image which looks suspiciously like the spray cleaner (leaves no residue!) has affected the display.

I would recommend spraying the contact cleaner onto a q tip and then using the q tip to clean the area. Alcohol is probably the best route. Just lightly dampen a q tip and gently rub the dirt and residue away.

I am hopeful that leaving my B’Berry off for a few hours may allow the solvent to dissipate and I can get my former clear screen back!

Thanks man, that help me out a lot. Good luck

I found some weeks ago some clever pictures about how we can disassemble Bold’s trackball and cleaning. Follow these instructions I resolved my problems. Now I have the same problems but I dont find pictures. I dont remember exactly how I can reassemble trackball. Someone could help me? Thanks a lot

you save my life! thank you….

you saved my life! thank you….

Thanks a lot. it worked for me. Saved my money too. Other closeup pictures are available at http://tylerkeen.blogspot.com/2008/07/how-to-remove-and-clean-your-blackberry.html

I had to do a it a few times but I got mine fixed. I had to completely remove the ball from the casing to clean out all the gunk with rubbing alcohol that was preventing it from scrolling down. Now my 8800 is back to normal.

Why go to the trouble of cleaning it when you can buy a replacement trackball online from Mr Mobile for $29.95 and get next day delivery for $5.95.

I just got 2 new trackballs and keep one spare.

Thanks alot. I have the Pearl and the whold process took me about 10 minutes!! With it, I actually dissasembled the entire rollerball assembly and soaked them in cleaning solution. It really gets all of the dust out of there. Then by marking matching sides with a Sharpie, I was able to put it back together very easily!

Thanks again

My trackball kept sticking and wouldn’t move to the right. I didn’t want to take it apart, so I tried the idea of putting a drop of hand sanitizer on it. I put just a drop on my microfiber cloth and rubbed it around and the ball works perfectly now.
Great idea, thank you!

Worked like a champ! Thanks for posting a great tip!

Hey I got the curve 8330 and when I scroll the ball just feels like it has a lot of slop to it and it hope around the screen after I release it. When I have tried other peoples curves, one that was purchased a week after mine, they all seem tight when I touch the track ball almost like a spring hold up the ball is weak. Any suggestions? I had Veriz send me another, not just for the ball but I wanted a diff color, but the ball feels even worse than the one I have already. Please help and thanks for your time.

Oh hey one last thing is it normal for the curve to sometimes not have the keyboard lights turn on or the track ball light turn on unless it gets shaken around??

That’s not normal mate

Perfect advice!! Spent the weekend without being able to check my beloved Blackberry. Found your instructions & it took me just 5 minutes to pull the track ball out, clean the wheels & put it back together again! I found a thin piece of metal lodged in between one of the wheels. Works fine now!!

Called Sprint & they advised they had plenty of track balls & the repair was free, if needed (so keep that in mind). You can also always purchase a new track ball on eBay. Thank you!!

Cool! I had no idea that the trackball cover just popped off. You’ve saved me the cost of a toolkit to dismantle my old 8800 and maybe even a new phone when I’d broken this one

I can even see the light under my pearl again

just wet your finger a little bit with some water . Don’t saturate your finger! Just enough to clean the ball. Then start using your trackball move it back and forth and side to side. I just did it and it worked.

hey. so i got mine out no problem. and i though i’d recap on everything i found fo rthose who re like me. dont knowmuch about computers or anything. i personnaly am a dairy farmer from south western ontario.
so any ways i have a pearl and i followed the instructions above anddecided i’ll put details about what i saw.
i didnt, however, see the little ring in the picture i only saw the outside ring and the ball assembly (i guess it should be called)
ok so any ways i used my finger nail for th cover which was easy but i read the bit about how theres littl plastic parts to hold it is (the word ued what nipples but im sure theres more technical wordfor it). there were three on the bottom, and the sides all facing downwards. i used my nail at the top and after getting it slightly out i started working on the other sides slowly (i didnt know what i would find).
after i got it off i looked and tough the ball assembly would be held in there by something so i tried working it with a small flat head. i only bent a sall peice of metal (which latter helped me acctually). (surrounding the ball and its ring is a smal metal plate i bent one corner of it, which was easy to bend back latter)
after this i realised it wasnt held n by anything and i just flipped it over and gave it a pat on the back and fell out no problem.
on i should have mentioned the problem was having was the wheel wouldnt respond to going up. (dust problem)
so i looked at the back peice. theres a little metal tab that canbe bent back. and there u can see the sensors and the dust. u will need something ike a needle or whatever. i just pushed out the ball (cracking the white ring,,, oops) and took out the dust by blowing on it. if you do take the ball out i recomend u put the metal peice on the back, bend it inwards a bid.and had the wheel on the bottom while i was pushing the assembly with my thumbs on my desk.
and then everything goes back together normally.
i am thankful i did bend the one plate a bit because i knew which way the assembly goes in. i dont know if this makes a diffrence or not but its all back together the way it was before. no problem.
works better now though.
oh one more thing i should mention is a section of the ball light was dark before i took it out and fixed it. i think this is a indicator that it is dust and now a softwear problem.
(ps dont mind my spelling. my next project is fixing my laptop keys)
i hope i helped some one out

also forgot to rate this page. this page was a butt saver

Thanks for the trackball cleaning advice. Works like brand new!!

someone please help!
i have a blackberry curve 8900 && my ball works when it feels like working. i would try the tips sugguested but i don’t have the silver holder like the pearl does.
any ideas?

[...] http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2007/06/13/how-to-clean-your-blackberrys-trackball/ Share and [...]

Thanks! mine wouldn’t scroll down anymore but I followed your instructions and it works great again.

THANK YOU THANK YOU!
I am not a techie by any stretch of the imagination… today, out of nowhere, my trackball wouldn’t go up anymore. Very limiting. In searching the Web, I found this site and IT WORKED! Only took about 2 minutes. Unfortunately it popped out quickly so I didn’t really get to see how it came out to put it back in… but if you look at the back of the track ball, there are three areas for the three prongs on the ring to fit. The prongs go on the left, right and bottom of your blackberry. Anyhow, my thanks – I didn’t want to have to take it in to get fixed, and definitely didn’t want to have to replace it. THANKS AGAIN!

The trackball on my wife’s BB gets “stuck” all the time. I’m too much of a coward/cheapskate to take it apart. It’s less than a year old. But, I can get it working again by applying a couple of drops of rubbing alcohol to the ball, spinning it around a bit, and blowing it out with air. I have to give this a couple of tries sometimes. But, it works. I know all that crud is going inside the phone *somewhere*. So, maybe when I’m braver and the phone is older I’ll take it apart and give it a thorough cleaning. (This is reason #8 why my Dash is better than her BB!)

Thank you so much for these simple repair instructions. My trackball would move every direction but up. AT&T suggested I get the trackball replaced for $60 or replace the phone. But using your instructions and a sharp knife to remove the round silver plate, I fixed it myself i 3 minutes. Thanks!

I was on vaation in Florida when the problem happened and needed the blackberry and didn’t expect the store to be able to replace it immediately. This worked great. Thanks!

Thanks a lot for you explanation on how to solve this problem.
My track ball was kind’a faulty from the very beginning however it worked . But, today I could not scroll down anymore. So I followed your advise and that did not work.
Went and order one of the universal track balls you suggest via Amazon.
Still needed to get the matter solved asap, so I dismantled the track ball again. I could not identify the sensors you mentioned , but just went with a Q- tip slightly dipped in alcohol and cleaned as much as I could see. That did not work either. Then I read on another page, a guy saying something about pressurised air and dirt on the ball itself. So I went and just blew the hell out of my lungs on the ball, and VOILA ! it is working now.
Thanks for your help, as you signaled it might have been dirt on the system, causing problems with the tracking ball.
Cheers !

Wow I read one of the tips here that said blow directly on it with all of your force and it worked for mine. I was trying everything and for some reason when I that it worked. So i guess if you are not very technical I would try that first.

This is not the only cause. After hours of dissection of my Blackberry Pearl, I’ve studied how the pearl works… and within the little gears of the ball that captures the ball’s turning action, dust or lint can actually coat (depending on how much) but none the less get in there… Most likely from your pocket.

