Install Waydroid on Volla Phone X23 Ubuntu Touch 20.04

query

I have spent many hours trying to install Waydroid on my Volla Phone X23 with Ubuntu Touch 20.04 - so far without success.

Technical data:

OS update channel: 20.04/arm64/android9plus/stable
OS build number: OTA-8
Kernel: 5.10.168
Build ABI: arm64-little_endian-lp64
Device Image Part: 20250227-16334
Device Build Description: lineage_halium_arm64_userdebug 12 SQ3A.220705.004711 test-keys
Last update: 03.12.2025

I have reset the smartphone several times, but an installation via the “Waydroid Helper” app does not lead to success. Waydroid is installed and displayed, but when I open it, it gets stuck in the loading screen. After closing the app, I have to restart the device, otherwise Waydroid won't open at all.

Error messages:

Installation via terminal as root:

root@ubuntu-phablet:/home/phablet# waydroid init
[23:03:23] ERROR: Failed to get vendor OTA channel: https://ota.waydro.id/vendor/waydroid_arm64/HALIUM_13.json
[23:03:23] See also: <https://github.com/waydroid>
Run 'waydroid log' for details.

Installation via “Waydroid Helper” app:

phablet@ubuntu-phablet:~$ sudo waydroid container start
ERROR: WayDroid container service is already running
phablet@ubuntu-phablet:~$ sudo systemctl status waydroid
Unit waydroid.service could not be found.
phablet@ubuntu-phablet:~$ sudo waydroid container restart
[22:38:50] WayDroid container is STOPPED

The errors appear contradictory: on the one hand it is claimed that the container is running, on the other hand it cannot be found or restarted.

Unclear HALIUM version:
It is interesting that “waydroid init” tries to load HALIUM_13. However, on the official SourceForge page there are only files up to HALIUM_11 for arm64:
https://sourceforge.net/projects/waydroid/

Question:
What is going wrong here, and how can Waydroid be successfully installed? According to the UBports forum it should be possible:
https://forums.ubports.com/post/74481

Goal:
I would like to find a solution to provide an understandable guide for other users who encounter the same problem.

If any information is missing, please ask. Thanks a lot!

query

I have found the following instructions: https://gitlab.com/ubports/porting/reference-device-ports/halium12/volla-x23/volla-vidofnir/-/issues/1
This guide was suggested here: https://forums.ubports.com/post/74328
Then I got quite the same error as here: https://forums.ubports.com/post/74472
The following commands he tried did not work for me: https://forums.ubports.com/post/74480
- Instead I get this error:

ERROR: <urlopen error [Errno -3] Temporary failure in name resosultion>
See also: <https://github.com/waydroid>
Run 'waydroid log' for details.

Then something like the following is displayed ("waydroid log"):

File "/usr/lib/python3.8/urllib/request.py", line 1357, in do_open
raise URLError(err)
urllib.error.URLError: <urlopen error [Errno -3] Temporary failure in name resolution>

Charly

Hi, I have the same problem with way droid and the volla x23. The x23 has a too new Halium version. I hope that this problem is solved after a change to UT 24.04 (noble)? Can anyone say something about this?

Thank you and many greetings
Charly

escargotvite

I also have an x23 and ran into all that. I worked the issue to a halium mismatch. The Waydroid Helper app uses v13 and the base install covers up to v11 and guess where our phone sits. Its v12. So eventually I'll dive into it and probably just end up building an x23 specific version which I'll drop in here and on GitHub. I have no clue when I'll get to it though, I have like 5 other major projects from custom kernels, a few apps, a homelab server to finish, and getting my volla to run android apps. But don't worry some of us are hammering this issue out.