Pearl Removal 8100 Blackberry
Category: Web, HTML, Tech

NOTICE: This blog and the information contained within is for discussion purposes ONLY.  The author does not endorse the disasembly of your own phone as you may damage a fine product and/or void your warranty.  Attempt the procedure below at your own risk.  Enough said, on with the good stuff :)~

TOOLS USED:

a) tiny screwdriver
b) plastic tweezers
c) x-acto knife
d) rubbing alcohol
e) toothbrush
f) compress air

ELAPSED TIME: Take your time.  It took me about an hour although i spent a lot of time examining all the parts to see how it works and goes together.

THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR: The parts are all fragile so you know what that means, DON'T BREAK ANYTHING.  Also, when you get to the final stage of disasembly, make sure you don't drop anything or let any of the parts fall out.  Pay close attention to the orientation of the rollers so you put them back in the correct position when you go to close it all up again.

Step 1: REMOVING COVER RING

a) There are 3 sets of prongs holding this outer ring in place. Gently pry up right edge of supporting outer ring. Its Plastic so be careful.

b) Do the same thing on the left side.

c) The third set of prongs on the bottom of the ring are slightly larger and the most difficult to remove. I found the greatest success by leveraging it from the inside of the ring. Gently twist the screwdriver and with a little patience it will come loose.

STEP 2: REMOVE TRACKBALL MECHANISM

Gently pry the entire trackball assembly out of the socket.  The actual retaining clips for this are located at the top and bottom of the trackball assembly.

This is what it looks like once removed.

Another view.

......and another view. 

Here it is in all its glory.

A view of the bottom of the trackball assembly.

STEP 3: REMOVING THE BALL FROM THE ASSEMBLY (this is where it gets fun)

I used an x-acto knife for this as it was nice and thin making it easy to slip under the fragile aluminum clips.  There is a clip on each one of the 4 sides of this retainer.  They are slightly different in shape on each opposing end.   I would strongly suggest you don't bend or break any of these as i'm sure it will be difficult to replace. 

NOTE: once this retainer is removed make sure you don't drop or lose any of the parts which include the trackball itself as well as the 4 rollers which are itching to fall out and roll away.

Another view.

Once you have removed the ball and mechanism retainer you will have access to the ball as well as the 4 rollers.  Notice the rollers have a magnet on one end.  This is where a pair of plastic tweezers comes in handy :)

parts list:

1 trackball cover ring (chrome plated black plastic)
2 retaining clip (aluminum)
3 trackball mechanism retainer (aluminum)
4 trackball itself (plastic)
5 rollers x 4pcs (white plastic w/ magnet on one end)
6 top roller and ball housing (white plastic)
7 bottom roller and ball housing with aluminum button assembly (white plastic / aluminum trackball button)

The PRIZE. This is a view of the 4 rollers.  These are the guys that get dirty!!  Its difficult to see in this picture but they are grooved which means you can't just wipe them off or scrape them the way we used to clean our old fashioned mice.  I dipped them in rubbing alcohol and used a toothbrush to brush in the direction of the grooves.  This is a good opportunity to clean the ball itself really well.  Alcohol didnt' seem to do much in terms of bringing back the original white colour.  Next time i take it apart i will try bleach.  If anyone trys bleach in the meantime let me know how it turns out.  Then, if available, use compressed air to blow out the socket where the trackball resides on the phone itself as well as all the parts.

PUTTING IT BACK TOGETHER

If you need more info on this just let me know.

6:48 PM - 8 Comments - 16 Kudos - Add Comment