Since the first trackball BlackBerry it has been a constant struggle to keep the darn thing clean and functioning. It got so bad on my 8310 before I got my Bold that I had to purchase a replacement. I tried everything from rubbing it against a towel to putting soap on a paper towel with a tad of water…
Andy sent me over a tip of his own. As a carpenter he is pretty handy with his tools but found that the easiest way for him to clean it was to lick his thumb before using the trackball and then the dirt and dust sticks to his thumb. I tried that on my Bold and the problem is that there is also finger oil on the trackball…
So how do you clean your trackball? Or better yet how do you keep it clean?
Stuck in Magentaville Not Registered
Posted: December 22, 2008 at 2:03 PM EST
A small amount of rubbing alcohol on a Qtip/cotton swab, use it to spin the ball a few times, dry it with the other end.
alin Not Registered
Posted: December 22, 2008 at 2:15 PM EST
Thank you for this threat ..
This question is disturbing me for few weeks …
rsm Not Registered
Posted: December 22, 2008 at 2:35 PM EST
It’s like RIM decided not to learn the 10 year lesson of mouse trackballs computer users have dealt with.
That being said, I really prefer trackball navigation over 5-way D-pad and the Blackberry wheel from earlier versions.
Wibbly Not Registered
Posted: December 22, 2008 at 2:44 PM EST from my BlackBerry 9000
So far… whenever the ball on my Bold doesn’t operate properly I just roll it rapidly against some plain paper (phone face down) in all directions with about half the pressure required to make it click. So far it’s restored perfect operation every time. Seems to take any grease/oil off it.
abc Not Registered
Posted: December 22, 2008 at 5:09 PM EST
Wal-Mart sells these individually wrapped, pre-moistened lens cleaner cloths (kind of like the hand cleaner packages you get at some restaurants).
Anyway, they’re called Zeiss Lens Cloths and they sell them in the Optical Section, up front where they sell eye glasses. They clean the BB from top to bottom extremely well and help brighten and clean the trackball. Package of 50 is like 2 bucks.
I find with the q-tip method the cotton sticks to the trackball. my 2c
rick Not Registered
Posted: March 21, 2009 at 11:45 AM EST
xavier – thanks for your post, i tried your suggestion for the Zeiss Lens Cloth premoistened wipes and it worked perfectly and I did not have to open the Blackberry Bold to solve the problem. I keep these wipes around for numerous uses in dealing with eye glasses, lens, or other similar uses. Thanks again.
CP Not Registered
Posted: December 22, 2008 at 7:03 PM EST
No way you gonna clean it properly unless you dismantle it. When it got stuck, I took the whole ball unit out and found a big chunk of lynt gather up inside. The best way is to put it away from the dust and lynt ie jean pocket etc. And once you fell the ball rolling rough that’s a sign and until it doesn’t move then you need to do a major clean up.
John Not Registered
Posted: December 23, 2008 at 5:05 AM EST
Just spray it evenly with WD40. It does the trick all the time.
Vhato Not Registered
Posted: December 23, 2008 at 8:56 AM EST
I pop off the support ring, pull the scroll ball and mount out and drop it into a cap of finger nail polish remover for a few minutes. Clean as a whistle.
phil Not Registered
Posted: December 24, 2008 at 6:17 AM EST from my BlackBerry 8830
So how does one safely remove a trackball and resinstall it after cleaning- on an 8830 for example? Someone said ‘ just pop the ring’ is that pry it loose like with a tiny screwdrriver? Or does it unscrew somehow? Thanks!
phil Not Registered
Posted: December 24, 2008 at 6:18 AM EST from my BlackBerry 8830
So how does one safely remove a trackball and resinstall it after cleaning- on an 8830 for example? Someone said ‘ just pop the ring’ is that pry it loose like with a tiny screwdriver? Or does it unscrew somehow? Thanks!
Vhato Not Registered
Posted: December 24, 2008 at 11:19 AM EST
Yep, it pops off with my finger nail. Not hard to do at all. The pearl is then held in a container. The whole container falls out. drop the pearl container in finger nail polish remover cap and let it eat away the grime.
Luciano ES ( View Profile) Moderator - Posts: 448
Posted: December 25, 2008 at 4:20 AM EST
“…the easiest way for him to clean it was to lick his thumb before using the trackball and then the dirt and dust sticks to his thumb”
Eeeewwww!!!
Get a new one, for crissakes!
http://www.berryreview.com/2008/04/11/dirty-trackball-get-a-new-one/
Sandy Not Registered
Posted: December 29, 2008 at 3:26 AM EST
When my trackball got stuck, I just put a little spit on my finger and ran it over the trackball, and that did the trick.
xavier Not Registered
Posted: March 7, 2009 at 11:35 PM EST
I just use alcohol & a Q-tip, or some eyeglass cleaner. Or I just blow on it really hard & roll it around really fast.