Black shell for the Verizon 8830
 

I finally got my black replacement shell from CellularNationalNetwork for my Verizon BlackBerry 8830.

Oh man, is it ever nice! It came with all the tools needed for the swap and installed in about twenty minutes. It was worth picking up just for the backlighting on the keyboard alone! That blue-on-silver goofiness was just impossible to see under certain (read: most) conditions.

http://www.rimarkable.com/images/indigo_02.jpg

I now have the perfect latest-last-cellphone-I-will-ever-own. Hee!

I wrote Verizon's Customer Service department and suggested that the black case should at least be an option for the 8830. I mean, seriously, the black case is so much nicer!

Just my US$0.02.

I agree 100%. I replaced just the keyboard, because I am cheap, but I think it looks relatively nice.

Black does look better ... Fortunately mine is tucked away in a Sena case, so the only silver I see is the keyboard (I should replace it) ...

Can you please send a pic, I have been thinking about this but was not sure.

Interested to see the black keyboard and silver body.

Thanks

That looks great. What pieces do you need to do this? I guessed the $43 full housing, and the $4 keyboard? Anything else?

Looks sweet but I would be to afraid to crack open my new 8830 a $300.00 mistake/paper weight if done wrong.

Not my pic, but this is where I got the inclination.

http://www.blackberryforums.com/gene...lack-keys.html

No "cracking" is necessary. Even if you had no fingers you could still do it. It's dirt simple! You run zero risk of damaging anything inside your Berry--as long as you're a little careful. You may end up having to do it anyway, because unless you keep your Berry in some kind of case, you're going to have to replace the side rails at some point--they're notoriously scratchable.

Seriously, six screws and the shell comes off. Simple! Plus, the housing kit also comes with a complete set of tools: two Torx wrenches and a prybar for the side rails. It really is a complete kit.

My only suggestion for doing the swap: wear latex gloves to avoid getting fingerprints on the inside of the LCD cover and on the LCD itself, and have a can of compressed air standing by.

I had a buddy of mine worry about voiding the warranty and his Verizon-based insurance plan:

1) If you ever need your 8830 replaced, they will not do it in the stores--they mail you a new one and you mail back the old one. You'll have plenty of time to switch the shell back before you send it back to them.

2) If your 8830 is lost or stolen, how will the insurance company know if it's in a different shell!?

You guessed correctly. I bought:

1609 BlackBerry 8800/8830 OEM black full Housing
1826 BlackBerry 8800/8830 OEM black keyboard

The housing kit comes with a couple of extra things: a mid-plate, and an extra set of side rails. You needn't change the midplate--keep it for later, just in case. And an extra set of side rails always comes in handy, since they scratch so easily.

The housing kit also comes with a complete set of tools: two Torx wrenches and a prybar for the side rails. It really is a complete kit.

piusg,
can you post a pic of how yours turned out, the 2 product you bought should make it all black...i am definately doing this if i keep the 8830 and dont get a pearl....did you get the "black chrome" side rails?

I will be doing this
 

to my gf's VZW 8830, once I order them.

Im about to order one of these. Has anyone tried this with a full body skin from bestskinsever.com? I was thinking about putting the skin on the empty case before swapping it out with the silver case.

Thanks for the info! I'm going to do this too.

Hi, I ordered mine too from CNN, hope it arrives soon. do you know how much time does it take? well i ordered it on 10/07/07 and they told me i could track it on USPS after a week or so? Can you please tell me when did you recieve yours after buying it and where you able to track the package on USPS?
Thanks, Can't Wait to Swap to Black Case!!!
NRP

The parts ship from China, so it takes a week or so.

Just placed my order. Thanks for posting this information. I was a little worried about clicking on the confirm order link when the site told me it was in Hong Kong dollars. But did it anyway. I hate the siver housing on the 8830.

I did, and I love the end result. The siderails are a little hard to position but are great once they're in place. I may have to order the black shell in a couple months as I like the look a lot more than the silver.

I have a skin on already. I want to know if I should try to put one on the case before changing it or should i wait until after.

is everyone
 

satisfied with the quality of the parts received from cnn.cn?

