Blackberry Curve 8320 Trackball problem

Figgy

Tonight my BB 8320 trackball press stopped registering. So, when I press the trackball, nothing happens on the phone. I can still navigate using the "enter" key instead, but the trackball press is needed for certain menu options. It still spins and registers normally that way.

I tried backing up, wiping, then restoring my phone. That didn't fix anything. I also tried removing the trackball and q-tipping some rubbing alcohol on there. Same problem.

Any ideas? It is a month or so out of warranty, this being a refurb I had to get after my last one got borked 1 week before its warranty expired.

illig

the trackballs are about $3 each on ebay... buy a few and replace them when they go bad

it's a poor design and will fill up with pocket lint and dust eventually no matter what you do (think old ball mice)... best thing is to have a replacement on hand to get back to using your phone quickly

Figgy

It wasn't the trackball that was the problem, it was the contact on the circuit board underneath the trackball. Replacing the ball would result in the same issue.

I ended up taking out the ball and peeling back the tape on the circuit board to clean it with some rubbing alcohol. After putting it back together, it went from not working at all to working when I push it a specific way.

It's still not fixed, but it's a "fix" for now. Actually, Rogers just introduced their "Handset Protection" plan today. It's a free service that gives you a free replacement phone if yours is lost, stolen, or broken. They'll also fix it at a subsidy as an option as well, but I may just call in a couple days and say I lost mine.

I just need to find out what phones they actually offer for the replacements.

This can be locked.

Dr. Frenchenstein

i had the same problem, it eventually will die again.

Figgy

Yeah, it keeps happening. Now, the "back" button will randomly turn into an "LH" button, resulting in those two letters instead of actually going back.

I called Rogers today, and the replacement program only offers a refurbished blackberry flip, which I don't want.

I'm going to call again tomorrow and speak with a supervisor. This is a well known issue with this model of BB, and it is intermittent. I had the phone replaced under warranty for this issue, and they sent me a refurb. It appears they are just resetting the phones to temporarily correct the issue and sending them back out as refurbs with a 90 day warranty. The issue will definitely pop back up again down the road, where the customer is shit out of luck.

The guy on the phone today told me they don't send out 8320s now. I bit my tongue instead of saying, "I wonder why?"

Figgy

Update in case anyone else has this problem:

The trackball depress has been working 75% of the time, needing a very distinct and hard press to work. Also, it sounds completely fucking whacko, but every day between 8pm and 9pm, the 'esc' key will enter the keys 'LH' instead of doing what it should. It sounds fucked, but there it is.

I took it apart tonight and went to town with compressed air and rubbing alcohol. The problem is not with the trackball. It is the contact on the circuit board that actually pops down to trigger the keypress. It is basically a tiny copper disc with a bit of a concave. All the trackball does is push down on it to flatten it out, and then the copper disc pops back out.

If there is anything inside the copper bowl to prevent it from properly contacting the circuitboard, you've got a problem. I already cleaned it out, but it only fixed it somewhat. This time, I peeled the tape holding the copper and took it out completely, scrubbed the board with a Q-tip and alcohol, then did the same for the underside of the "bowl," which had noticeable specs of debris. This will likely make the tape that holds the copper less sticky, but it should still do its job. Make sure to line it up perfectly when you put it back on the circuit board.

I also took a can of compressed air and shot it in there liberally. After putting everything back together, the button works like new. As for the esc key acting up for an hour a day, I have a feeling there is something in there shorting it out. Once that starts to occur enough to become annoying, I'll consider taking that apart as well, but I believe it involves a full disassembly.