Nitrokey 3A Mini: Can I use on Android?

Nitrokeys
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I lost my YubiKey and am looking for a replacement. The 3A mini looks like a great replacement with less potential of losing it.

Since there’s lack of NFC, I wonder if there is a possibility to use this on Android? I typically use it to log in over SSH and 2FA authentication.

I have no problems with using an adapter cable if necessary.

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Hi @peterwilli ,
I’m not sure there will be a dedicated Android app. I initiated a discussion here about getting the storage part mounted on Android; this seems possible (probably with line commands…) but I’m not sure that’s what you want…
Maybe @szszszsz could help you… ant that’ll be something I’ll follow closely :wink:

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Thank you! Currently, I use (or better put, used) termux with the openkeychain ssh agent. It worked with yubikey 5 nfc. I assume something like this could work with a nitrokey with an otg adapter, or at least I hope, but I dont mind using a different tool or workflow if nessecary.

As for storage, isnt that only available for nitrokey storage? I was looking for the 3A mini

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Yes, that’s why I was a bit unsure for your case… I only have a rather old old Storage model…
For Termux and openkeychain it seems @szszszsz and @daringer do agree with you in the other thread…

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I looked at the other thread, I can tell they do mention otg and openkeychain. I cant say for sure if itll work on the mini but im ok enough to buy one now and check to be sure

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do come back here to tell us if it works! Indeed I have a minimal tech knowledge, and anything you will describe will be very welcome!

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It’s already shipped (guess that’s why the shipping is so expensive :wink:) but I’m on vacation for the rest of the week so I’ll be able to a week from now.

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So I played around with it for a day, and setup was remarkably easy - IF you know where to look!
I already set up my SSH and GPG using the NitroPy command line tool and PGP card admin tool.

The docs for the Nitrokey 3 are completely lacking, but using the official Nitrokey Storage 2 docs worked fine. For example, I used these docs: OpenPGP Key Generation With Backup - Nitrokey Documentation to set up my PGP on the 3A Mini just fine.

I might make a video later about this and more, but when is a mystery as I cought some virus when traveling and it got me pretty good >~<

As for using this on Android, a OTG cable is on the way. I could’ve ordered one with the 3A mini, but I didn’t like how it looked (I know, silly) so I ordered it elsewhere.

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@Herve5 I got the USB OTG cable and they work. When I plug in the NitroKey in the Android, it immediately offers to open OpenKeyChain. Sadly, that’s where the problems start. When I click “ok”, it doesn’t actually do anything. So I run OpenKeyChain manually and try to import my key. I get an error that the security key is not supported yet.

I also tried to manually import my public key hoping it’d recognize my NitroKey for signing. None of it works. It seems that the NitroKey 3 series is not supported by OpenKeyChain.

I know this app is no longer actively developed, but I dont know any other app that works as good as this one. The devs state they still accept pull requests, so there’s some wiggle room here to implement NitroKey myself. However, before I go on such venture, I first want to make sure it actually is needed. For that, I’ll go to the NitroKey matrix chat to see if they know anything about this.

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