Hi there
Thanks so much for all the useful advice re the Signal app. I now understand this is not a straight forward project!!
Thanks again
Belerry
1 Like
Hello
Thank you very much for the links and all the info. I have learned so much ad now realize my question was not straight forward!!! Much more for me to learn!!
Thanks again
Belerry
1 Like
Hello
Thanks for telling me about Axolotl. I had not even heard of it!! I will definitely educate myself and wait for the next version. All the responses from the forum have made me realize how much I still have to learn!
Thanks again
Belerry
hi there,
Thank you so much for telling me about Flare. The Purism Support team suggested this also. I’ll do some more research before I try it out.
Belerry
Hello
Thanks for your advice re installing the Signal desktop. From reading your comments it appears this might be too complicated for me … as a newbie!!! I will try to learn more and maybe dip my toe in the water!! Perhaps Signal will come out with an app for Librem5.
Thanks again
Belerry
Hi @belerry,
This is what I did to have the closest Signal experience to my old Android device:
- Follow these directions to install and configure Waydroid. Begin on step 2 as you are installing Waydroid for the first time.
- Launch Waydroid by tapping the icon and allow the program to run through its boot animation. If you do not see the animation within ~15 seconds, try locking the phone and unlocking it. This has consistently helped me ensure the program was launching correctly.
- Once Waydroid has fully loaded (it should look like a normal Android environment), launch a browser in this environment and download the Signal package.
- Launch the Signal Android package (APK) (you must first enable permissions to install “untrusted apps” as this was not installed directly through Google Play) by tapping on the file within a file browser (i.e. Files app) and selecting “Install”
- Download/copy a Signal backup file within Waydroid, if applicable
- Launch Signal and follow its procedure to restore your backup
I hope this helps! Let me know if these steps are confusing and I’m happy to revise this post.
Hello JCS
Thanks a lot for typing out all these instructions! The step-by-step is perfect.Then, as I read each step, I found myself searching duckduckgo for Waydroid and other technical terms!! such as: Ul … Signal APK …
At step 4. I wasn’t sure how to 'launch the downloaded APK." Step 5. I wasn’t sure I would be able to find the downloaded/copy of a Signal backup within Waydoid!!
So, at that point, I decided to contact a friend who speaks this language that is strange to me!!! Maybe he will be able to teach me how to understand!!
I am really, really grateful to you, and all the Forum members, for taking so much time to help us ‘newbies’. The learning process is slow, but I am determined to learn.
BTW, other ‘posts’ have mentioned Axolotl and Flare. Do you have any comments on these? and …what are they!
Thanks again, JCS. Enjoy a peaceful evening
Belerry
1 Like
This is all you need! 
2 Likes
I’m glad it was helpful! I edited the post to slim down the use of acronyms and provide a little clarity on what I meant by “launch the downloaded APK.” Apologies, but I’m not familiar with Axolotl or Flare.
I use Signal Desktop all the time on my Librem 5 that I use as my daily driver.
I installed is as a flatpak using these instructions.
Note: this is the desktop version, so you still need a another device to be your primary Signal device to connect with. I have still an Android phone with Signal installed for this purpose.
There are a few issues with the Signal Desktop flatpak:
- Keyboard stops working after attaching media/image. See this issue.
- Difficult to slide the contacts side bar narrow (I did this by attaching the L5 to a monitor and mouse).
- Signal Desktop might be energy hungry (not sure if this is still the case).
- Phosh does not show the Signal Desktop icon correctly in application overview. See this issue.
Some more info on the Signal forums:
Signal is ranked number three in fund your app. I donated as well.
That is exactly the problem: not having owned an Iphone or an Android phone, I never had a primary device. We need an app that allows the L5 to register on the Signal server. (I know you can do this from the command line, but that is far from easy, and very error prone. Therefore it is not a viable option.)
In my opinion there should indeed be no need for a primary Android or iOS device. Signal Desktop should be able to be used independent of a mobile phone. More people request this. Unfortunately, I see no development in this direction (yet).
