Picture it, NY, January 2021. Covid’s still running rampant. I’ve been working from home for nearly a year at this point (zero complaints). I decided to treat myself by purchasing one of these Logitech MX Ergo trackballs on Amazon. I’ve been using a trackball for decades, ever since my first apartment with a tiny desk and not enough room to comfortably mouse around.
So here we are about 4 years later, well outside a warranty replacement window and it has this pesky problem where it will randomly double click. I do a quick search online and discover via reddit that it is a common problem on specific Logitech mouse and trackball devices. Now as I’ve got no desire to drop another $100 on a new one, and I found a handy blog post…
I go ahead and order a new 4 pack of Kailh GM 8.0 (pro-tip, do not do what I did, these switches are garbage). I take the trackball apart, replace the switch, and for the first day not only is there a satisfying new click – there’s no more double click issue. Then I hit day 2. It’s not double-clicking anymore, it’s more randomly UN-clicking.
Back to the Internet I go… I find another Reddit post which explains that the Kailh’s are actually prone to problems, but the OMRON D2F-01F is made in Japan and solid. So off to Amazon again and I order another 4 pack. Again the trackball comes apart, switch is swapped, and I’m here at day 1. It works perfectly, time shall tell…
This document assumes you are familiar with working with electronics, disassembly, de-soldering, soldering, and generally not making a mess of things on your work bench. Anything with a red circle is likely something that needs to be disassembled here per the instructions. If you follow my instructions and break the thing, this is your only warning.
This is strictly for educational purposes. Attempt repair at your OWN RISK.
Tools Needed:
- De-soldering Iron
- Soldering Iron (any will suffice, but this one is more fun).
- Solder
- PH00 Screwdriver (link is to ifixit tool kit, it’s awesome, you need it).
- TORX T6H Screwdriver (link is to ifixit tool kit, it’s awesome, you need it).
Here’s the trackball, start by flipping it over, switching it OFF, removing the magnetically attached base plate, and removing the trackball (just poke it out with a pen).
Next, remove the 6 TORX T6H screws and set them aside. The two top and bottom of the trackball will come apart easily now but do NOT just pull them apart, there’s a ribbon to detach.
The tan clip (circled in red) pulls up slightly, and then the ribbon can be removed easily. If it doesn’t easily slide out STOP and make sure you have freed up the tan clip!
Next remove the battery, the white clip is its connector to the circuit board, and 3 PH00 screws hold it in. Gently pull the white connector from the board.
The scroll wheel snaps in at the top, gently pull it up to detach it. The PH00 screw holds on the small board on the left which is attached to the main board by a small ribbon (do not try remove the board, we just want to move it out of the way so we can remove the trackball casing).
Two PH00 screws hold the trackball casing in, remove them. Also gently pull the tan clip up for the ribbon cable, and remove the ribbon cable from the main board. If it doesn’t easily slide out STOP and make sure you have freed up the tan clip! Remove the trackball casing and set it aside.
Next, remove the 4 PH00 screws that hold the main board to the base. We have another ribbon here to detach as well, with a white clip. Gently pull up that clip and slide out the ribbon. If it doesn’t easily slide out STOP and make sure you have freed up the white clip! You can now separate the main board from the base.
On the left is the top view of the trouble switch. The original was an OMRON like the new one. I replaced it with the Kailh and it lasted a day. So now I’m removing it by de-soldering the 3 solder points below it, removing the bad switch and soldering in a new OMRON.
Here is the new OMRON switch clearly labeled with JAPAN. Assembly is the reverse of dis-assembly. If you’ve gotten this far, you should be able to get it all back together and for $10 ($2.50 a switch) have a perfectly functioning trackball again. Good luck!