Just look at the pic at the top of the thread, or click here. It looks just like that.

The side rails are the same on both the silver and black cases; they're sort of a smoky chrome. Very chic.

You're welcome. You'll love it.

Mine didn't take any longer than two weeks. I wasn't home when they tried to deliver it and so they left a note on the door; they insisted that I pick it up at the post office. I reckon because it was an overseas shipment. It easily would've fit in my mailbox.

They're the same parts that are manufactured for RIM. So I'd have to say yes. Fit-and-finish is beautiful, and it just looks so much classier in that beautiful sleek black case.

In truth, I just use BlackBerry's silicone skin, and it works well for me. Besides keeping my side rails scratch-free, it keeps the thing from sliding naround all over the place when I hold it or put it down on something.

So
 

these are genuine RIM parts? They arent like RIM seconds or anything?

i want to get this but what happens if you return your phone for exchange warranty? Do you have to put it back in its original condition?

Yes, once youve opened up the device, youve voided the warranty.

Hey now, that's a bit alarmist.

First of all, Verizon only does warranty exchanges for the BlackBerry 8830 by mail. You cannot simply walk into a store with your broken 8830 and swap it out there (ask me how I know).

Second, you keep your old silver case, and if in the event you need warranty service for your 8830, you put the unit back in its silver case. When Verizon sends you your new phone, you ship back the old one in its silver case and Verizon is none the wiser.

Then you put your cool-looking black case on the new phone they've sent you.

Seriously, dude, a case swap takes maybe 20 minutes and is as easy as falling out of bed.

Kermalou, don't listen to justajason. As long as you're a little careful when you do the swaps, there's no way in Christendom that Verizon would be able to tell that you swapped cases.

Oh, by the way, I showed my black-cased 8830 to one of the guys at the Verizon store across the street from my house. He thought it was the coolest thing ever and asked me for the link where to order the case from. :-)

They sure looked like genuine RIM parts to me. And they went on perfectly.

Comeon!?!?! You know as well as I do, that if youre in your year after purchase, and something happens to the device, and you try to return it, they will scream "Voided Warranty". And as for exchanging the housing, I DID ALREADY>>>. And as soon as I got it swapped, the pixels on the screen started going screwey... So YEAH< I had to switch it back...

And as for mail, I went back to the store I got it at, 3 months later, and they swapped it out with no difficulty...

Alright Penelope, you win.

Yeah, I suppose they'd scream "voided warranty" if you were stupid enough to bring the thing back to a Verizon store or send it back with the black case still on it. I have a hard time imagining anybody smart enough to work a BlackBerry being that ridiculously stupid. Anyone dumb enough to do that deserves to have their warranty voided.

Employees at two full-fledged Verizon company stores in South Florida--one in the Mall at Wellington Green, and one on Okeechobee Boulevard--told me that support for the 8830 was the exclusive purview of Verizon Wireless Technical support and no service for the 8830 was performed in any Verizon store anywhere, company or not.

Frankly, justajason, judging by your tone, typing, and lack of posts, I think you're full of it--and a troll. And your shift keys are sticking.

Now stop frightening the nice people and pissing on my parade.

I ordered a black keypad from them a while back, and it was ANYTHING but a genuine RIM piece. Completely different molds for the components, feel was sub-par, and already lost a button off of it.

Perhaps the case components are better, but I won't waste any more money on their keypads.

(n)

Wow.

That's different from my experience. My keypad looks and feels great--a pleasure to type on. Maybe they grew them in-house and have recently improved them?

I just ordered mine - but now for the full housing, they have the version that says "World Edition" on it, so I got that one instead. Looking forward to my "new" 8830.