Meaning, if you get a case or something and it’s not broken it should be fine.

It is not too hard to clean, I used only my fingers and an exacto-knife for the whole operation. I will never visit this forum again, but if you would like help e-mail me.
tlfrmn@gmail.com

I understand how annoying something that doesn’t work is…

this is great!! i just followed all the steps and got by ‘pearl’ unstuck. i didn’t have a screwdriver at the office, so i thought i’d pass on the info that i used a staple and that allowed me to get all the parts off/out and clean around the edges of everything!

Hey umm well my trackball justs kept randomly clicking things and like spazzing out does this thing work with that or should i take it to the store to get it checked?

This is a great post! I have had this problem repeatedly and previously had gone to my service provider for service. They fixed it 2X, but it took lots of time and frustration during down time! This time, i fixed it just as you suggested and it is working perfectly. THANKS!

Thank You! Mine wouldn’t scroll down so I took apart and cleaned following your instructions but then it would only scroll whenever it wanted to so I took apart again and soaked in alcohol and dried thoroughly with hair dryer and now it works great again.

Sensational! i can not believe my pearl is back to life, thank you for saving my phone.!

Another satisfied user. Thanks to the OP!

Fantastic.

I found heaps of fluff stuck to the rollers, removed it and now it`s like brand new.

Thanks.

Okay. So somehow a droplet of water got on my trackball, so when I rolled it, water went underneath it, and in the bottom of the screen. Everything on the phone works, even the trackball scrolls, but the button underneath it doesnt react when i push it. I removed the trackball like above and was able to scrape off dirt on the underneath that was on the copper piece…but still nothing. Any other suggestions on ways to get it to work?
thanks

@kelsey – The water is probably shorting the contact on the button. Try blowing the water out with compressed air.

thanks dude this fixed my problem right away!

this helped a lot!!!!!
thanks times 10

My trackball moves in all directions but when I press down it doesnt work. Need help.

PERFECT!! thanks a lot!!!

U CAN CLEAN THE ENTIRE BALL ASSY SIMPLY BY TURNING OFF THE BERRY, THEN DIP A TOOTHPICK INTO RUBBING ALCOHOL ( GET AT ANY STORE ) AND DROP A DROP ONTO THE BALL AND MOVE IT AROUND… DO THIS A COUPLE TIMES THEN BLOW INTO IT REALLY WELL A FEW TIMES TO BLAST OUT THE ALCHOL AND DUST… THE ALCHOL WILL CLEAN, AND WHEN YOU BLOW IT OUT IT WILL REMOVE THE GUNK AND EVAPORATE.. TAKES ABOUT 1 MIN TO CLEAN AND YOUR DONE..

ALSO USE A SOFT TISSUE OR BROWN NAPKIN TO CLEAN YOUR SCREEN SPOTLESS WIHT ALCHOL… MAKES IT LIKE NEW…

IF YOU HAVE SOME MINOR SCUFFS OR SCRATCHES ON LENS OF DISPLAY USE ANTI FOG PASTE ON IT… PUT TINY DROP OF WATER AND SOME PASTE ON THE SCREEN WORK IT AROUND IN CIRCLES WITH YOUR CLEAN FINGER TILL IT GETS A BIT DRY..THEN BUFF OFF WITH DAMP CLOTH…

LOOKS NEW !

I was having issues scrolling down. I’m sure this was caused by using my Curve while I was working on the bike. Grease and the trackball don’t mix as well as you’d think, lol. Took it apart as per the directions above and it is working like new.

Thanks for the help!

Exactly what I was looking for, will try.

Rubbing alcohol is your best friend to fix this problem. I bought a brand new trackball and still had problems moving left and right.
Took a small cotton swab, dipped in rubbing alcohol and cleaned those 4 black magnetic pieces in the phone, put it all back together. worked like a charm. I was almost ready to huck this Curve out until i did this!

After reading all this…I think I’ll just get a STORM

After reading all this…I think I’ll just get a STORM…Its got no balls

Life saver of an article, exactly what I needed. My trackball stopped scrolling down and following the steps here I cleaned it and everything is a-ok now.

Before I tried this I dipped a Q-tip in alcohol and move the ball around. Whatever was keeping the cursor from going up was cleaned by the alchohol. 5 second fix and no disassembling my Curve.

@Doug – So… you’re saying that the Curve is some kind of “One Balled Got Stucker”?

I tried the cleaning method and it worked great! My friend, on the other hand, had a bit let luck. She somehow (maybe she’s the bigger klutz??) broke the trackball while cleaning it. Has that happened to anyone else? She ended up getting a new one from blackberrytrackball.com and was fine. Anyone had similar thing happen?

I was travelling by train when my Blackberry trackball stubbornly refused to click. Just the day before I cleaned the trackball (without taking it out) with spirit, because it used to refuse scrolling in certain direction(s).
Now the scrolling is just perfect. I can scroll in any direction, but when I clicked it, it just won’t happen. I have to use the Enter key instead. I even took out the trackball and cleaned it. The mechanism (pad) for the click purpose also seems to work fine. But it just won’t respond. This becomes frustrating.
I think this is the same problem other BB users faced. Scrolling problem, Clicking problem.

I don’t know if it is a software or, hardware problem. I hope we can somehow solve this problem. Anyway I loved my Blackberry, and I am still going to buy a Blackberry, and I hope my next BB will not have this problem.

Anyway happy cleaning, Blackberry Ball Cleaners.:)

NO DISASSEMBLE!

@Jam Chin Lam – Spirits are oil based. Oil will clean out the gunk at first. (Any liquid will.) But, it will cause a much BIGGER mess when it dries or gets into the switch. Stick to cleaning the ball with alcohol!

I also am having problems with being able to scroll, but the contact or clicking device will not make contact. Is replacing the entire trackball worth trying or a waste of time?

AWESOME! Although I did chip a piece of the silver ring trying to take it off, cleaning it worked perfectly. I had trouble getting the silver ring back on too.

Thanks!
Your instructions worked like a charm.

Thanks! You saved my life! I figured that there was a problem with the trackball (I had the same issue as you) but I thought it was impossible to clean it without disassembling the device.

I almost got blind cleaning all the small parts, but now it works perfectly!

thanks so much works perfect now but you have to be carfull!

You guys are amazing!!!! My BB Pearl trackball stoped scrolling down a week ago while I was away on a business trip, I wanted to die because most of the functions were disabled because of this! I started going through your WISE advise and the first thing I tried before going into the trouble of disassembling it was rubbing an antibacterial wet pad up and down and all around, sticking my finger nail all around the ball AND IT WORKED LIKE A CHARM!!!! To the less experienced in the assemble/disassemble of devices, try this, you will be AMAZED!!!! THANKS TO ALL!!!!

I disassembled the trackball assembly and removed a lot of dirt + dust and then reinstalled. It didn’t work. i then removed it again and took apart the trackball sub-assembly (the unit that is under the ring – I have an 8820) and then cleaned that. Unbelievable amount of crap came out and now the trackball works as good as new. Thanks!

thanks this fixed my problem

Thanks. This worked perfectly. Appreciate it. You saved me lot of time going around for getting it fixed.

Thanks so much for the directions and pix. My local Sprint store is a guaranteed 2 hour wait for any repair, at a minimum. With your expert help, I fixed my trackball myself!!

Thanks for the article, followed the steps and worked very well.
I would recommend using a cotton bud for the cleaning and no alcohol or wet products, remember to clean the metal sensor because this seemed to be the problem for my pearl.

[...] This post was Twitted by bbunderground [...]

Heyy fellas …have you simply tried switching it off and licking the trackball all around.
Switch it on and VOILAAAA it worked for me and I know of many for whom it has worked.

Maybe you are just licking the dirt out of it …but yeah its far easier than the entire effort and risk.

Just Do It !!!

I just have the same problem this morning. – I don’t want to lose my warranty

so i tried putting vaseline petroleum jelly on my finger and scroll it around

and wow!! my scroll down works!!

Thanks alot man!
I work in construction, so alot of gunk was in there. it helped me alot to know how to clean it out, cause the ball itself would barely roll in any direction and refused to register “up”.

