Microsoft is looking into user reports of issues with Remote Desktop on Windows 11 systems after installing the Windows 11 22H2 update.
Administrators and home users have been continuously sharing their troubles across several online venues, such as Microsoft's Q&A community platform for IT professionals.
Installing the Windows 11 22H2 feature update will cause Remote Desktop clients not to connect, randomly disconnect, or freeze unexpectedly.
Users Fail to Connect to Remote Desktop, Among Other Issues
After installing the update, users encounter problems connecting to Remote Desktop, then ends up hanging, a Windows admin noted on a Microsoft Community site.
This admin added that they found a bug in the Remote Desktop client that makes it only try the user datagram protocol (UDP), not the transmission control protocol (TCP) link; this is while only the port 443 connection is allowed on the network firewall.
Another user said the Windows 11 22H2 update breaks the Remote Desktop connections through a gateway, which is an issue that "seems a pretty big to me," and asked, "why wasn't this fixed before release."
Another Windows admin reported in a Microsoft Q&A forum having several clients on Windows 11, and after installing the 22H2 update, clients could not log in to Remote Desktop servers. This admin recounted trying to log in without the firewall and said nothing changed. What solved the problem was a rollback before the update, and users have been able to log back in.
Others reported experiencing remote desktop frequent disconnects, remote virtual desktop not working, Remote Desktop Services failures, and Remote Desktop published apps issues after installing the Windows 22H2 update.
Microsoft might not have officially acknowledged this issue yet; a Microsoft employee confirmed that they are investigating the reports.
In a Bleeping Computer report, the employee said they "understand the issue is with the Client," and that they are asking questions on the issue so they could figure out what they can do to solve it.
How to Address Remote Desktop Issue Without Microsoft's Help
Until Microsoft offers official solutions to the issue, affected admins and users can address the problems by simply rolling back the Windows 22H2 Update or disabling UDP connections on affected clients.
To disable UDP connections, Bleeping Computer added, they need to go to HKLMSOFTWAREPoliciesMicrosoftWindows NTTerminal ServicesClient using the Registry Editor, create a new DWORD entry named fClientDisableUDP with a value of 1, and restart the device.
A toggle on the "Turn Off UDP On Client" policy from Computer Configuration > Administration Templates > Windows Components > Remote Desktop Services > Remote Desktop Connection Client via the Group Policy Editor can also be done. No restart is required.
In addition, downloading and even copying local files maybe 40 percent slower using the Windows 11 2022 Update, a Microsoft program manager has confirmed to PC World.
Principal Microsoft program manager Ned Pyle noted a performance regression in Windows 11's 2022 Update (22H2) when copying files from a remote computer using the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol.