Hi, I had a problem with my order, I ordered on 10/07 but I still did not receive it, hence I had to chat with live help last night. They told me that i might be delayed or lost and that they would set uo an inquiry process. Meanwhile I asked them to mail me a new package and I will pay for faster shipping(FEDEX) The agent told me that they will do that once approved but I never recieved any information, I have already transfered funds into their account, Now i am concern what if they Had never mailed me one????
I have put more money than my plan and now i am nowhere with this order!!!
I dont know what to do???? as these people dont reply promptly as they show on their wbe-site
Some one with similar problems/ any veiws..
Please input,
Thanks

You might notice they're in China. Might be off my a time zone or two :shock:

Just a heads up for all of you looking at the CNN black case and keyboard. I got the package from CNN today and it was MOSTLY what I expected. I ordered the full black case and a black keyboard, as well as a couple tools.

The case and siderails are OEM looking and feel like they're at least as good a quality as the originals I took off my Verizon 8830. Everything went on well. The CNN video doesn't mention that the side rails are both attached with adhesive at the top, so keep this in mind when disassembling.

The only problem is this...

http://www.nem0nic.com/8830kbd.jpg

Notice anything strange? Yeah...

I just put in an email to them and asked for a correct keyboard and a new set of side rails (because of the afore mentioned adhesive).

Other than that, I'm a happy camper. I'll keep this thread informed about how they deal with this customer support issue.

Hey!! I got my Package today !! Surprsing enough after being lost with USPS as it took more than three weeks, But I am HAPPY about the New Swap, Black looks much better, keyboard is ok but not as Nem0nic,I think you recived a french keyboard by error. Thankfully i recievd all Components as i ordered , It looks great.
I agree with nem0nic as siderails have glue its difficult to seperate them, it took me about 20 mins to do the swap. There is no way to VIOD WARRANTY as there are no seals (use some common sense while exchanging for technical issues and re-swap) Thanks Piusg! Great product from CNN, I agree.

I was just contacted via email by Steve Chan from CNN and they're sending out a new keyboard. That was fast. I must say that even with the fubar keyboard I can't complain about their product or their service.

Just ordered mine. Hope it's as easy as everyone says it is.

Just an update. Got the new (correct) keyboard middle of last week and all is well. Steve over there at CNN is fast and I wouldn't think twice about doing business with them again. Good stuff.

I received mine and installed it yesterday. Looks great. Aside from looking nice, the best thing about it is that the backlit keyboard is easy to read. That blue backlight was difficult to focus on, and the b/w is easy like my wifes 8703. I did not use the new siderails that were included - even though the adhesive came off when I took the originals off per the video, they still snap back into place.

So what's the total with everything? 43 for hte housing, 3 for the keypad, and is there anything else u need?

Bottom line was $51.98. I ordered the Full Housing, and the Keyboard.

About six of us at work have ordered the black keyboards for our Verizon 8830's. We have come to the conclusion that these are probably factory seconds. Some of them have keys in the wrong place or installed upside down. Even so, you can correct the error in about 30 seconds and all is well. We are all happy.

I just did my 8830 - keyboard and case - huge difference with the keyboard - I would recommend it to anyone....

Yeah, but if you look at the picture, its not the wrong keys in the wrong place, they actually printed the wrong letters on the wrong keys. the # and * are in the right place. very strange. looks good though, thinkin bout this for mine.

52 bux, i watched the video on the install doesn't seem to difficult but i noticed a tool they used on the side rails, looked like a non prying tool used for ipods..

It looks like I COULD do it, but i don't trust myself. Anyone in MA do this that might be able to assist?

This was a far easier disassembly than my 2nd gen ipod. This was about 20 minutes for me. I agree that the tape on the rails was deceptive, I thought it would be a much easier pull off the frame. But it was pretty easy. Yet again I am impressed with RIM and their products. I like the fact that I can order up a new display if I somehow manage to break this and replace it myself. I am really happy with the cover. I only ordered the front and keyboard since I have my 8830 in a silicone case most of the time. I'm not sure how long this cover will last without getting scratched up. It does not seem as scratch resistant as the silver. Time will tell. I would suggest anyone who uses the keyboard a lot to get the black keyboard, it is far easier to see the letters, but more importantly the symbols in both light, dark, and medium lighting. I am totally happy with CNN, it cost me $31 and change for the front cover, the keyboard, and an Orange bottom cover since I didn't want the Verizon silver base piece. The Orange logo is the smallest of the logos and looks the best to me. If in doubt, spend the money. I will probably end up getting another one for my wife's BB too.

