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Troubleshoot and Improve RDP Connections with UDP

The shift to working from home during COVID hasn’t always been smooth. Many of us are using systems that weren’t designed for constant remote work. One key tool people are relying on is Microsoft’s Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). 

Normally, RDP is meant for local connections, and most of us need to use a VPN to access our work computers or environments remotely. This means the stability of RDP depends on both the VPN connection and the RDP connection itself. In this guide, we’ll go over how to troubleshoot RDP and improve its performance, which is especially helpful if you’re dealing with lag, slow connections, or random disconnects while working from home.

Troubleshooting RDP Connections with UDP

Here are a few simple commands you can run on both your local and remote computers. This will help you compare results and troubleshoot issues.

1. Check Windows Version Compatibility

Run this command to check the Windows version on your machine:

[System.Environment]::OSVersion.Version

You want both the local and remote computers to be running similar versions of Windows for better compatibility.

Example output:

Major  Minor  Build  Revision
----- ----- ----- --------
10 0 20201 0

2. Check Remote Desktop Services Configuration

Run this command to see if the settings for Remote Desktop services are aligned between your local and remote computers:

Get-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:/Software/Policies/Microsoft/Windows NT/Terminal Services/Client'

This will display any configurations related to Remote Desktop, like USB device policies or whether UDP is enabled for RDP.

Example output:

fClientDisableUDP                 : 0
PSPath : Microsoft.PowerShell.Core\Registry::HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Terminal Services\Client

3. Check Firewall Rules for RDP

To see if Remote Desktop is allowed through the firewall, use this command:

Get-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Remote Desktop - User Mode*" | ft DisplayName, Enabled

This will show if both TCP and UDP are enabled for Remote Desktop.

Example output:

DisplayName                         Enabled
----------- -------
Remote Desktop - User Mode (TCP-In) True
Remote Desktop - User Mode (UDP-In) True

Enabling UDP for RDP

To improve the performance of your RDP connection, enable UDP. Unlike TCP, UDP doesn’t require every packet to be acknowledged, which can speed up your remote session. Here’s how to enable it:

On the Remote Machine (e.g., your office computer):

Run these commands to enable both TCP and UDP for RDP in the firewall:

Enable-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Remote Desktop - User Mode (TCP-In)"
Enable-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Remote Desktop - User Mode (UDP-In)"

On the Local Machine (e.g., your home computer or laptop):

Run this command to make sure UDP is enabled for RDP:

Set-ItemProperty 'HKLM:/Software/Policies/Microsoft/Windows NT/Terminal Services/Client' 'fClientDisableUDP' 0

Verifying UDP is Enabled

After restarting your RDP connection, click the signal icon in the top-left corner of the RDP window. If UDP is enabled, you should see a message like:

The quality of the connection to the remote computer is excellent, and UDP is enabled.

By following these steps, your RDP session should run more smoothly, especially if you’re experiencing slow or sluggish connections.

Conclusion

Using UDP with RDP can substantially improve your remote desktop experience by reducing latency and making the session more responsive. However, you can experience difficulties with UDP. You may diagnose and enhance your RDP connection to ensure more seamless remote access sessions by following the instructions in this article.

When set up correctly, UDP makes using RDP faster and more effective, especially when network conditions are difficult. As long as your system and network are configured correctly, you can take use of RDP with UDP.