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Troubleshoot the Remote Desktop client for Windows when connecting to Azure Virtual Desktop

Diego Orellana
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Client stops responding or can't be opened

If the Remote Desktop client for Windows or Azure Virtual Desktop Store app for Windows stops responding or can't be opened, you may need to reset user data. If you can open the client, you can reset user data from the About menu, or if you can't open the client, you can reset user data from the command line. The default settings for the client will be restored and you'll be unsubscribed from all workspaces.

To reset user data from the client:

  1. Open the Remote Desktop app on your device.

  2. Select the three dots at the top right-hand corner to show the menu, then select About.

  3. In the section Reset user data, select Reset. To confirm you want to reset your user data, select Continue.

To reset user data from the command line:

  1. Open PowerShell.

  2. Change the directory to where the Remote Desktop client is installed, by default this is C:\Program Files\Remote Desktop.

  3. Run the following command to reset user data. You'll be prompted to confirm you want to reset your user data.

    PowerShell
    .\msrdcw.exe /reset

    You can also add the /f option, where your user data will be reset without confirmation:

    PowerShell
    .\msrdcw.exe /reset /f

Your administrator may have ended your session

You see the error message Your administrator may have ended your session. Try connecting again. If this does not work, ask your administrator or technical support for help, when the policy setting Allow users to connect remotely using Remote Desktop Services has been set to disabled.

To configure the policy to enable users to connect again depending on whether your session hosts are managed with Group Policy or Intune.

For Group Policy:

  1. Open the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) for session hosts managed with Active Directory or the Local Group Policy Editor console and edit the policy that targets your session hosts.

  2. Browse to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Remote Desktop Services > Remote Desktop Session Host > Connections

  3. Set the policy setting Allow users to connect remotely using Remote Desktop Services to Enabled.

For Intune:

  1. Open the Settings catalog.

  2. Browse to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Remote Desktop Services > Remote Desktop Session Host > Connections

  3. Set the policy setting Allow users to connect remotely using Remote Desktop Services to Enabled.

Authentication and identity

For troubleshooting guidance for authentication and identity issues with Microsoft Entra joined session hosts, see Troubleshoot connections to Microsoft Entra joined VMs.

Authentication issues while using an N SKU of Windows

Authentication issues can happen because you're using an N SKU of Windows on your local device without the Media Feature Pack. For more information and to learn how to install the Media Feature Pack, see Media Feature Pack list for Windows N editions.

Authentication issues when TLS 1.2 not enabled

Authentication issues can happen when your local Windows device doesn't have TLS 1.2 enabled. To enable TLS 1.2, you need to set the following registry values:

  • Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols\TLS 1.2\Client

     
    Value Name Type Value Data
    DisabledByDefault DWORD 0
    Enabled DWORD 1

  • Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols\TLS 1.2\Server

     
    Value Name Type Value Data
    DisabledByDefault DWORD 0
    Enabled DWORD 1

  • Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\.NETFramework\v4.0.30319

     
    Value Name Type Value Data
    SystemDefaultTlsVersions DWORD 1
    SchUseStrongCrypto DWORD 1

You can configure these registry values by opening PowerShell as an administrator and running the following commands:

PowerShell
New-Item 'HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols\TLS 1.2\Server' -Force
New-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols\TLS 1.2\Server' -Name 'Enabled' -Value '1' -PropertyType 'DWORD' -Force
New-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols\TLS 1.2\Server' -Name 'DisabledByDefault' -Value '0' -PropertyType 'DWORD' -Force

New-Item 'HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols\TLS 1.2\Client' -Force
New-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols\TLS 1.2\Client' -Name 'Enabled' -Value '1' -PropertyType 'DWORD' -Force
New-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\SCHANNEL\Protocols\TLS 1.2\Client' -Name 'DisabledByDefault' -Value '0' -PropertyType 'DWORD' -Force

New-Item 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\.NETFramework\v4.0.30319' -Force
New-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\.NETFramework\v4.0.30319' -Name 'SystemDefaultTlsVersions' -Value '1' -PropertyType 'DWORD' -Force
New-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\.NETFramework\v4.0.30319' -Name 'SchUseStrongCrypto' -Value

 

 

Find more information Troubleshoot the Remote Desktop client for Windows - Azure Virtual Desktop - Remote Desktop client | Microsoft Learn

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