I just completed my installation of the black shell and black Keyboard (8830 unbranded) everything was a snap to do. It took a little over 10 minutes and it's beautiful.

There is one problem though. I noticed that the battery door doesn't completely lock. It's a hair too short or something. This makes removing the battery much easier but you can see tiny gap above the silver rectangle at the top of the battery cover. Has anyone else noticed this? I made sure I am not crazy by sliding the old (silver) battery cover on and viola all fits snugly. I wonder if I should email CNN they seem to be helpful.

By the way there is a french keyboard and a Europe keyboard both of which have different lettering and symbol locations. It's not just factory seconds on the keyboards. Make sure you order the USA keyboard.

yep they sent me the wrong one before also.... got a replacement in three days....

I love my all black case and keyboard. easy to change so if i have to go to verizon.

I have noticed the battery door also...... maybe the clip is catching let me know what you find out, I may have to change the back cover also.

I emailed CNN and Steve Chan responded with this:

"I noticed the same thing on my own 8800, how big is the gap? Do you have a
picture? I think it might be normal.

Steve Chan"

I replied:

"Steve,

Its a very small gap. I don't think a pic would help. You can slide the door off without pushing down on the silver part if you know what I mean. Its a tiny bit too short."


He did not respond to the last email. I do, however have an update. My usb port was loose and the charger was not constantly charging the phone so I called verizon and they said to bring it in for an exchange. So, I had to remove the black shell and re install the OEM silver shell. When I did this I paid special attention to the back panel and battery cover. The problem is not on the battery cover the problem is on the top part of the back cover. there is a small "latch" in the middle of the cutout where the silver "micro SD" recangle goes that is missing. It is present on the silver faceplate and missing on the black one.

All that being said, I think I'm the first official black shell back to silver warranty exchange thusfar. Those of you who were worried, relax and get the black faceplate. Even the battery door issue is pretty much no big deal. it won't fall off but it slides off kinda easily.

YESTER18!!!!

Problem fixed. I had to slightly bend the two parts of the battery door on each side that stick out (black plastic parts) I did this by facing the silver part up and pushing the small clips one at a time into the corner of the table gently but hard enough to bend them a little bit. This worked prefect.

By the way Steve emailed me again. He was very concerned. That says a lot.

Sorry bro I am still confused as to what I need to bend?

Take the battery door off and look at it with the silver rectangle facing up. Near the right and left top edges there are 2 small "clips" one at each end. Those have to be bent very carefully up towards you. I hope that helps. Mine is perfect now.

The earlier post about the clip on the back faceplate is accurate. I just did the swap to black today and noticed the same thing. My battery door slides off too easily and I found your advice about gently bending the plastic tabs helps. Also I pushed the metal clip at the top of the silver rectangle firmly against the rectangle and now the cover fits almost as snug as my silver original. Would be nice though is CNN would step up and ship us backplates with the correct latch.
Am I the only one who finds themselves gazing at their new BLACK 8830. Damn it's beautiful....something must be wrong with me.....

the black clips are plastic they do not bend.

Still lookin for someone in Mass to do mine=)

Granite doesn't bend, plastic does. The plastic clips do change position if you apply gentle pressure (can't really tell by looking). Also, from my earlier post, if you push the metal clip firmly against the back of the chrome latch it will snap rather nicely into the back plate. Cheers.....

Yea what he said....

Also, I stare at my black blackberry all the time as well. She sure is a pretty one.

You can do this yourself, even if you think you can't. Trust me.

Just sit in front of your computer and follow the video they have on their website. It is EASY. The hardest part is teasing the side rails off since they are sort of glued down - but that is NOT very hard, it just requires a little patience.

I went VERY slowly, just to make sure I didn't break anything or miss any steps, and it STILL only took me a bit over 20 minutes.

Anyone want an unused kit?
 

