Fix the Trackball on Your T-Mobile Sidekick Cell Phone

The Sidekick is one of the coolest telephones to ever be offered by T-Mobile in America. The Sidekick was one of the first phones in America to have a full QWERTY keyboard, and it has since become a must-have for anyone who is really into texting or sending instant messages to friends. Recent Sidekick models are equipped with a trackball, which lets you quickly and easily navigate through the phone's menus. Unfortunately, these trackballs don't last forever, and a Sidekick cell phone becomes much less useful when it has a broken trackball.

How do you fix a broken trackball on your T-Mobile Sidekick? The first step is to clean the trackball, because oftentimes a trackball will appear to be malfunctioning when it is actually just dirty. To clean the trackball on the Sidekick, you'll need a cotton swab and some rubbing alcohol. Turn the power off on the Sidekick while completing the cleaning. After dipping the cotton swab in the rubbing alcohol, gently rub it over the surface of the trackball, making sure the trackball spins and you cover all the surfaces. Now, let your Sidekick sit for about an hour to let the alcohol completely evaporate from the trackball. Now, power-up your Sidekick and see if the trackball now works. Many times, this is all it takes to solve the problem.

If your trackball still doesn't work after cleaning it, try pushing the trackball in firmly and wiggling it up and down. There are prongs on the inside of your Sidekick telephone which hold the trackball in place, and sometimes these become bent and some firm pressure is all it takes to ease them back into place. If this trick doesn't work, you can try disassembling your Sidekick to check for bent prongs. To open up your Sidekick, you need a special torx screwdriver to unscrew the two screws near the screen hinge. Be careful if you decide to open up your Sidekick however, as this will most likely void your phone's warranty.

If all else fails, take your Sidekick into a T-Mobile company-owned retail store. Many times, the employees there will have the tools and experience necessary to fix the trackball on your cell phone. A broken trackball can definitely make your Sidekick much harder to use, but following the simple steps in this article can allow you to fix many common trackball problems yourself. For more information about the Sidekick cell phone, visit the T-Mobile website listed in the resources section of this article.