How to Remove and Clean a Blackberry Trackball
This is a how to guide on removing and cleaning the trackball on all models of Blackberries with them.
Sometimes the trackballs get stuck from pressing too hard and putting it slightly out of alignment, or grime. The first thing to try is to put slight pressure on the silver ring around the trackball and make sure it is seated properly as they sometimes pop out of the joint. You can put pressure on it with your fingernail or use a small screwdriver, and apply gentle pressure on the North, South, East, and West area of the silver ring. Then try rolling the ball around back and forth to get it centered. If that doesn't fix the problem then you might try cleaning. It sounds difficult but it isn't.
To Clean:
1. Using either your fingernail or tiny glasses repair screwdriver pry off the trackball faux chrome plastic cover. Do this gently and very carefully, it's lightweight plastic so you don't want to break it.
2. Under the silver cover you will see the white plastic housing the ball sits in, this is the trackball assembly. Look for lint and other grime around the outer edge of your trackball assembly. Also write down how everything looks to help you remember when you put it back together.
3. Carefully pry up the small metallic retaining clip that sits over, and holds the trackball assembly in place. Be very careful with this ring, it's very small and you wouldn't want to lose it. Also, this clip bends pretty easily, make sure you don't bend or distort the piece.
4. Remove the trackball assembly. If you use a magnetic tip screwdriver you can place the tip on the assembly and it will attract the magnetic rollers.
5. Put the trackball assembly in a safe place while you work. Note the metal tab appears to be pointing down, this is the side that should be towards the keypad, or lower half of the blackberry when putting it back together.
6. Get some alcohol and a Q-tip. You can also use canned air if you have it. Use the air on the phone and then swab the internals with your Q-tip. You should have a small amount of alcohol on the Q-tip, do not soak it! Then hit the internals with the canned air one more time to get rid anything that was dislodged by the swabbing, and dry any residual alcohol. Also swab the trackball assembly itself, and hit it with the air to dry.
7. Reassemble the trackball unit. Place the assembly in with the two side tabs on the left and right, put the bottom of the assembly with the tab pointing down. Then place the small metal retaining clip into place with the tabs to the top and bottom. Gently press this into place with your screwdriver tip and you will feel it click.
8. Final step. Place the faux chrome plastic trackball housing over the assembly with the tabs facing left, right, and down. Gently press this into place with your thumbnail. It is best to put the bottom tab into place first and then press. On trial and error I do not recommend using the screwdriver to push this into place as you may scratch the plastic.
If you need a new trackball check out the selection below from ebay. I hope this guide was able to help you.
 TRACKBALL TRACK BALL FOR RIM BLACKBERRY PEARL 8100 8130  US $5.99 |  Blue Trackball Replacement for Blackberry Pearl 8100 US $5.88 |  Blue Trackball Replacement for Blackberry Pearl 8110 US $5.88 |
 TRACKBALL RING FOR BLACKBERRY CURVE 8300 8330 US $2.40 |  OEM Color TrackballTool Kit ATT Blackberry Curve 8900 US $12.99 |  5 Pcs TRACKBALL RING FOR BLACKBERRY CURVE Bold Tour US $7.99 |
Clean the Trackball on a BlackBerry Pearl
Are you having problem with the trackball on your Blackberry 8100? Will the trackball on your blackberry pearl 8110
not move left, right, up, or down?
If you are having problems scrolling with your trackball on your blackberry pearl, then a quick cleaning may fix your problems.
Follow the procedure below and it enjoy a shiny, almost new like trackball today.
1: Take a deep breath and blow on the trackball area, rotate and do it again. This may blow any particles that are blocking the sensors. If you spit a lot, make sure you have a handy wipe nearby!
2: This requires a Q-tip and some alcohol. Turn off your blackberry pearl (we don't want it to smoke), wet the end of the q-tip, and gently clean the trackball while rotating and pushing down. Use the dry tip of the q-tip to dry off and clean again with another alchohol dipped swab. Let dry for a minute and try it out. If this doesn’t work then try again.
See a video of the cleaning below.
If you have problems with it scrolling still after cleaning it really well, it may be time to get a new trackball. They are fairly cheap and really easy to replace.