I did it using my bare hands on my blackberry pearl 8110.
took me like 10 minutes.

thanks again, you saved me alot of hassle.

worked great thanks for the tip

Like erika (post 326), I have a Curve 8900, without the wide silver ring. It’s sticky scrolling to the right. Is it possible to pry the pearl up from the front (without damage)? Has anyone tried & can you please post if you have advice for us? Or do we have to open up the back and take the guts out (which also looks a bit tricky, some of the screw heads are little plastic guys that I suspect are designed to be unusable after one unscrew).

Also, one of the screws is covered by a round, fragile red sticker with a “-” in the middle. Is that just so the dealer can void your warranty if the “seal” is broken?

The Curve 8900 basically works like the Bold. It is a bit harder to disassemble it but it works. Take a look at the Bold pictures above and you will see how it works. Just remember always: be careful and don’t break anything!

Thank you very much. This article is just what I was looking for. Instead of cleaning the wheels on the trackball I decided to spray WD40 on it and it works just find.
But thank you for this article.

[...] on Amazon! This includes the new ball versions of the Curve 8900 which is black. I our article How to clean your BlackBerry’s Trackball we described very detailed how you get your broken / stuck BlackBerry trackball out and clean the [...]

THANKS soooo muchhh!!
my trackball fell out and i wasnt sure if I had lost any parts. Now i know its removable. my phone works great! and best of all i can now turn my alarm off!!!

Don’t start taking anything apart until you try this: Get a sanitary alcohol wipe (like they use at the hospital), and use it to clean the track ball. Once you’ve rolled it around for a while, it should start working again. Mine did.

Thanks a lot it worked great!

Thanks a million — your instructions were a god-send as it saved me from replacing my pearl. ATT service didn’t seem to have a clue what to do except sell me another phone (of course). As this has happened numerous times before (scrolling downward is blocked) your advice will come in handy.

3 friends have the same problems! one tried WD40 it worked, another licked the ball around and it worked! and another used Sanitary Wipes and it worked! (all of them were Bolds)
This Site is def. the best way to figure how to fix Blackberry Trackballs

I have had my pearl for a total of 5 days before I ran into this problem. I had it fixed and ready to go before I came upon this article.
Im glad to know that Im not the only one to come across this problem.
And I feel even better knowing that if it happens again, there is a more simple solution then sending it away for a month to be fixed!

Thank you x10000 !

Replacement parts available online <$10. Just look them up.

Verizon gave me two of them for free – I didn’t even ask for new ones, I just told them it wasn’t tracking anymore.

replacement is not necesarry , in the first screen shot u notice there are three round objects by the berry…just dip the hole of the scroll ball , “which is the first by the berry” into alcoholsolution an try scrolling the ball in the solution ..the real dirty is between th ball and the white linning around it. call me on +233244660331 its easy ………and good as new.

i just scrubbed the tracker ball using a tissue dipped in vodka. I did not open the instrument. it now works! the light inside the ball is even visible. i gotta bold.

Hello
just followed this advice…worked perfectly
Thankyou so much!!!!
Karon

I tried your instructions and it worked great. I only had two pieces though. The track ball assembly and the silver ring which is on the surface of the phone. I didn’t have (or see) the metal ring that is supposed to be holding the thing in place. Whatever, it worked and I am grateful.

I cleaned it and it worked! thanks

Thanks for the info. I used a knife to pop off the silver ring and loosened up those 4 mini black wheels….works like a charm! Yay!

I have a much simpler solution that I’ve used several times. Wet your index finger with a very tiny amount of water and put a minute bit of dish detergent on it. Blend between index finger and thumb. Try to move the trackball in every direction. Then, use a soft cloth to move the trackball in every direction and to dry any moisture on the trackball. This has worked every time for me, and requires no tools! The theory behind my method: oils accumulate on the trackball and make it lose traction.

WOW! Thanks! My phone is at least 6 months old. It would not roll down. I googled the issue found you & fixed it. Thanks!!

Great information. Thank you!! Tmobile was telling me there was nothing they could do and I would need a new phone. I was starting to really hate blackberrys.
Track ball is fixed and I dont have to spend any money. PLUS-I fixed someone’s phone in my office with the same issue. Sweet!!

If you are a female like me, who uses a lot of hand lotion, the grease on your hand affects the contacts on the track ball. I lightly rolled a miniscule amount of Rubbing alcohol on my finger-tips and rolled it over the track ball. Now it works! Thank you “Jesus”! LOL

I can now live again!

[...] How to clean your BlackBerry’s Trackball | BlackBerryInsight http://www.blackberryinsight.com/2007/06/13/how-to-clean-your-blackberrys-trackball – view page – cached I read a lot of articles where BlackBerry users complained about their BlackBerry’s trackball (aka pearl – which gave the Pearl its name) doesn’t want to move — From the page [...]

Thank You for the excellent help in repairing my trackball. I love the internet. You are a 10 out of 10!!!!

I used very lightly moistened alcohol pads on the ball and moved it around (mine wasn’t moving up) worked like a charm!

thanks patrick, your info is a great break through for all berry users….all the way from Africa , wow u great.

Wow. Boom, Bang. Glad to have my BlackBerry back. This really works. I cleaned the trackball and rollers with rubbing alcohol.

On my Blackberry Curve 8310, had the same problem and removed the silver ring and took out the trackball. However, once I removed the metal retainer holding all the trackball components together, was not able to put it back together again. The metal retainer is VERY fragile on this model and if its bent even a little, the pieces will not fit back together. Had to order a new trackball from cellulardr.com (not carried in stores) which showed up in a few days and popped it in and phone is working fine. Word of warning is NOT to disassemble the trackball components held together by the metal retainer or do so at your own risk.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. Trackball went on strike and would not roll up. Pried out the metal ring and fished out the gunk. It WORKS! HURRAH! Thank goodness as I’m boarding a plane in 4 hours and canNOT be without my phone!!! I have an 8330 and the first picture was all I needed – and I am a mechanical idiot. WOO HOO

Help!!! I was having a problem with the trackball not going left to right.. I disassembled it and did exactly what it says to do to clean the trackball. When I assembled it and turned it on it moved from left to right perfectly but now it won’t moved right to left.

All anyone could’ve done was buy a trackball for a couple dollars off eBay.

[...] have a HP I used this link How to clean your BlackBerry’s Trackball | BlackBerryInsight __________________ Lewis tugboat lew – pictures from my life at sea "mother, mother [...]

Just did this on my Blackberry Curve 8300 series and it worked! I kept trying to pop out the ball by itself never realized you had to remove the silver ring first instead.

Yes, my problem got resolved in a minute.
Blackberry pearl trackball was not scrolling down, just i opened it, cleaned and placed it back. it is working fine now!!!

thanks a lot for the very useful and clear info…
-Jayaprakash

Works perfect after cleaning. Thank you so much

Thank you so much. My trackball would not scroll down. I tried everything to fix it and it’s done this before. I thought blackberries were terrific phones but I was mistaken. I had this one for a year and signed a 2 year contract so I bought an LG Shine off E-Bay yesterday. I’m stoked.

But thank you again. You saved me a lot of hassle because if I went to AT&T I’m sure they would try to replace it and make me pay and I can’t afford that.

(=

thank you very much!! this worked just ggrrrrreat!!! Mine is the BB 8830. After I followed your advise, with a magnifier glass and a Swiss Army tool I was able to get a lot of dirt from inside and around the trackball casing. Also, I was able to get the dust off the little track mechanisms within the trackball enclosure!! It’s now working!! and I hope to keep using it for some time!! I’ve grown used to it after 15 months but my company charges quite a lot for an upgrade, so, of this keeps working, I’m OK with it.

I also praise the internet – and curse US Cellular. Should have googled before I spent 20 mins in line and spoke to someone who was no help whatsoever. I took off the trackball no problem. Cleaned out tons of guck with a q tip, BUT 2 other random pieces fell out on my Pearl 8830. A small silver circle and a square yellow important-looking-techy piece.

I cleaned those as well BC my trackball has not been clicking (I found an alternate button thank God – bottom left and bottom right can be substituted for clicking the trackball). All together now and still no light and no clicky. Does anyone have a screenshot for these tiny parts and how they should go back in???

