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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
OT-Blackberry issue
Debra L Rothenberg, Photographer
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New York | NY | USA | Posted: 11:55 AM on 08.17.09 |
->> I have the Blackberry world edition 8830 and the scroll ball won't let me scroll down-has anyone ever had this happen? Is it dead or some other issue?
DLR |
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Stephen Brashear, Photographer, Assistant
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Seattle | WA | USA | Posted: 12:05 PM on 08.17.09 |
| ->> Debra - Sounds like you have a dead track ball. I went through several when I had a BB Pearl. Take it to your service provider and they can clean it to see if it fixes the problem. Also, if you have it insured, it won't cost you anything to replace it. |
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Debra L Rothenberg, Photographer
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New York | NY | USA | Posted: 12:07 PM on 08.17.09 |
->> ug-no insurance on it but it is a few years old
can you recommend a good replacement if I need to get one? |
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Debra L Rothenberg, Photographer
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New York | NY | USA | Posted: 12:08 PM on 08.17.09 |
| ->> it moves up and to the right and left-just not down |
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Stephen Brashear, Photographer, Assistant
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Seattle | WA | USA | Posted: 12:11 PM on 08.17.09 |
| ->> Your cell carrier store should be able to get you one for a pretty low cost, not as low as if you had insurance. Take it to the store and see if they can repair. The trackballs are famous for getting junk in them. |
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Lee Weissman, Photographer
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XXXXX | NY | USA | Posted: 12:27 PM on 08.17.09 |
| ->> Try pulling the battery first and rebooting |
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Debra L Rothenberg, Photographer
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New York | NY | USA | Posted: 12:28 PM on 08.17.09 |
->> re booted a few times-nothing
do I have to go back to the store I bought it from, or any Verizon store? |
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Jeff Mills, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Columbus | OH | USA | Posted: 12:29 PM on 08.17.09 |
->> You can pop the little cover off and take the ball out and clean it and 9 times out of 10 that works fine. There are lots of step by step tutorials on the web that show how to do that. I'd have to do that every few months as pocket lint etc just tends to build up, especially if you don't use a case and just carry it in your pocket like I did.
If that doesn't fix it, you can order a replacement on places like Amazon for about $12 or so, which is what I did because my cell provider didn't offer a repair service, rather they just would replace the phone for $100 (crazy policy). After so long it seems the little rubber rollers just give out so even cleaning it doesn't work and it needs to be replaced.
It really is frustrating when it doesn't work though. Mine jammed to where I could scroll up but not down and I couldn't access my contact list or anything for a few days. Maddening to say the least.
Another option of course is switching to the iPhone with no trackball issues at all. I gave up the BB recently and couldn't be happier. |
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Debra L Rothenberg, Photographer
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New York | NY | USA | Posted: 2:02 PM on 08.17.09 |
->> good news-I went to the Verizon store and they replaced the ball
woo hoo! |
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Chuck Steenburgh, Photographer
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Lexington | VA | USA | Posted: 10:42 PM on 08.17.09 |
| ->> That's happened to me a few times (in various directions)...I just keep playing with it and it works again. Something gets caught between the ball and the movement sensor sometimes. |
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Debra L Rothenberg, Photographer
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New York | NY | USA | Posted: 10:57 PM on 08.17.09 |
->> mine must have been completely dead-the light under it even went out and the ball was black
the new one works better than it ever did. I am just glad I didn't have to get a new Blackberry...yet |
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Jeff Mills, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Columbus | OH | USA | Posted: 11:16 PM on 08.17.09 |
->> Just FYI but the way it works is there are little rubber rollers that spin in a given direction to move your cursor in the X-Y direction of your choice. Those little rollers are attached to a shaft that has a magnet and there are some sort of electrical sensors that detect when the tiny magnet spins and this in turn produces the movement on the screen.
Its a very delicate device and the ball is really just sitting in there with minimal pressure on the rollers so any little specks of dirt can either jam up the roller, or dirt/grease on the ball itself can make it too slick to have the friction it needs to spin the roller.
Its a good design when it works well, but when your hands are greasy or sweaty, it really makes the ball hard to use and the grime builds up to the point where it stops working in a given direction. Sometimes it works itself free, other times you've got to take it apart to clean it, or replace it.
Basically its the same issues that the old pc mice used to have, where you'd have to turn that little ring to take the ball out and wipe all the crap from the rollers. Between pet hair and food crumbs from eating at my desk my mouse always got pretty gross. I'm surprised I never found some spare change in there lol.
What RIM really needs to do is make a trackball with an optical sensor that simply "sees" movement of the ball. Do away with the rollers, and also make it so the end user can unlock the retaining ring and wipe off the ball if needed. Making it a little larger wouldn't hurt either. |
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Debra L Rothenberg, Photographer
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New York | NY | USA | Posted: 12:07 AM on 08.18.09 |
| ->> Jeff-that's interesting. I have a feeling I "killed" it when my hand was wet and I went to use it. After reading what you wrote, I pretty much now know that is what happened. I am just glad they gave me a new one |
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Dan Mendlik, Photographer
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North Ridgeville | OH | USA | Posted: 11:39 AM on 08.18.09 |
| ->> If you ever need parts for your blackberry check out www.cnn.cn Have saved a bunch of money repairing instead of replacing the whole unit. You can get replacement track balls, screens etc. You can then find videos on YouTube on how to replace any of the parts. |
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