We’ve all read the trouble-shooting guides, and most of the time, that’s all you need to answer your BlackBerry questions and solve those nagging problems. But sometimes, issues pop up on your handheld that seem to have no answer. This can lead to frustration and lost time while you try to figure them out. Well, worry no more – BBGeeks.com has compiled a couple of BlackBerry mysteries and solved them for you.
Your BlackBerry has a lot of useless icons that don’t lead to any applications, but you can’t remove them.
If you’re one of those people who like their desktop to be completely clear of all icons except the ones you use every day, this can be a big pet peeve. It’s even worse when you have to deal with the smaller screen of a BlackBerry. Extra icons are annoying – and it’s even more annoying when you can’t seem to find a way to remove them. Thankfully, there’s a way to hide or delete these icons that’s simple and stress-free. You can:
- Press and hold the ALT and SHIFT key simultaneously, and then click on the icon that you don’t want. An option labelled “Hide or Move†will pop up, and you can decide what you want to do with that icon.
- To resurrect your icons, press and hold the ALT key, then trackball-click “Show Allâ€. Select the icon you want and uncheck “Hide Applicationâ€.
- To delete your icons, go to Options > Advanced Options > Service Books, and find the icon’s service book, which should be labelled under the same name. Select “Delete†from the menu. Your icons should now be gone.
Your BlackBerry’s trackball sticks or won’t scroll.
If you’ve used a mouse with a scrolling problem, you know the pain of trying to scroll on your BlackBerry and not getting anywhere. Sometimes, especially with the new models like the Pearl, the trackball gets gummed up with oil and dirt from your fingers. It’s bound to happen, and it’s unfortunate, but it can be fixed. You can:
- Take some rubbing alcohol and gently swab around the trackball. This may loosen it if the problem is near the surface, beside or just under the metal ring holding the trackball in place.
- If nothing else works, you can attempt to clean the trackball by removing the silver ring around it. Do this at your own risk. Here are some instructions on how to do it. BBGeeks.com takes no responsibility for any damage caused to your device by using this method.