Thanks, it works.
Before i couldn`t go to right with the ball.

[...] Here is a very good writeup on how to open your blackberry, which can help you further in cleaning it up. [...]

This is a good way to direct you on how to clean your blackberry trackball.

Great info! Thanks!

I have a 8330 curve and had the same problem with moving the tracking ball. I used a can of compressed air with a straw and sprayed the air all around the ball. It worked instantly and it now moves freely. Hope that helps someone!

didnt work for me, made it worse

Hey, do you know how to clean the trackball for BB bold?

Cleaning didn’t work for me- but Verizon replaced my trackball for free.

Hi, How did you remove that last part covering the track ball on the BOLD????? Thanks

The perfect tool for disassembling the track ball is a bent dental pick with a very fine point. Your friendly neighborhood dentist can loan one to you. I was able to take apart the track ball for cleaning in about 3 seconds using this tool. No damage Good luck

THANK YOU SO MUCH! I’ve got to travel and am SO dependent on this thing. Didn’t see any dirt (but in my life, wouldn’t be a surprise!) but popping it in and out worked like a charm. Saved my sanity and my marriage (I think I need to address this Blackberry dependence issue……)

fuck all that shit ill end up breaking it

Thanks so much the cleaning has worked for my BB 8310 curve. Thanks so much Once again.

Before taking drastic steps like this, please consider to try the following. Take clean A4 paper from printer, put on desk, turn blackberry upside down and place the trackball on clean paper. Now drag your blacberry in all directions across the paper. Due to static electricity and the blackberry being upside down, most dirt should come out onto the paper, and you’ll find it will work fine in most cases. If not, you can remove hardware as suggested here. Kind regards, Lex.

keep your hands clean at all times. avoice putting much lotion on your hand.

This is so strange I have just thoroughly cleaned my trackball and the inside and put it back in. Now it moves around great? and clicks fine but the click is unresponsive, any ideas? I think I may have unknowingly disabled it. I am so bumbed

[...] That happens to mine occasionally – I think it must be dust or fluff as a quick blow sound gets it working again. Theres ways to remove the ball to clean it which I tried on my Pearl, but never tried it on my bold now. BlackBerryInsight How to clean your BlackBerry’s Trackball [...]

the first time this happened to me, Verizon Wireless replaced my trackball for free. They ever installed it for me. I did nothing but read a book in the lobby for 10 minutes.

This time, i cleaned it myself following the original instructions way up top and it worked just as well.

Thank you very much!

Track ball not moving?? You are making this a HUGE deal that isn’t.
BEFORE you take your phone apart, playing with trackball, etc — take a teeny bit of Purel or other hand sanitizer and put it on the trackball and roll it around. DONE. No more problems. I was shown this from an ATT Service Center. And if you take cover off of phone that is under warranty it won’t be covered anymore.

damn holdin down da trackball and srolling it to the direction which its not scrolling to really works

Thank you so much for this! I followed the directions to take out the silver ring with a small screwdriver (be careful because of the prongs) and then pulled out the trackball and found the roller thing that made it scroll up (which i was having problems with) and there was something stuck on it. I cleaned it off and put it back together and it works like normal again! Thanks so much! THis was a huge help! I would die without my phone haha!

Don’t use vodka (it has too muich water). Everclear at 95% alcohol works great and dries almost instantly>

couple of drops of eyewash solution on a cotton bud rubbed over the ball did the trick. Didn’t have any of the other fixes in the house.

Thanks !!!

HI! i have a bb 8900 i took it apart tried cleaning the ball got all the dirt out, but its still not working, now when i scroll up and down, in the screen goes sideways..do i need to get a new trackball? or is my phone broken:s??

Worked like a charm. Thank you SO MUCH!

I have a problem with my applications key triggering when I do not want it to (i spilled some juice in it). I don’t know if I can get in there and clean it. Has anyone had this problem?
Thanks

I had trouble with Traxball, cleaned as instructed works great.. be carefull though these are small fragile parts.

tried the alcohol hand sanitiser and it worked a treat

hey man it helped me. thanks a lot.

Took the track ball off the blackberry curve 8330 clean it with a towel and q-tip touch of alcohol If works fine for now

Dear friends,

I am using blackberry 8830. I am facing problem with roller ball. i tried all the options mentioned above. I have cleaned my roller ball and still its not scrolling down. i want to change it can anyone suggest from where i can buy it. am based out of chennai india.

Thanks! I have an 8830 and just took my trackball out and cleaned it. So much lint and gunk inside! It is working fine now! Yay!

Was on the verge of buying a new BB!! Thanks to your post I’ll gladly spend those now unallocated funds on the wifey!! Benihana here we come!!!

Your post (instruction complete with pics) totally did the job!
You rock!

My ball wouldnt go down (pearl), i had my phone sitting round for months putting off sending it away…finally decided to try for myself and it worked brilliantly. takes a bit of concentration but the instructions were spot on. I have other friends withthe same issue, they will be just as happy as i am…thanks heaps, you have helped me alot

I used to clean the rollerball on my 8300 all the time. With my 8900 i was a little afraid to disassemble. There is no big ring around it that is easy to remove and I was afraid i would break the menu/back button that completely surrounds it. I tried the tip Mosasji suggested and rolled my phone around upside down on a clean piece of paper. Worked like a charm! Rollerball was almost useless 10 minutes ago… works great now! Thanks Mosasji!!

Great Info…I have a pearl flip and my trackball wouldn’t move up. I put some hand sanitizer on a cotton swap and rolled it around a couple of minutes…WORKS PERFECT!!!! I took off the outside silver plate but did not remove the trackball…hope this helps…

Great!!! I followed your instruction and my useless 8100 now works perfectly, thanks a lot!!

Thank you SO much for this! I just cleaned the ball and its casing, and my track ball is working beautifully.

Thanks!I was going to take it to the store, but decided to go online first. I got the alcohol, screwdriver and QTips out, but before taking the screwdriver to it, I just cleaned the keyboard and ball. And guess what? It worked! No screw driver to my phone. Thank you!!!

[...] [...]

The instructions at the top of this thread worked great on my Pearl. Thanks for the tip!

Hello, first off I discovered that the trackball gets stuck because of lint that gets trapped under the trim ring. So for starters don’t keep your phone in your pocket unless its in a case of some sort as it rubs against the inside of your pockets and sucks up the lint in there.

I had been having trouble with mine for about a month but did not want to open it up as I usually end up breaking a tab off and making the situation worse.

I started by looking at the trackball under a CCTV camera that was zoomed in and found strands of lint in between the trackball and the housing. Using a pair of needle nose tweezers I pulled everything out which took a few minutes then cleaned the surface with some alcohol and a LINT FREE cloth.

I was amazed at how many strands of stuff were stuck in there after about 5 minutes the trackball rolled fine and I used a micro pen oil dropper that I bought at a hobby store put 1 drop of oil in there and the thing has worked great for the last month.

Trackball works like new. Not sure if the drop of oil makes a difference but it seems to work better than when new.

after taking the silver ring out i determined the trackball had no electronic components so i decided to run it under water. i then put a drop of dawn dishwashing detergent on it and worked throughout the whole assembly, then rinsed it and let it air dry. after reinstalling, this thing works flawlessly and even better yet it is nice and clean like brand new. i work in a metal fab and machine shop so my trackball was super grimy and i have to take my back cover off to vacuum metal chips off the speaker at least once a month.

Thanks for the article. I have the Curve 8320, I’ve had the problem of the trackball not moving in various directions occasionally. What i used to do was have a dry piece of cloth or tissue and wipe off the ball (whilst still assembled) and it would move not as good but it would. For the past two days it would not move up or down, rendering the phone useless. Tried pulling down the phone but didnt have the right tools, then yesterday I went to technician to replace it and they said that sensor had gone bad so they would have fixed the sensor and replace the trackball as well, but ….they didn’t have the ‘ball’, so i would have to come today. I just decided to google and see what i find. I must say thanks again. If i had known that the ball was so easy the pull out, the phone would be up and running two days ago, and it like new, plus i was able to wash the ball.

