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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.
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15 Comments ↓
I am BlackBerry freak and Pearl is one of the finest release in this industry. Planing to purchase this device as i have also seen some excellent applications for this device on Blackberrysoft.com.
Good tips, thanks. One small note though, when hiding icons you don’t need to click ALT and SHIFT together. Just holding down the ALT key and then clicking the icon in question will do the trick.
this doesn’t answer the facebook application question icon question raised in the comments of the “removing the facebook application…” post earlier.
i followed the instructions and deleted facebook from the application list, but the icon is still showing up on my screen even after turning my blackberry curve on and off repeatedly. i know i can hide the icon and i know how to, but i want it gone COMPLETELY. no one has a solution for this?
esther - i think you need to also remove the facebook file from the “service books” folder as mentioned above. my understanding is “service books” file = the icons & “application” files = the actual application files.
My “service books” list includes a BC_Virtual_Preload_Facebook file. I would guess that is the one you need to get rid of.
esther - the solution is indeed in the post above, as helper mentioned…
“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.”
That is the third bullet point in the post. Hope it helps.
help! I deleted the Application - and I don’t have the Application Icon anymore BUT I still have a little F at the top of my phonescreen that theoretically updates when I get mail at Facebook - I can’t find anything in Service Book that says Facebook - how do I get rid of this?????
I am having the same problem as Kassie. I have deleted Facebook from my Apps and both things from Service Book that say Facebook.
Yet, I get the little F at the top whenever I get mail at Facebook.
Hey guys… we can’t seem to recreate the problem to find the solution ourselves (and we think you guys have two seperate issues as one is just sitting there static and the other seems to still be responding to incoming mails at Facebook), but a couple of suggestions:
1. Shut down the BB, remove the battery and re-start it and see if that helps the issue.
2. Re-install the Facebook application, mark all opened within it and then uninstall and delete from the service book when the little F is gone from the home screen.
3. Call your service provider and have them reset your BlackBerry.
Let us know if any of these work. Thanks!
thank you! I just shut down/removed battery/restarted and the F (with the number of emails in my Facebook Inbox) appears to be gone!
I’ve done this:
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.
but when I shut down and restart my BB Facebook, Google Talk and Yahoo Messenger all come back. WTF?
I GOT RID OF THE LITTLE (f) notifier icon AT THE TOP of my blackberry curve!!!
Under the Communities Icon(looks like five different figures with a globe behind them) you’ll find the Facebook Application Icon and there you can click on each message. Once they have been clicked on (indicating you have received them) the little “F-in-the-box” notifier icon at the top of the screen goes away.
Hoorah! That thing was driving me up the wall.
I have the blackberry STORM and for the life of me i CANT get the liffe “F” for facebook off the top of my screen. I searched my entire phone for hours did everything i could and i am still S O L anyone have the new blackberry storm and can give me some pointers please.
Chris,
go into applications, and roll up to facebook, check the messages as read, and it goes away.
I tried the above steps and nothing worked (BlackBerry Curve) Icons are still there and applications are not deleted, even after going to Advenced Options and deleting the apps as well as deleting the Service Books … Probably have to totally reset the phone or reinstall the OS … this sucks
thank you guys so much. i tried everything to get the facebook icon off and deleted the service books and application from the list and it didnt work. i took out the battery and put it back it and it was gone!!! yay. thanks again
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