Hey everyone. As a result of this thread and the awesome pictures of the black kit, I went ahead and ordered one about 2 weeks ago.

Then I switched to the Pearl.

Then the kit arrived yesterday.

So...... If anyone is interested in purchasing one of these kits brand new and unopened, and would like to make me an offer, feel free.

SOLD. THANKS!

Chris

Ditto on the pics (i.e. like the way it looked). That silver/blue keys was really my biggest hangup on this phone as I am not crackberry proficient.

I ordered the kit Friday (11/9) afternoon and paid the extra $16 for the "4" day service. I was shocked as hell to answer the door this morning (Monday, 11/12) and see a FedEx driver standing there with my order. IMPRESSIVE!

Let's hope the rest if it goes as smooth as for some reason I have worked myself up on doing the swap out. Panzy.

Anywho, shipping with CNN appears to be top notch with the company. Let's hope the product is on the same level.

Thanks for the link, idea, post and the pics.

If your original side rails are still in good shape re use them. This way you'll have a spare set of brand new side rails in case of a drop in the future. Just a little piece of advice.

sLpFhaWK in Mass, you can do this. Trust me. I got myself all worked up over it for no reason. I installed mine yesterday. WOW! Love the "new" look. The only difficulty I had was the glue on the side rails as previously mentioned. It's really on there. Just be patient pulling/seperating as it will come off. I did have an exacto knife handy and needed it for just this reason, but again, couldn't have been any easier.

I do recommend a can of air (as did someone else in this thread) in case dust gets on the screen (mine did but was quickly remedied). Other than that, I had no problems. I did not experience the battery door/side rail issue. Mine snapped right in and the battery door fits as snug as the original.

The only downside to this housing was the very noticeable smudging/fingerprints. I use bestskinsever, so that alleviated that problem once I put them on.

Overall, very happy this housing was suggested and put in the forum. The keys are so much easier to see, especially during the day and I really do like the black look.

Thanks again BB Forums!

Wow.

It's pretty cool to see a thread that I originally started get so much traffic.

For all you guys who did the switch, and are enjoying your fantastic new black case as much as I'm enjoying mine, congratulations--and I'm glad I could be of service to the BlackBerry community.

Keep on thummin'!

Okie I might have to bite the bullet and just attempt it myself.. The side rails are glued on and most people have problems w/ them, but if that glue is not sticky once you remove them would they just snap in place if i wanted to use those instead? And I seen in the video he uses a non prying tool, like a plastic tool to get them off, if you have nothing like that what are some other tools u could use, xacto knife i seen kramerica used, any other?

Also if you don't care about the oem housing and rails does it matter if they are dmged? besides putting it in for warranty work? thanks for the replies.

Well...

The rails are held on towards the top with some pretty hefty double-sided tape--not glue, necessarily--and it will remain tacky enough to re-affix the rails to the unit. In truth the design of the rails and they way they hook to the top of the unit makes the tape kind of redundant, which you'll see once you get them off.

Working slowly from the bottom up with the pry tool (included in the CNN kit) will separate the rails fairly easily. The odds that they'd actually be damaged during the removal is unlikely. I wouldn't use an Xacto blade on them simply because you risk scratching the rails or slicing your finger open with it--the forces involved in cleaving the rails from the Berry might be too much for a thin Xacto blade, and you really don't want to bunch up the tape getting the rails off.

An earlier poster suggested using your original Berry's rails. That's a dandy idea and I did just that; that way, I have a set of brand-new virgin rails ready to go on in case something untoward happens to my Berry (unlikely because I use the Blackberry silicone rubber skin). Besides, the rails that com in the kit and your original rails are identical--sort of a smokey chrome that goes equally well with both cases.

Just ordered mine.. w00t

Yeah I just got my 8830 swapped out via Warranty w/ Verizon so my rails now are fairly new and not marked up. I'm going to do the same, use the old ones and have a fresh new pair if anything happens. Thanks guys!