I really hope Axolotl will deliver on that…
2 Likes
Hello JCS
Thank you for ‘editing’ your instructions on how to put Signal on the Librem 5. I appreciate the time you have taken to help me with this project.
Axoloti and Flare are apps on Flathub. The reviews for Axoloti are not very positive!! I can’t tell from the description if Flare does video calls or just messaging.
I think your directions re Waydroid are the closest to a real Signal experience.
Thanks again
Enjoy the week-end
Belerry
1 Like
Axolotl 1.6 doesn’t work - never got beyond the registration screen.
I am waiting for the next incarnation…
Unfortunately if you go to Flare’s Github page they state specifically they do not nor plan to support audio/video calls. Such a shame too because it looks like an awesome project otherwise.
Hello
Thank you very much for your previous answers.
I’m trying to install signal on my brand new Librem5 but I get the TLS error below while trying to retreive elagost’s flatpak.
Am I the only one to get this error ? Is there a trick to bypass this TLS exception ?
thanks for your help !
I haven’t tried to add the remote repo to my Flatpak installation, but I can connect securely to that remote site:
openssl output
$ echo | openssl s_client -connect elagost.com:443 -verify_return_error -status
CONNECTED(00000003)
depth=2 C = US, O = Internet Security Research Group, CN = ISRG Root X1
verify return:1
depth=1 C = US, O = Let's Encrypt, CN = R3
verify return:1
depth=0 CN = elagost.com
verify return:1
OCSP response: no response sent
---
Certificate chain
0 s:CN = elagost.com
i:C = US, O = Let's Encrypt, CN = R3
a:PKEY: rsaEncryption, 4096 (bit); sigalg: RSA-SHA256
v:NotBefore: Mar 5 04:01:20 2023 GMT; NotAfter: Jun 3 04:01:19 2023 GMT
1 s:C = US, O = Let's Encrypt, CN = R3
i:C = US, O = Internet Security Research Group, CN = ISRG Root X1
a:PKEY: rsaEncryption, 2048 (bit); sigalg: RSA-SHA256
v:NotBefore: Sep 4 00:00:00 2020 GMT; NotAfter: Sep 15 16:00:00 2025 GMT
2 s:C = US, O = Internet Security Research Group, CN = ISRG Root X1
i:O = Digital Signature Trust Co., CN = DST Root CA X3
a:PKEY: rsaEncryption, 4096 (bit); sigalg: RSA-SHA256
v:NotBefore: Jan 20 19:14:03 2021 GMT; NotAfter: Sep 30 18:14:03 2024 GMT
---
Server certificate
-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----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-----END CERTIFICATE-----
subject=CN = elagost.com
issuer=C = US, O = Let's Encrypt, CN = R3
---
No client certificate CA names sent
Peer signing digest: SHA256
Peer signature type: RSA-PSS
Server Temp Key: X25519, 253 bits
---
SSL handshake has read 5116 bytes and written 406 bytes
Verification: OK
---
New, TLSv1.3, Cipher is TLS_AES_256_GCM_SHA384
Server public key is 4096 bit
Secure Renegotiation IS NOT supported
Compression: NONE
Expansion: NONE
No ALPN negotiated
Early data was not sent
Verify return code: 0 (ok)
---
DONE
curl output
$ curl -q -i -- 'https://elagost.com/flatpak/signal.flatpakrepo'
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Connection: keep-alive
Content-Length: 4267
Content-Type: application/octet-stream
Date: Wed, 03 May 2023 06:37:41 GMT
Last-Modified: Thu, 16 Jun 2022 14:12:01 GMT
Server: OpenBSD httpd
[Flatpak Repo]
Title=Signal-Arm Flatpak Repo
Url=https://elagost.com/flatpak/repo/
GPGKey=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
Maybe it was a transient error. Try again?
Register from the CLI without needing an Android/iOS device? That sounds very interesting. Can you share a source with more details? 
I have Waydroid with Signal installed: how can I link, say, Flare to that app running in Waydroid? Normally, you’d have to scan a QR, right? Anybody done this?