BlackBerry® Tour™

[yonoelle]

Got my first ever Blackberry (Tour) and also had the problem with the trackball.

On my first visit to VZW store to inquire about the issue, I was told that RIM knew about it, but there was no fix available.

On second visit to VZW store, I was told that a software update would fix the problem, but it wasn't available yet.

By this time, my "good faith" was running out since I didn't want to be jerked around until it was past the 30-day return period, so I poured through the threads here regarding the issue.

Today, I went into a VZW store (same one on all 3 visits, BTW) and was told again there would be some kind of software update sometime in the mystic future, and I should look for it.

I mentioned that I had read through threads on supportforums.blackberry.com and "pages of people reported their problem fixed when they exchanged their phones, so I would like to exchange mine, too, please."  Representative gave me no grief, no run-around...just said "let me check if we have an exchange in stock" and brought me a green-dot box, confirmed I could restore at home, and sent me on my merry way.

Trackball works fabulously, and another issue with muffled-sounding calls seems to have been resolved, too.

[khorlacher1]

I had this exact same problem!!! Trackball woul almost "stick" plus the bb would just shut down for no reason. I would use the "quck pull" and also remove the battery and nothing worked! I took mine back (I was within my 30 days)

They KNOW this is an issue!!! Now that I have my new one I have not had a problem. The think about a bb is that you depend/rely on the trackball for EVERYTHING! If it is not working you will drive yourself crazy and send yourself to the looney bin! You are not imagining this...take it back and get a new one...it is a known defect!

[mrosenbaum]

UPDATE: Going on my fifth day with my fourth 9630 from Verizon and all is well, still rolling left and right just fine.  In the past, my problems seem to have started in about this timeframe.  So far so good.

[BBusr]

I can confirm that the trackball issue is a hardware problem.  My company received hundreds of Tours for a BB upgrade and a few weeks into the rollout, they were all exhibiting the same issue.  Our rollout has been suspended and we have stacks of new BB sitting in boxes on hold.  They are all being returned to the carrier.  Word is that RIM has sourced a new supplier for the trackballs.  I believe we will be getting replacement units.

If this helps, sometimes you can get it to scroll horizontally by just lightly skimming across the trackball.  Any pressure seems to exacerbate the problem.

Message Edited by BBusr on 09-15-2009 02:00 PM

[MWY885]

As noted in my earlier email Sprint would only replace my Tour once under the 30 day rule.  Then had to claim on my Cell Phone INsurance. The first phone from the ins. company had a defective back cover - very loose.  The next one just receive is very tight.  Manufacture date is 7-30-09 which by reading the blogs makes it marginal whether this one will be o.k.    Keeping my fingers crossed because I am tired of this nonsense of changing phones.   RIM should never have released a defective product!!

[jasenh34]

i have literally read every post regarding this trackball issue dating back a few months, and im rather concerned. i bought my Tour on 8-31-09 and it is now 9-16-09 and i have not experienced any trackball issues. is this an issue that you will notice the first few days, a week, or will this problem rear its ugly head after my 30 day replacement window is up? is there anything specifically i should look for as far as part#s or model#s that would indicate my phone could be defective, my branding version is 1.0.105.158? or has this problem been corrected by RIM on the later manufactured phones ( i cannot find a manufacture date anywhere on the box or phone). or should i just take this phone down to VZW and request a new phone before my 30 day window is up?

[jerryg50]

I had my Blackberry Tour exchanged because of the track ball problem.  After about 5 days of use the new one started to have horizontal track ball problems. This one is passable to use, but it is very annoying at times.  With this phone, I am out of the 30 day exchange period. Now I am in to the service insurance part of the contract. I will wait a few more months and then complain to have the track ball problem fixed. I was told that I will have to give the phone in for service. I can either use a loaner phone, or use my old Blackberry for the time it will take to have the Tour serviced.

I heard opinions that said that this problem was software or its operating system. There was a theory that after the cache is very active, and when there is a lot of memory space being used, the addressing for the trackball is effected.  This theory could be tested with a lot of trouble. Just wipe the Blackberry contents to be clean. Then put it on the manager software, and re-load its operating software.This should put the Tour back to the factory default operation.  Then if the track ball works well, this proves the software theory. 

Jerry G. 

[krider9876]

I wonder if RIM thinks it can hide from this issue.Heads in the sand?

They seem to be spending a lot of the goodwill they may have accumulated amongst users in the past. Word is sure to get out about their utter unresponsiveness. What would the Motley Fool say? Too bad. I like a lot of things about my Tour and I would like to keep employing Blackberry's in my org if feasible. Also, no response from my fax to Corporate HQ a month ago.

Also, I haven't seen any new constructive and helpful postings from any "elite" members lately. Oh my.

[MWY885]

Thought I would pass this on. The new phone I received from Sprint's phone insurance company arrived in a box with an additional smaller sticker on the other side that indicates a date of 09-03-09.  The larger sticker on the other side with the MEID HEX; PIN; etc. shows Made in Mexico with date of 300709 (July 30, 2009) above Made in Mexico.   The phone is very solid, tight back cover & track ball has a totally different feel. It arrived with the sensitivity for Horizontal tracking turned up to 80.   I reduced it to 70 and it is still working very nicely - keeping in mind it is only 3 days old!!   Hopefully this one has the track ball issue corrected.

[jasenh34]

well i have to rescind my earlier post, i started having extreme problems with my trackball and static on my tour yesterday. i immediately went back to verizon and they checked out my phone and confirmed the trackball was having horizontal movement issues. they checked their computer and asked me the basic questions of "have you done this, or tried that". then they asked if i had a green sticker on my box, we looked at it and the box i originally got did not. my wife was with me and verizon replaced both of our tours with tours that were in a box with a GREEN sticker. they stated that these were phones sent out after the problems with the trackball started coming in. hopefully i have no issues with this one. i will say that verizon has wonderful customer service and were great about switching out these phones.