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