[rvinny]

my trackball is so responsive I had to bump it down to 60!

[rambo47]

I got my Tour early on day 2 of the original release for Sprint. The trackball was bad but I soldiered on and tried to adapt, get used to it. Finally I couldn't stand it, especially with my old Bold sitting on the shelf next to me, inactive since I ported to Sprint, silently mocking me for putting up with this poor trackball.

I received my replacement(s) today from cnn.cn and did the install tonight. I got an orange one (designed for the Tour), which I installed, and a black one (for the Bold) in case the orange looked hideous or didn't work any better than the original. I love the color orange in general, but in dim light this one looks more like a white trackball that's gotten dirty. In brighter ambient light it looks great. The real great thing is that it has completely fixed my trackball issue. The install took maybe 10 minutes total, a real piece of cake. Very straight forward, no special tricks or techniques. Now my Tour is the way it should have been from the factory! :-D

[mriff]

rambo, sorry if this is posted elsewhere, but is there an instruction guide on installing the new trackball somewhere? Sure was easy on the ol' 8830. Maybe not as easy on the Tour?

[rambo47]

I watched a video on YouTube posted by CNN.CN, the company that sold me the replacement trackballs: YouTube - BlackBerry Tour 9630 disassembly tutorial

I've done a bit of BlackBerry disassembly/upgrading/maintenance in the past so it was nothing new to me.

[mriff]

Thanks. I changed the housing on my 8830 to a black shell. Which pretty much meant taking the phone apart. So maybe I can handle this as well. I'll stick with my black trackball for now as it seems to be functioning flawlessly. But with all the problems being reported, be ready to take to plunge.

[bell30012]

My tour experienced the same problem. Luckily for me it was still within my 30 days and I swapped it out with the Sprint Store that I got it through. However, I discovered that the Sprint - Nextel Repair Shops here in Georgia no longer even repair the parts to replace the Tour's trackball. they just send you back to the store.

[Socialblackberry]

verizon is now replacing defective tours with new ones they will have a green dot on the Box

[plumcrazy]

replaced mine last week after the trackball (that had some issue already with left/right) stopped going down. it would only go UP.

replaced it with a box that i noticed had the green dot.

[lostman72]

Originally Posted by rambo47

I would be THRILLED if this problem turns out to be software-related. A firmware fix is preferable to a hardware fix any day!

Well it looks like it's a software problem. I am running test software now and the ball works great. Also has more memory. I can't tell you what ver. it is. But if it keeps going good you will see it soon on Verizon. I am sure that some one will leak the ver out soon. (4.7.1.**) I can't be the one to leak it out. I have done a search on the net and don't see it any were yet?

[bruced]

I agree with lostman72. The trackball issue is definitely a software problem. I exchanged my Tour three times and still had a problem. The last time was pretty good but there still was a trackball ag. Over the weekend I installed OS Beta 5.0.0.191 and suddenly the trackball issue is gone. The lag is definately gone. I even had to lower the sensitivity to 50/50. Besides fixing the trackball issue, this OS upgrade runs much faster than the OS that came with the Tour (4.7.0.0.40).

[acole10000]

For those of you who have concluded that the issues is with software, pat yourself on the back.

5.0.0.191 fixed my trackball issue....

[ssignature]

I installed a trackball from my old Pearl before the 5.0.0.191 leak and it alone made a world of difference. The OS upgrade DID allow me to drop my sensitivity back down to 70. The Pearl trackball just FEELS so much better.

[lostman72]

Wirelessly posted

The ver. I am testing is not 191. Glad to hear 191 is working good.

[Tragic]

The Tour trackball not scrolling side ways is a mechanical defect, and a very common one. I have successfully swaped out a Sprint Tour trackball with Sprint Pearl trackball. Actually, the Sprint 8830, Pearl & Curve all use the same trackball.

Its no where nearly as easy to remove the Tour trackball as previous blackberries. You have to be particularly careful when removing the plastic cover over the earpeice to not break the two plastic clips to expose screws below it.

[lostman72]

Wirelessly posted

Yes some are hardware but most are software.

[gaguardtech]

how do I get 5.0.0.191? Is it a BB update or something I gotta download and plug up?

[ssignature]

the .191 leak is linked on most BB forums. When I took mine apart, i discovered that while the different trackballs have the same physical dimensions and connections, my Pearl trackball was manufactured with metal components where the Tour ball assy. used plastic. My pearl ball assy also has gold contacts. The ball itself is much rougher in texture than the Tour ball. I think RIM scrimped in manufacturing on the Tour trackball and it backfired.

[gaguardtech]

I took the advice of changing the horizontal settings on the trackball. Now it works great. Horizontal is at 90 and Vertical is at 70.

[ffejie]

There is another solution for the trackball problem - the Essex. I just saw a picture of the Essex (Tour with WiFi) and apparently the trackball is gone and the Optical Touchpad has replaced it.

[rvinny]

Originally Posted by lostman72

Well it looks like it's a software problem. I am running test software now and the ball works great. Also has more memory. I can't tell you what ver. it is. But if it keeps going good you will see it soon on Verizon. I am sure that some one will leak the ver out soon. (4.7.1.**) I can't be the one to leak it out. I have done a search on the net and don't see it any were yet?

Does this mystery firmware also fix the muted sound through the mic?? (no BT) If so I will wait it out instead of asking for a swap.