How to Enable Remote Desktop Connection on Windows Server

To connect to a Windows Server or another Windows device remotely, Remote Desktop must be enabled on the target machine. Whether you’re using Windows Server or a Windows client version, you can use this guide to configure Remote Desktop and allow incoming RDP connections.

You can enable Remote Desktop through Windows graphical tools or by running commands with administrator privileges in PowerShell or Command Prompt (CMD).

In this tutorial, we’ll cover four methods to enable Remote Desktop in Windows Server using Server Manager, Windows Settings, PowerShell, and CMD, so you can choose the method that best suits your setup.

Enable Remote Desktop Using Server Manager

To enable Remote Desktop in Windows Server, you don’t need to install the Remote Desktop Services (RDS) role. You only need to enable Remote Desktop Connection, configure the firewall, and ensure the appropriate user permissions.

Open Server Manager in Windows Server

To open Windows Server Manager, you can press Win button and search for server manager in the Start menu or press Ctrl + R and enter the command below to open Server Manager.

RUN

ServerManager

See outputHide output

Run tab

Enable Remote Desktop Connection Via Server Manager

In Server Manager, navigate to the Local Server section. Find Remote Desktop, which should be marked as Disabled, and click on it to open the System Properties window. Go to the Remote tab and select Allow remote connections to this computer to enable Remote Desktop.

Enable Remote Desktop Using Windows Settings

To enable Remote Desktop on Windows 10 or 11, since they don’t have Server Manager like Windows Server, you should enable the Remote Desktop connection from Windows Settings.

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Open Windows Settings

First, open Windows Settings. You can do it by searching for it in the Start menu and selecting Settings, or by pressing Win + I on your keyboard.

Enable Remote Desktop Connection in Settings

In Windows Settings, navigate to System → Remote Desktop. This page contains the settings for managing incoming Remote Desktop connections.

Then enable Remote Desktop. You will be warned that enabling this allows users to access this system remotely; click Confirm to continue.

Configure Remote Desktop Connection Settings

After enabling Remote Desktop, you can configure additional settings to make Remote Desktop more flexible and secure.

• Network Level Authentication (NLA): keep this option enabled to require users to authenticate before establishing a remote desktop session.
• Remote Desktop users: You can specify which users the RDP connection is allowed for.
• Remote Desktop Port: Windows uses TCP port 3389 by default. You can change the RDP port to make it more secure.

If you want to change the RDP port, you can follow this guide, which can help you make your RDP connection more secure from attackers.

ReadHow To Change the Default RDP Port?

There are two ways to change the default RDP port: editing the Windows Registry or using PowerShell commands. This guide covers both methods.

Read the full article

Enable Remote Desktop Using PowerShell

PowerShell provides a straightforward way to enable Remote Desktop in Windows Server without navigating through graphical settings. This method makes things easier for server administrators to enable Remote Desktop by running a few commands.

First, open PowerShell as an administrator. Search for PowerShell in the Start menu and select Run as administrator. Alternatively, press Win + R, type powershell, and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter.

Enable Remote Desktop

Run the command below to allow incoming remote desktop connections:

Set-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server' -Name 'fDenyTSConnections' -Value 0

This command modifies the Windows Registry setting that controls Remote Desktop access. Setting its value to 0 allows incoming RDP connections.

Enable Remote Desktop Firewall Rules

Next, enable the Windows Firewall rules required for Remote Desktop connections:

Enable-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup "Remote Desktop"

This command enables the existing firewall rules associated with Remote Desktop, allowing the required RDP traffic through Windows Defender Firewall.

Verify Remote Desktop Is Enabled

Confirm that Remote Desktop is enabled by running the command below:

Get-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server' -Name 'fDenyTSConnections'

fDenyTSConnections : 0
PSPath             : Microsoft.PowerShell.Core\Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal
                     Server
PSParentPath       : Microsoft.PowerShell.Core\Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control
PSChildName        : Terminal Server
PSDrive            : HKLM
PSProvider         : Microsoft.PowerShell.Core\Registry

Check the returned value:

• 0 : Remote Desktop connections are enabled
• 1 : Remote Desktop connections are disabled.

Check the Remote Desktop Service

Finally, verify that the Remote Desktop Services component is running:

Get-Service -Name TermService

Status   Name               DisplayName
------   ----               -----------
Running  TermService        Remote Desktop Services

Check the status column. It should show Running. If the service is stopped, you can start it using the command below:

Start-Service -Name TermService

Enable Remote Desktop Using Command Prompt (CMD)

You can also use Command Prompt (CMD) instead of PowerShell to enable Remote Desktop. Both methods modify the Windows Registry to allow incoming RDP connections, so you can use whichever you prefer.

Open Command Prompt (CMD) as Administrator

First, open the Start menu and search for Command Prompt. Right-click It and select Run as administrator. Or use Run again, press Win + R and type cmd then press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to run it as administrator.

Enable Remote Desktop Connections using CMD

Run the following command to enable incoming Remote Desktop connections:

reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server" /v fDenyTSConnections /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

The command above modifies the Windows Registry and sets the fDenyTSConnections value to 0, allowing incoming remote desktop connections.

Enable Remote Desktop Firewall Rules with CMD

Next, run the following command to enable the built-in Windows Firewall rules for Remote Desktop. This command modifies the Windows Defender Firewall and enables the existing Remote Desktop Protocol rules.

netsh advfirewall firewall set rule group="remote desktop" new enable=yes

Verify Remote Desktop Firewall Rules

You can also check whether the Remote Desktop firewall rules are enabled by running:

netsh advfirewall firewall show rule name=all | findstr /i /C:"Remote Desktop"

Rule Name:                            Remote Desktop - (TCP-WSS-In)
Grouping:                             Remote Desktop (WebSocket)
Rule Name:                            Remote Desktop - (TCP-WS-In)
Grouping:                             Remote Desktop (WebSocket)

Verify Remote Desktop Is Enabled

To confirm that Remote Desktop is enabled, run this command:

reg query "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server" /v fDenyTSConnections

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server
    fDenyTSConnections    REG_DWORD    0x0

Check the returned value:

• 0x0: Remote Desktop connections are enabled.
• 0x1: Remote Desktop connections are disabled.

Summary

You can enable Remote Desktop in Windows Server using graphical tools or command line utilities, depending on your preferences and server environment. Whether you want to automate server administration tasks, you can use PowerShell and Command Prompt solutions, which we’ve discussed.

Or if you want simple graphical solutions, you can use Server Manager and Windows Settings, which provide a simple graphical interface and automatically enable the firewall rules too.

Once you’ve enabled the Remote Desktop connection, you can connect to your server using the IP address and login credentials.

If you don’t know how to connect to Windows Server using an RDP connection, you can follow this guide to learn how.