Thanks so much – did as you instructed and my phone is working much better. Any tips on how to clean all the keys – I have a couple that stick also but am hesitant to take my phone apart.

Thank you…it worked perfectly.

I have replaced two blackberry pearls for the same stuck track ball issues. I think next time I will try cleaning it instead of the inconvinience of backing up and reloading to a new phone, plus waiting for the replacement phone to ship, and the added hassle of shipping the defective one back. It sounds like it is much easier to clean it or replace the ball and sensor all together. Thanks for the info.

Hey, thanks for the information. Removing the trackball was easy and it’s working fine now.

I took the track ball aprt and couldnt see anthing and then the botom white plastice piece came out from under the track ball along with the magnets i dont know how to put them together please help i cant use my black berry

Great! fixed my Blackberry Curve 8330 right away!

Clean info was money… took about 5 min… real life saver!!

I have a problem and I’m hoping I won’t have to take it to a store. My trackball will scroll up down left and right, but when I push it down, I have to hold it down for at least 10 seconds before it does anything. This happened since I dropped the phone in a rain puddle about a week ago. Please help

i just bought a new blackbery because my old one was doing stuff like this and i thought it wuld be different but it is really no different. i sometimes use scissors actually and stick it in the sides(that way you dont even have to remove it). but i will not get another blackberry. they are good for use but are nto built well.

not*

Too bad none of this info will fix a BB Tour. It has to be taken totally apart!

try tapping the blackberry once from the side that is not moving . I didnt have the tools so i tried this and it worked ……

You are my new best friend! Thank you so much!

I had just gotten off the phone with ATT to order a replacement phone (again!) bc the trackball suddenly wouldn’t register right scrolls; and am now on hold trying to cancel it… my husband just popped it back in no problem by applying pressure to the metal ring. didn’t even need to remove the face place. AWESOME. thanks a bunch

Trackball on Pearl wouldn’t scroll up on screen. Cleaning via the directions in this post worked nicely.

I pulled the silver plastic ring out with a fingernail so this can be done on the fly without a screwdriver if need be. Used a q-tip and cleaned all contacts. Did not need to take anything else apart. Took a few minutes and done.

Thanks! Saved me from repair hell!

Thank you, thank you! I was just about to order a new phone and your advice fixed the pearl in < 5 minutes.

THIS WORKED! I can scroll all directions now. Thanks!

Liked Michael’s tip! A q-tip with some alchohol,
move the ball around in all directions & voila,
it’s working again! Thanks, ppl!!!

Thank you brother it really worked

No Customer support

No Waiting

No Pain

Thank you!!

I was afraid to take my BB apart so I tried the hand sanitizer trick. Sanitizer gently rubbed on the ball for about 10 seconds and it now works like a charm!

It worked great! I had to completely disassemble the square, trackball unit and removed the gunk and lint stuck to the four miniature wheels. THANKS!

Good info here, the trackball not registering movement is ongoing problem and removing and cleaning the trackball keeps things running smooth. Guys at Verizon and techs on the phone were by far less help than this thread of info, thank you.

thank you so much it’s been months since my ball hasn’t been working… i did exactly wat u said and now it’s as good as new so thank you again…:-)

Panicked,momentarily, when this situation arose for me; remembered this brilliant web-site–followed the advice–all went smoothly—problem resolved….Cheers people.

Worked great!! Used a little (Very little) Grey Goose and it cleaned it right up. Procedure was a breeze!! Thanks to all! Lou

i have a blackberry 8310 and the ball is really stiff and it wont let me select anything!:(..help

I lost my trackball.
what can be used to replace it?

Thanks for the Tip. I used a wire wrap to pry the silver cover off. There was some small particles on mine which i removed and now it works perfect.

Thanks
Again

My tracking ball wouldn’t move down I didn’t remove the track ball all i did was using a straw blew air over it and and this solved it the air must clean the dirt away its worth a try

I’ve owned my phone for a while now and used the Purell and other tips. This time it just plain gave out. Since I’m on the verge of buying a new track ball, I took it out and rubbed it lightly with an emmory board. It’s working! It just needed a bit of grit/roughness to get it going.

Excellent idea. Took me less than 5 minutes and the trackball is working great !

thank you. I was about to go buy a storm today due to this track ball not moving to the left. it was not as hard as I thought it would be to clean. so thank you for saving me a few houndred dollars

Can a trackball be replaced with a trackpad? Interesting to ponder…

My trackball on my curve would not move down at all. I followed the advice and now it works so a big thank you. I had visions of having to lose the phone to get it repaired.

by reding this i was able to fix my phone rather quickly after my trackball wouldnt scroll up thank you so much

A wet finger to clean the trackball and a tissue to dry it and the fix was in. Thanks all for your suggestions.

Thanks for that! Mine started acting up today. I took it apart cleaned it and it’s working perfectly now!!

WOW – A LITTLE HAND SANITIZER!. I could not remove the little ring – tried every tool and when it started to look like i may be damaging it – I decided I’d have to go to get it replaced. But then I took a little hand sanitizer (didn’t have rubbing alcohol in the house), put some on a q-tip and pressed hard on the ball while rolling in each direction. after 2 or 3 times with the sanitizer (don’t use too much) – its fixed!!!! wow.

Thanxs alot. You save me some money I was about to go to a store and get it fixe I followed the steps and now works perfectly thanks thanks thanks!!!!!

My blackberry got screwed. I have a Blackberry pearl brand-new. so in a few days my trackball got yellow- no biggie.so I looked up on cleaning it online and found this. I took the steps carefully and it messed up my phone. The silver piece flew off and I cant find it, and the entire sensor crap and the ball fell apart. and im pretty much screwed. so i ed-vise you people who haven’t done it, if you don’t really have to. don’t.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was worried that my 2+ yrs blackberry pearl was starting to quit on me and you made my day!!!!!!!!!!!

You saved me a lot of running around for help!!
Thanks soooooooooo much )

All i can say is that this post saved my BB, my bank account and probably my life

OMG, nothing else worked for me when my roll ball got stuck and wouldnt go down and i tried this and it worked! thank you sooo much for your wonderful advice. although, i had trouble locating the senors..i didnt realize they were the black cylinder looking tubes behind the ball but i finally got it to work..thanks so much for saving my phone!

Wow… I Went to Wal-mart and got the tool for like 5 bucks and I fixed it.. Thanx for the post, you saved me a lot of money!!!

This information was spot on. It fixed ny Curve. I could scroll left, right and down but not up at all. A few minutes cleaning and it works fine again. Note hat I had the benefit of a tech microscope to actually see the gunk in the roller assembly. EEWWWWWWWW!

I had been experiencing the on directional trackball problem on and off for quite some time. and was getting ready to return it to the vendor for replacement. I followed the instructions to remove and clean the trackball on my Curve and discovered a lot of gunk. I used a can of cleaning duster to clean the trackball housing and the trackball assembly. Thanks for the posting of this cleaning technique. All is good in the trackball world now.

I have a 8330 curve. The trackball was starting to act up. I had a hard time scrolling up with it. I googled it and found this site. Followed the instructions on removing the plastic retaining ring. I didn’t bother taking the metal retaining ring off from the trackball assembly. Used a q-tip with generous amounts of alcohol (not dripping) on it. Cleaned the assembly. Cleaned the pad inside the housing. Put everythng back together, est voila, works like a charm. I used a dental pick to remove the plastic retaining ring. Being ever so carefull not to damage the clips. A coworker did this with his, cost him to have a new trackball installed.

A big thanks on the instructions.

Is there a way to move around my black berry desk top icons or list without the use of the thumb ball?-/

The hand sanitizer works !

Thank You !!!!!!

*_* THANK YOU SOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!!!
Now my phone’s trackball rolls correctly!! <3

So my trackball moves around just fine, the problem is when i move the trackball (in any direction) it thinks im clicking/selecting, like pushing the ball down. i tried taking the ball out and blowing on it and wiping a little bit. still, it seems to think everytime i move the ball its clicking down. any ideas?

so i have to unscrew everything in order
to ummmmm…… fix
the little track ball????

