Supported YubiKeys in Signata

For using YubiKeys with Signata, both Personal and Enterprise Editions, we have some limitations and considerations on which YubiKeys we can actually use, which we'll detail below.

We'll also update this article when any changes to this list are made.

Models we support

In a nutshell - we support any YubiKey that has:

  • the PIV protocol available (also known as the Smartcard or CCID mode), and
  • connectivity to your computer via USB.

We don't care which type of USB connection you have on your computer, just as long as you can plug your YubiKey in to it. Basically any model that looks like one of these will be good to use:

YubiKey 5 NFC
YubiKey 5C NFC
YubiKey 5 Nano
YubiKey 5C
YubiKey 5C Nano
YubiKey 5Ci

Models we don't support

We don't support the Security Key series of YubiKey, as these models do not have a PIV mode that can be used by Signata. These are the blue models, that look like this:

Security Key & Security Key NFC

There is also one type of PIV-enabled YubiKey we don't support, and that is the NEO version. Basically this was the precursor to the YubiKey 4. Technically yes, it does come with a PIV mode, but unfortunately it behaves differently to all the YubiKey models that came after it because it wasn't fully built yet.

We also ran tests with one, and found the PIV mode wasn't as stable. We got strange errors that required re-inserting the device over and over - a terrible user experience. We don't know if there was something wrong with our particular test devices, or if it was the PIV mode itself, but we decided to not continue attempting to support that model.

Future models

If Yubico keep releasing PIV-enabled YubiKeys with USB capability, then we'll keep adding them in as supported models. We may have a delay in confirming that the latest and greatest models are actually detected properly by Signata (purely because we have to buy them to test them), so if you find a model that should be working isn't, please just email us and we'll fix it as a priority.

Timothy Quinn

Timothy Quinn

Managing Director of Congruent Labs