Did mine today. It was fairly easy. Looks real nice. No problems with the battery door. No problems at all. It all snapped into place. The double sided tape actually made taking the back off a little harder though. But after watching the tape, it was clear that they pushed the back plate up (towards the top) before taking it off. The back plate was the toughest part to remove. I thought it was going to break. Anyway, if I can do it then anyone can. I'm not known as Tim the Tool Man by my wife for no reason. Go for it sLpFhaWk. You can do it.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8830/4.2.2 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/104)

Has anyone yet noticed if swapping the shells makes the phone more prone to gettint lint behind the screen? I feel like this phone is really good at not doing that, but I am wondering if tearing it open will change that

Can't tell you of course, since my shell has been on for about three hours. But now if it does, I can take it apart and clean it! We'll see.

I just got mine today - ordered way back on 11/5 so it did take a long time (I used the cheapest shipment method.) Of course, I'm on the east coast so that probably adds a few working days to the shipment time.

The installation went very well - I did the whole thing (KB, case, side rails, ...). Looks wonderful. I've got one frustrating thing right now with the green send button - it doesn't have a good "feel" (no click) and is hard to press now. I took it back apart to see if there was something blocking it but I can't seem to free it up properly. I'll use it for a couple of days and see if it "self - heals". Otherwise I'll drop the company an email and see if they would be willing to send me another KB to install. At least it's just the green send key... i don't use that too much.

Reiterating other folks comments... man the black really is much nicer all-around than the silver. Just looks so much crisper and more professional and the keyboard is lightyears more usable.

I put a bestskinsever on it so it will last much longer in the electronics hell that is my pocket!

All black w/ skin applied:)


http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...7040Medium.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...7049Medium.jpg

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b2...7045Medium.jpg

another question?
 

are the side rails re-usable, meaning, do the rails go back on after you've pulled them off? or do i have to buy new side rails along with the keyboard?

Side rails go back on. They are a little stubborn to get off due to the sticky tape used. Just use the plastic tool you got with the case and they will pry off with a couple of unsettling snaps. Gentle but firm effort is the rule. The tape is not really needed as they snap back on and are held in place by the battery cover area screws.

is there
 

is there replacment tape? i feel like that might be helping keep out dust and hair from getting behind the screen, and i realize i could just crack it open. but opening it up every week would probably ruin the side rails with time.

I've asked that question here before but was told that new side rails come with the double faced tape already on. I haven't looked, but your local craft store might be the ticket. It makes me feel better that there is someone as obsessed as me when it comes to my berry. I dropped it last week and am still depressed about the scratch......grrrr

Didn't see any double sided tape on the rails that came with my shell. And truthfully, it's not needed. The rails snap on and are very tight. The double sided tape is only a centimeter long or so. It's not what keeps dust out of the unit. It's only at the top of the unit on each side. I'm kind of glad it's gone. Now I can snap on and off the rails very easily if I need to switch out again.

ok
 

well i have ordered a whole case, so I hope the tools still come with it. I only am switching out the keyboard and midplate for now, the other parts i will hold onto for later, when my screen starts getting all tore up. I will be sure to post about my proceedings!(y)

I received my kit the other day and was able to change it out without to much trouble.

The kit includes the side rail extract tool & the torx driver.

I reused my side rails so that, as others have mentioned here, i will have a new set incase i need to replace them in the future. Although thats doubtful since I also put a BES skin on it.

There was a comment earlier about the quality of the keyboards, that they may be factory seconds(?) I'll have to agree with that as a few of my keys no longer have that nice 'click' fee to them.

sinnfein07 - I have the exact same problem as you do. I think I'm going to write them and ask for a new keyboard.

Overall I'm very satisfied with the way it looks.

Personally I didnt end up using the 'mid plate' as I didnt see a need to disassemble it that far. Is there any one who did or didnt and has any comments on the pros or cons either way?

Thanks,
Dave

Hey Dave - I emailed them about my keyboard issues. They suggested that I loosen the torx screws by the battery to see if that frees it up and improves the key feel. Unfortunately I'm out of the US for the next few days and don't have the tool. I'll give it a try on Monday when I'm back home. If you have the opportunity to give it a try, please do and let us know here if it makes a difference.