My trackball stopped rolling up and down. A reboot did nothing. I took the trackball out and cleaned and it works perfectly.
Thanks!
DS )))

THANK YOU!!!! I’m in the hospital on call and NEED THIS BB TO WORK!!! I did it in my call room with nothing but a ballpoint pen to open the well up and the sink to rinse out the gunk! Worked great although using a glasses screwdriver and some alcohol sure sounds like a better idea if you can do it!

Just managed to fill mine with sand on a trip to the beach.
Used a small screwdriver and a thorough clean with cotton buds and now it’s working fine =]

Huge thanks, saves so much inconvenience and expense =]

8310 works like pearl, no need to unscrew cover and the tip works. Had to also dismantle the trackball unit… remember to put the rollers back in right direction as otherwise up becomes right, right becomes down etc. (-; two weeks of agony using spacebar to go down, hide icons to access menu items and go sideways through entire drafts to go down are over! thanks a zillion !

THANK YOU!! I was starting to get frustrated with my BB 8330 & found your forum. There was a moment in there I was thinking I was messing something up, but patience paid off & it works like a charm now!

I did not feel comfortable taking apart the whole BB, So, I tried a canister of compressed air used to clean computers/laptops. I blew the air into trackball area. For me, that did the trick. So, you may want to try this simpler procedure, before taking it apart.

Worked Great! Thanks

Thanks for the information. Within two minutes I had the wheels cleaned and was back in business. Saved a trip to the Verizon store.

The Blackberry Curve 8310 is back in tip top shape after following instructions from this website and reading some of the very helpful comments from those with the same phone. All I did was remove the chrome ring (remember that the prongs come out of the bottom and sides), pull the cube-like housing — containing the ball — out of the phone, then blow the dust particles off of movable parts. I put it all together again without a hitch. Thing of beauty folks.

A flushable moist wipe unlocked my track ball on my Curve. No BB surgery required. It’s a pain when the ball won’t move you in all directions.

Thanks for the directions! Worked like a charm!!

Worked like a charm! used a alcohol wipe to get rid off all the ick. Thank you so much!

Thank you! it worked….

Thanks for the detailed instructions. With an alcohol wipe I was able to get the trackball roll over sideways once again. Big help indeed.

I added a dab of hairspray and it worked! It was stuck the whole entire day and I don’t have tools on me so. I figured alcohol might be able to clean it out, and hairspray actually did the trick!

it worked! thank u so much! not only have u make my day, u just saved me a couple of bucks too.

Thank-you for your tips and suggestions. I followed them after my BlackBerry Pearl trackball was not rolling either left or down. I took it out as you said, and although I did not find gunk, I did notice that one of the small black wheels on the side of the trackball was stuck. I rolled it until it was free and put the section back together and voilá, it worked. I’m so glad I read this article because otherwise I would have had to pay money and waste time to get it repaired whil I could do this in 5 minutes and free. Again, thank you.

you have saved my life!!! My trackball refused to scroll upward, and I thought I was going to die!! All it took was a little rubbing alcohol to get rid of the gunk I couldnt see. Now my trackball moves faster than ever. Wish I would have seen this last night before I ordered another one on amazon. Thanx again

Thank you so very very much. The trackball on my 8330 would not scroll down and I was worried. I did a quick search and found your article and was up and running in minutes. Thank You, Thank You, Thank You

So, I did this and it seems to work. BUT I couldn’t get the silver ring to go back on (not the plastic one with the three prongs, the other one)… Anyone held me with this?!?!! THANKS

The tackball on my 8830 intermittently would not scroll right. A colleague sent me this link. Took it apart, found a 1005 chip resister stuck in the trackball. Removed it, cleaned rollers, it works fine now. Thanks!

this works for if you get water inder the ball as well.

I tried in vain to remove the trackball but after that it worked perfectly

pouring rubbing alcohol worked my crack berry back to normal manuverings

If you dip your finger in alcohol and just roll it around on the ball a little bit, this also works. I was scared at first too but it really does!

This worked. I had to work out the gunk around the roller picking up right movement. Of the little fingers on the retaining plastic ring, two at the bottom were missing already, and another one broke off when I removed the ring, so there are now five fingers holding the ring in place, instead of eight.

Thanks buddy…….

It worked for me…..I was frustrated…then thought of experimenting with this……now it works as it was….I had to remove all the parts including the magnet roller..The junky ball is ready for party use…..thankssssssssssssssss

Thanks worked great.

Thanks for your post.
Before subjecting my BB to surgery, I used a small needle and slowly moved it around the tiny space surrounding the trackball, and that worked really well <:o)

Best solution – Throw the piece of crap in the garbage and buy an I-phone.

I cut a triangle from a plastic disposable cup and slid it between the ball and metal ring. I went around the entire ball. This worked the first time. The second time it wouldn’t so I pulled that battery to shut it off fully and then just used brut force to push the ball hard until it budged. I then rolled it hard every way until it worked smoothly. It’s worked for a month or so now.

The trackball would not move up and down. I diassembled everything and found lots of lint around the roller gears under the trackball. Removed the lint and assemble the small pieces together, time consuming, but it works now.

@Joe Sheehan: Right, that works. But with the iPhone you can’t make calls man … so what do we do about that?

Thanks this forum help ALOT my blackberry curve is working now!

mine doesnt work when i push to select what can i do

Thanks for the tip on the Pearl! U r a hero Bro!
It works like a charm after 5 minutes only to clean all the dirst around the track ball.
Thanks….

My pearl was acting weird so I just pried up the uni-key that covers the trackball and cleaned/blew the area. Worked perfectly afterwards and I didn’t have to take apart my entire BBerry Bold!

Thanks!! Track ball would not move to the right, took it out and cleaned around it, works fine now. I have the 8330 Curve, was very easy to remove and put back.

thanks works great,kind of.now up and down are left and right.and left and right is up and down.I can live with that till next time I clean it.still better than no right direction.

[...] This post was Twitted by victoriaaa_ [...]

I had the same problem with my trackball, and once I took it apart, there was so much dirt in there. I cleaned it and now it works like new! Thanks!!

After surviving 12 months on a building site my trackball gave out today but thanks to your fix it works again! THANKS!

After two and a half years the rollerball konked out, but thanks to this post, its back in working order.

Thanks!

My husband thinks I’m a genius for repairing his Blackberry trackball. Your info worked like a charm. Thanks!!

Thanks!!!!

Ahhh this was such a pain to do on the Blackberry Pearl. The little wheels are magnetic so it’s very hard to position them correctly when re-assembling without them popping out of place as they want to stick to the metal ring. The metal ring itself is also very flimsy so it’s hard to take it off without bending the little things that snap on to the ball’s plastic holder (and if they bend it is very hard to get them to snap back). After several pain-staking attempts though I got it fixed and the phone works good as new now! Thanks for the tutorial.

[...] How to clean your BlackBerry?s Trackball (Blackberry Insight) [...]

I’ve just tried the VODKA Solution – just a dab on a Q Tip – problem solved in seconds!
Genius – many thanks
No screwdriver required – just a bottle opener!

Added suggestion on the alcohol solution….an alcohol cleaning wipe also does a nice job…my trackball on a bold would not move down…and now fixed.

You are my hero! Haha. This worked perfectly! :]

Nicely done- fixed my sticky ball in seconds!

Tried it all on my Curve but still no luck. And all the Sprint stores in the area are out of balls and don;t know when they will get more in.

You don;t realize how much one gets dependent on this stupid little phone.

Hi all,

Did any one try using OPTIONS – Screen / Keyboard – change trackball horizontal and vertical sensitivity values

It did wonders for my pearl 8100 without using any cleaning agent or opening the trackball.

Have a good time

thanks for this posting- it worked for me!

Thanks…worked on my pearl!

Thanks man, worked well.

hi dude

ur tips wer great. i followed ur instruction to my great surprise my track ball started working again. as u said der was lot of dust occumulated in the track boll scroll so it stopped moving it. u hav been great help thanq very much

Sandy/Olaf/Jaecen/Tiki,

Am happy that it worked for you people but it was just the work around and will last for few days only.For me it worked for few days & ultimately i had to clean my track ball using (eyebrow)plucking tool to open the ring and then open the track ball of my BB 8100 pearl.As always disassembling was easy compared to the assembling which requires application of brains. After removing dirt covered across 4 magnetic tiny rollers attached below track ball, my track ball movement became so smooth like never before.

