"Pearl" Trackball backlight...
 

Is this supposed to be on all the time when the screen is on, or only when the ambient light around you is low? For some reason I thought it was always on when I first started using it, but now I notice that it is not on sometimes when using it, but then if I shield it from the light it comes on.

Also, is there someway to disable the automatic backlight adjustment?

The trackball and keyboard lighting only come on when you are in an area with low light.

The Auto-dim on the backlight is a known issue and there is currently no fix for it.

There is a mod to fix the backlight auto-dimming issue, but it will surely void your warranty. Just type in backlight mod in the search box and something hsould come up.

:bb: 8100c

If you just can't live with the auto-dim then the best thing is to downgrade your OS to 4.2.0.42. I don't recommend the hardware mod that's been posted about. At least a downgrade to .42 can be reversed any time you please.

With .42 installed you will not be able to use a 2bg microSD card, as well as some other issues that might bug you more that the trackball. Although it is the way i would reccomend cause you can always reverse it.

:bb: 8100c

2Gb card support?....minor details, right? Yeah, I forgot to mention that. Thanks! Too bad they couldn't have left one version that had both.

The trackball/keypad lighting does not come on in max bright backlight mode. For this reason, doing the hardware mod is not advisable as you will be in constant backlight at max, thus no trackball/keypad light. This is assuming you want to run a higher OS than .42.

In .42 you still have the option to run with Autobacklight on or off and, if the hardware mod is in place, when in Autobacklight on you will have max brightness but no trackball/keypad light. When in autobacklight off, you drop one notch in backlight brightness, but the trackball and keypad lights come on.

I did the hardware mod using a conductive pen so the potential for damage to the circuit is close to nil. I am, for the most part, happy with it as I now have a full bright backlight when I want it (most of the time).

Once again, I do not recommend it to most people as it does involve taking apart the phone, likely a loss of warranty, for full functionality you need to use the oldest OS and you need to switch back and forth between the backlight settings to light up the keypad.

BTW, reversing the mod is pretty simple. Break the add on circuit trace. In my case, scratch the trace. Done. If soldered, snip the wire or remove it.

Like many, many others, I look forward to a software fix from RIM. Although that may not happen, per people in this forum that are closer to RIM than I.

I'll deal with it for now. I am sure it will get fixed in an update at some point. Anyway, In regards to the 2GB MicroSD card...do any of you actually use this as an MP3 player? I think it would be handy, and if I end up keeping this I will probably get a 2gb MicroSd card for my device. However, I did notice that it does not take a regular headphone jack. Do I just need an adapter of some sort or what? In regards to video, video on any phone seems silly to me so I would probably just use the SD card for music/pictures.