Windows 11 version 22H2 has been causing problems for some users, and now, Microsoft has acknowledged another issue affecting the latest Windows 11 update. Some users, specifically in business environments, may experience freezes or crashes when trying to use the Windows Remote Desktop app to connect to another PC.

According to Microsoft, the problem happens when establishing a connection using the Remote Desktop gateway or a Remote Desktop Connection Broker, and most home users shouldn't be affected by it because the connection process is different by default. The problem can occur when trying to access a Remote Desktop Services collection or using RemoteApp and Desktop Connections, for example.

Users will likely notice the issue during the "Loading virtual machine" or "Configuring remote connection" phases when trying to connect to a virtual machine. In some cases, the Remote Desktop app may simply stop responding, but it's also possible you'll see an error message saying the connection has ended. Microsoft says the issue occurs regardless of the version of Windows you're trying to connect to, so the issue is rooted in the client machine.

If you happen to run into this problem and the Remote Desktop app stops responding, you'll need to terminate it using the Task Manager in Windows. You'll want to browse to the Processes tab of Task Manager and look for mstsc.exe, then kill that process.

While there isn't a definitive solution for the problem yet, Microsoft has provided a potential workaround if you run into this issue. However, the company does warn that applying this workaround can result in degraded performance when using Remote Desktop, so you'll want to revert it as soon as there's a fix. Essentially, the fix involves disabling UDP on the client device, which you can do through the policy editor. Here's how:

  • Open the Group Policy Management Console (for managed enterprise devices) or the Group Policy Editor (for unmanaged home devices)
  • On the right-side pane, navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Remote Desktop Services > Remote Desktop Connection Client
  • Find a policy called Turn off UDP On Client and set it to Enabled
  • Click OK and restart the device to apply the changes

Once this is done, you should be able to use Remote Desktop connections again, but as mentioned above, this can impact performance on Remote Desktop connections over WAN. Until Microsoft issues a fix for this problem, that's something you might have to live with, but you'll want to change this policy to its original setting as soon as the problem is resolved.

This is just the latest of many issues plaguing Windows 11 version 22H2, but at least Microsoft is actively working on fixing them. Just earlier this week, the company lifted a compatibility hold that had been put in place due to printing issues. Those problems have now been fixed, so if your Windows 11 machine was previously not able to update to version 22H2, you may be able to do so now.


Source: Microsoft