THANK YOU !!! i ust go tmy blackberry and i ran into this problem. i wasss very anoyyed but its all working now ! (:

THANK YOU!!! my whole life is on my blackberry and my track ball quit working, I followed the steps you had and now it works better than it has in forever!!!

To clean sensors simply take a dry Q tip and lightly brush against sensors.

can you do also how do take out 9650 trackpad??

WOW !! it is as good as new now…..Thanks

Correction: It is better to use some kind of rubbing compound than simply and dry Q Tip. I realized this last night when my trackball stopped moving in one direction again. Therefore, it is best to use something like rubbing alcohol to completely clean the sensors.

On my 8350, there are 2 retaining pins, at 3:00 and 9:00. Used a small screwdriver to pry up.

Once trackball assy was out, opened unit up. Dirt was a small amount. Cleaned w/ hand sanitizer. Re assembly was a bear, as the parts were very small, and the magnets on the shafts kept sticking to the metal brackets holing the trackball together.

Be careful with orientation, as the trackball assy is not completely square. I put mine in wrong, and bent a tab on the metal bracket. Once it was straightened out, put back in and works as good as new.

Just tried this, and had to rip apart the BBerry Curve twice to get it right. Worked pretty well, and the screen shots definitely helped a ton. Took some time, however, to get the trackball to clean out properly. Random hairs and grime got in there. Nonetheless the article got the job done. Thanks

Thanks…. It worked… Highly appreciated

The very easiest solution to my ball not moving the cursor to the right was to put a tiny drop of contact cleaner/lubricant (from Radio Shack) on the ball, and then rotating it. The whole ball is working perfectly, and it cleaned out all of the gunk without having to mess around with a delicate disassembly job. Try it – It’s fantastic and so very simple!

Woke up this morning, started scrolling down through my texts and the trackball just stopped! I could scroll every way but down. followed your how-to and cleaned it with rubbing alcohol. now it works, however it seems a little sticky now.. it takes a little more effort to scroll, but at least works. thanks!

My track ball refused to work even though I tried the battery pull a few times today with no avail. The technique had worked in the past, but it was obvious a cleaning needed to be performed. I did not take apart the phone, but instead used a cotton swab and alcohol, and it works perfect. Thanks for the suggestion!

it was gud advice. work for me.tx

Ok..same problem here w/ my BB curve 8330…I got a can of compressed air , the kind used to clean to blow the dust off PC’s…I forced the air ( I did not disassemble my phone’s track ball area) into & around the track ball, while rolling the ball every which way..

It worked perfectly!!

My trackball fell apart because it did not have the retaining ring (one of the ring tabs broke). But I was able to remove from the track blll each of the magnetic rollers and clean the dust and gunk clinging to them. I then reassembled them and reinstalled the trackball and now all four directions work great! I will be getting a new BB with the trackpad shortly though LOL.

Mine stopped going left 3 days ago. The phone is a year old. I went into a 3rd party cell phone shop and they said I needed a new trackball, which would cost $30, and wouldn’t it be worth buying a new phone? I went to the place I bought it, an AT & T shop, and they said they don’t replace trackballs, asked me if I had insurance etc, and wouldn’t it be worth just getting a new phone? After reading this thread, I dropped a little contact lens cleaner on the trackball, moved it around a lot, and that has fixed it for now.

Why don’t people who work in these stores and handle cell phones all the time, just tell me I needed to clean it?

i have the 1st blackberry bold. like they said above, getting to the track ball on the bold is tough. it took me about 45min to dissemble and reassemble the phone. the pieces around the trackball are SUPER tiny. a magnifying glass and little tweezers would have been helpful. i just used the same mini screwdriver (3/64″) that unscrewed the bolts to peel off the tin layers surrounding the trackball. i also used hydrogen peroxide and a cotton swab to clean off all the gunk and it came off easily.

thanks for the help!

Thanks for the info on how to pop the ball off of a Curve. I’ve had my phone for about 18 months (heavy business use) … and just this morning, I finally couldn’t get it to recognize “down”.

Found your info, so I popped the ball off, then got in there with a round small paintbrush and pointy Qtip loaded up with 91% alcohol… and voila! No more stickies… it’s works like new.

I don’t think this would have worked without taking the ball off… there was yuck in there that just had to come out.

I thought this was a bit complicated for my BB Bold so I looked up in youtube and there was a vid about using isopropyl alcohol to clean it, with a qtip.. I used an alcohol wipe, and I was a bit skeptical.. but it did work like a charm.

I have the Bold 9000 and the procedure above worked well as others have already commented. Thanks for the detailed pics as they helped me anticipate how much dis-assembly was required.

With my 9000, not only was there dust and build-up under the trackball assembly (where the “click” action occurs under the trackball), but I found I had to use isopropyl alcohol and compressed air to clear dirt built-up on the rollers inside the trackball component. (The ball was unable to move the “down” direction roller to move. This was my original symptom, but all directions work much better with the clean-up.)

Took me about 4 minutes to clean my Pearl. Thanks, I thought I needed a new phone!

Thanks a lot men it really worked

Couldnt be better, you just saved me some quid. had actually stopd using it cos d trackball was bad but when a truck smashed my bold i had to resort back to it and now found out it still had that problem, but with your help, i gat a new fone. it workd like magic, u needed to see how i exclamied YES!! when it workd, thanx a bunch

Thanks! This really helped!

This worked. Fixed the problem. Thanks !

Thanks for the advice! It worked awesome. saved me from having to beg for a new one.

Amazing. THANK YOU SO MUCH. Perfect advice.

This is really the best BlackBerry howto we ever wrote and you can find on the Internet. Thanks a lot for everyones support!

I have a Blackberry 8900 – which way would I take it apart, i.e. the first way or the second way? Thanks!

I have just blasted mine very close up with the hairdryer on a COOL heat and it has done the job!!! Now the mouse and buttons work brilliantly might be worth trying that first!

excellent sir good job

I just took my Bold apart except for the trackball parts. Put a few drops of alcohol on the ball and moved it around. Then hit it with compressed canned air. The trackball is now operable.

In my case I had to make apart the smallest part of trackball, because all other ways to clean it where unsuccessful. (to do this I’ve used just a needle). And this smallest part with the ball itself in it contained the biggest amount of fibre. But be careful to remember the positions of all parts.

Worked for me. Thanks. You’re an Angel…

I too had a trackball issue with my 8330. It would only track straight down. After removing the enclosure and placing it back together it now works. Thanks

Thanks for taking the time to post this, it works and has helped me and obviously a lot of other people!

I have no idea why you are all going through such and extensive process to fix this problem. Simply apply very small amounts out rubbing alcohol to the track ball using a q-tip. Then take a napkin and rapidly rub the ball up and down side to side. Repeat this process 3 or 4 times until your track ball has become unclogged. Make sure you lock the keypad prior .

Hi Doc! Thanks a million for making me not have kittens. My trackball wasn’t tracking down and I had visions of dissembling it and something going wrong. The rubbing alcohol and q-tip worked perfectly and for good measure gave it some compressed air (thanks Car2331).

I just spit on it to be honest about a minute ago and voila!

Thanks a lot, this worked

The rubbing alcohol bit didn’t work for me – turned out, there was a bunch of gunk actually on the rollers that register which direction to move (so i couldn’t scroll down). This how-to got the trackball working perfectly again! Thanks!

My trackball is having a hissy fit. it is stuck and works for a few hours then stops. i have cleaned it and still nothing. however when i plug into the charger, it works…. help…..

Does the ball move or is it stuck in a direction? there are sensors under that detect the movement.

Thanks a lot..it works now.

im having problems with my blackberry curve 8520 scroll button it works when it wants to work and ive had it to a proper phone shop and they looked at the sercuit board and nothing wrong with that so how would i try to do mine thanks!!

Thank you thank you worked on my 9630 Tour, as i couldn’t figure out how the heck to take out the ball LOL

The spit worked for me too!!!

I just took a monitor wipe to the ball…..it works!

[...] [...]