I also didn't install the mid-plate. It wasn't clear to me that it did anything different than the factory one there already...

Thanks!

Thanks sinnfein! I'm out of town until Sunday night so I'll try it on Monday as well. Thanks for the tip!

I replaced just the keyboard and found that the tightness of the torx screws really affected the keys. I had to back mine off until they were just barely tight. If I tightened them anymore, the keys became stiff and had hardly any click.

I was going to put the old keyboard back to see if it had the same issues, but by that point I was too tired... :-) I've had it in a week and so far so good.

I barely tightened the screws when I was putting it back together. Everything seems fine with my keyboard so far.

I'm going to be ordering the black keyboard for myself and a bunch of guys at my company.

Is the only tool I need to change the keyboard is the Torx screwdriver? or do I need to pop off the siderails too?

Thanks
Steve

You'll need both the torx screwdriver and a plastic pry tool for the side rails, but both tools come with the kit if you're ordering from CNN.

Sorry, coffee hasn't quite kicked in yet :oops:

If you're ordering JUST the keyboard, I don't know if it comes with the necessary tools. However, you'll need to remove the side rails to R&R the keyboard so you'll need both the torx and the pry tool.

That's the info I was looking for!

Anyone know if both tools come with the keyboard if you order just that?

Not sure, but I changed my keyboard only for a week or so. And man, it looks weird with the black keyboard and silver everything else. Looks like racoon. :razz:

OK - back home now and I just spent the last hour taking my BB apart and putting it back together again to try to solve this - I think I finally figured it out.

Adjusting the Torx screws didn't seem to make any difference - wasn't able to get the keyboard to "feel" any better or to get any real feel from the Green send key - something just wasn't right.

I put the original silver KB into the enclosure, and it also had a lousy feel. When I was doing this for the 15th time I noticed that on the BACK of the LCD lens, there is actually a plastic protective cover with a tab that extends under the keyboard - right under the green send key.

I pulled that cover off and reassembled - MUCH better. Seems like that's the issue I was having. I either missed that step as part of the directions or it wasn't there. Easy to miss a clear cover on the back of an LCD lens :-)

Of course. Makes sense now. I did pull that protective plastic off from the inside of the screen before assembling. And you're right, I didn't see that as part of the video. It's not easy to see that protective cover. Of course, after removing it I had to pay careful attention so as not to get finger prints on the inside of the screen.

replaced my silver with the full housing from CNN back in oct and I too forgot to remove the protective lcd cover.. took me a min to figure that out...

BB8830 Black kit
 

If you still have the kit to switch BB 8830 from silver to black I'd be willing to purchase from you.

Notice he says it's SOLD.

That did it for me as well. I found that protective cover and removed it. It seems that the 'protective cover' was also a backing for adhesive(?) that would surround the screen to prevent dust from getting in?

Either way my keypad works like a charm now.

They ought to include some written instructions for that.

Count me in to the not knowing about the protective cover under the lens. Just took my new "beautiful" black housing apart and bingo, there it was. Keys work perfect now. Good work Sherlock. They really should put something in the directions about this. Wonder how many replacement keyboards they've sent out.

Black Shell
 

The black shell seems best for a (BLACK)berry, thats just my 02 cents. But I did order the whole shell for my Verizon chrome/titanium/silver shell. I'm doing the 2 day deal, I can't wait for 2 weeks. I will repost in 2 days!

You have made a wise choice mr jerome. You will not be disappointed. I spent hours just staring at my new BLACK 8830 after I did the conversion. Whats wrong with me!!! You may have to seek therapy. I know I need it.. :>)

My BlackBerry! No TitaniumBerry
 

I'm so giddy about my Blackberry being Black! I just got it about an hour ago, and I replaced everything except the middle frame, I didn't see a need to replace it. I wish directions came along with but I managed to tear it apart and change the covers and the keyboard, oh the keyboard is color is white in stead of the blue, it's not a blueberry but a Blackberry!

Still waiting for mine. Its been 2+ weeks...Should have had it sent expedited service...