Thanks! I have a Bold – wiped it and it’s back!! A lot easier than taking it apart!!

hello!!
i don’t have any problem about the trackball but the problem with my blackberry is that whenever i send any message from my blackberry it costs me 5rs.please do solve my problem if you can…
or else please do refer any site……
and i have a prepaid number and my service provider is airtel….

i have a blackberry curve 8900 my trackball will only go side to side how can i fix this problem

Thank you Thank you! I removed the round silver cover and the track ball. Because I am out of alcohol, I used Sea Breeze astringent (containing alcohol) with q-tips to carefully clean. My track ball works again! It’s a relief to have my pearl working properly again. You’re the best!

my bb curve 3g when I scroll down it goes up very fast moves when it wants.

OK I used alcohol cleaned it and it is back THANKS………………………………..

Guess I better get a holster to help keep it clean (thanks again). My blackberry doesn`t suck anymore.

thanks it worked!!!!it’s working perfectly!!!

i couldn’t remove the track ball because i didnt have the right tools. i just used rubbing alcohol on a q-tip to wipe the track ball from the outside (in place), and that seemed to free it up. probably the alcohol got down into the works and dissolved the gunk.

Thanks A MILLION!! I just wiped it with a cleaner cloth and its up and running again!!!

I too encountered similar problem when I had got it new. Here’s what I did to fix the problem.
1) Go to Call Log
2) Press the BB Menu button and look for options.
3) select options and then select Smart Dialiing
4) Set the country code as ” unknown”
5) National no., length :-10
6) Use 1 for national dialing : ” NO”
7) Press the BB Menu button and slick save.
You should be all set then… All the Best.

i also have ablackberry curve 8900 and mt track ball wont go up or down..

ok i did the cleaning and it still isn’t spinning and it looks as if my bold has mini bolts not screws

omg thank you! you saved me so much money lol i was about to go get a new bb!

omg thank you! you saved me so much money lol i was about to go get a new bb!

Thanks for the tips, I dismantled and reassembled my trackball on a Blackerry 8310 and although very fiddly, found lots of dirt wrapped round the wheel, After a few attempts at reassembling, its now working perfectly!

very useful, thanks

i have a blackberry9000 my trackball keeps moving on the screen on its own . pls how can i fix this problem.

This worked for me. Thanks so much for showing me I don’t have to fear the inner workings of my BB. Cheers!

worked perfect. THANK YOU.

Works great !!! Thanks

Well this is a lot more difficult than this article purports. The pieces need to be handle with very small, non-metal tools and once the various parts come apart, it is very difficult to realign them.

thank you so much!
although realigning it was difficult , great article!

My bb is a curve 8520 and the trackball doesnt work at all, i have to use the palm of my hand to make it move to the direction i want it to. Does anything know anything that i can do??

Hate to admit it, but I found saliva good enough to dissolve grease and gunk around the tracker ball. Worth a try !

I couldn’t scroll right and I licked it and magically the track ball started working.

P.S. if your warranty is expired, don’t bother going to Verizon asking for help.  Six people stood around saying they never heard of anyone fixing their blackberry trackball on their own.  

thanks! this totally worked and the process wasnt complicated at all

This fixed my 8110 Pearl perfectly! Thanks. And it was easy.  I didn’t even need a screwdriver I just used my pinkly fingernail to get it out.

How do clean the cursor button on BB Torch,I have this problem ever since I bought.The BB service in Malaysia is very bad indeed.They only know how to sell the phones but not giving good service to their customers.

I was able to get the metal ring out with my fingernail, and then the trackball assembly fell right out.  However, and perhaps I need glasses, I couldn’t figure out where the sensors are so that I could clean them.  Are they on the circuit board or on the square trackball assembly?  Either way, it started rolling in each direction, so I just popped it back in and it works.  The other question I have, and I have a World Edition 8830 is this: when I put the silver ring back in, I noticed that there were three plastic prongs on the back, not four.  As a result, I wasn’t sure which way to align it.  I finally decided on the sides on the bottom, but not at the top of the circle.  It seems to be back together properly, although I can’t tell if it is misaligned or I’m just more sensitive to how the silver circle fits.  Any thoughts on which way the prongs go?  Thanks

Very Helpful…Thanks for the Review

I used a qtip with rubbing alcohol on it to wipe out the inside of the trackball housing and now my phone is freaking out.  at first I was typing in my pasword and all the buttons i pushed made like 4 letters at a time.  Then I took the battery out to reset it and now it cycles on then the screen where it says “Verifying system” or whatever, the screen goes black and I cant do anything.  Please HELP!!!!

I used a qtip with rubbing alcohol on it to wipe out the inside of the trackball housing and now my phone is freaking out.  at first I was typing in my pasword and all the buttons i pushed made like 4 letters at a time.  Then I took the battery out to reset it and now it cycles on then the screen where it says “Verifying system” or whatever, the screen goes black and I cant do anything.  Please HELP!!!!

it did help me gross or not it did help.

Haha, I put it/something back in wrongly so eveything’s shifted 90 degrees clockwise (scrolling up makes my ‘cursor’ go right, scrolling right makes my ‘cursor’ go down, etc).
Since I don’t have any tools, I used a (relatively) small knife, which took me too much time to even consider redoing all of this shit.. I’m just gonna keep it the way it is and hope it won’t take me very long to get used to it ;p

Thanks for this guide!

[...] How to clean your BlackBerry’s Trackball « BlackBerryInsight …Jun 13, 2007 … Stuck Trackball – Today, 11:46 PM I hope that I am not the only one who has had the misfortune of having their trackball get stuck and not move … [...]

OMG you’re a genius, it worked. I had this whole kit assembled in front of me and then I decided to read the comments as well

can someone pleaseeeee help me!!! my trackball doesn’t move left,up and right but i can only click. what can i do?? please can someone pleaseeeeee help me with it? what can i do?

[...] How to clean your BlackBerry’s Trackball « BlackBerryInsight …Jun 13, 2007 … If even this cleaning does not help you should consider to buy a new trackball for your BlackBerry. It is pretty cheap and you even know how to … [...]

Easiest cheapest and fastest method? Rubbing alcohol and Q-tip.Soak the tip, roll the ball back and forth, up and down with the moistened tip. Keep refreshing the q-tip as it gets dirty. The alcohol will dry quickly so don’t worry if it looks wet. I was ready to throw my 5 year old 8230 away and now its as good as new.

Taking the tracbk-ball out and cleaning it manually didnt helped me… I did it, A lot of dust came out of it.. Cleaned all the 4 roolers inside the Ball… refixed it… But still the issue is the same… I think I need to replace it with the new one.

Thanks worked for me, just like cleaning out a mouse ball only much smaller, 

IPA (isopropyl alcohol) and a ‘q-tip’ works just fine. No need to take the thing apart – just soak the cotton wool in IPA e.g. tippex thinners) and wipe the ball around. Dirt quicky forms on the cotton wool and the alcohol evaporates. Mine started working again about 40 seconds after I started to clean it – and is now as good as new.

i licked the pearl  now it’s working

Hi I have a curve 8520 and my scroller button isn’t working – I can still press it but can’t go in any direction. Have taken battery out and rebooted.  As I’ve had phone for a while it is out of warranty – any ideas?

you wrongly put 4 roller. you must change the direction of the 4 roller to the other side. and put it together again

Thats a chance you take when you use liquids (i.e. rubbing alcohol) with an electronic (i.e. a blackberry). Try doing a software reload and maybe that will help….

[...] How to clean your BlackBerry’s Trackball « BlackBerryInsight …Items 1 – 96 of 116 … BlackBerry Keypads,BlackBerryTrackballs.Wholesale BlackBerry Keypads / Trackballs.Dropship best BlackBerry Keypads / Trackballs. [...]

[...] How to clean your BlackBerry’s Trackball « BlackBerryInsight …Feb 28, 2011 … The thing is, the ball is never the thing that collects the dust, its the actual rollers which gather the dust. The newer blackberry trackpad is … [...]

[...] others have experienced the same problem – a sticky trackball that refuses to scroll down. Try as I may, nothing would improve the situation – and so I was compelled to upgrade. [...]