Five Ways to Fix Remote Desktop Access Denied

Remote Desktop error: “Access is denied”

“I’ve lately had a problem with not being able to log onto the RDS server using Windows 10. I got the error message ‘Access is denied'. I am getting very frustrated with this as I have read many blogs and tried everything to no avail. Please help me.”

Five methods to fix Remote Desktop access denied

To help you solve Windows Remote Desktop access denied on Windows 10, here we sort out five tested methods.

Method 1. Add users into Remote Desktop Users local group

One cause of Remote Desktop errors is when your account is not authorized for remote login. As a result, you need to make sure that your user account has been added to the users group.

Step 1. Press Win + R to invoke the Run dialog box. Then type in “sysdm.cpl” and hit OK to open System Properties.

Step 2. Locate and click “Allow remote connections to this computer” and click Select Users.

Step 3. Click the Add button.

Step 4. Enter the user name in the box and click Check Names.

Method 2. Change Local Security Policy settings

Incorrect settings of Local Security Policy may be another cause of Remote Desktop access denied. You can follow the steps below to edit the Local Security Policy to fix this problem.

Step 1. Press Win + R to open the Run dialog box. Type in “secpol.msc” and press OK.

Step 2. Expand Local Policies and then select User Rights Assignment.

Step 3. Locate and double-click Allow log on through Remote Desktop Services in the right pane of User Rights Assignment.

Step 4. Click Add User or Group.

Step 5. Type in Remote Desktop user names and click OK.

Method 3. Set the Remote Desktop Services logon to Network Service

A user mentioned that he just ran into this issue and was able to resolve it by setting the Remote Desktop Services service logon to Network Service, and it was set to Local System before. Thus, we’ll try this method as well.

Step 1. Press Win + R to open the Run dialog box. Type in “services.msc” and press OK.

Step 2. Locate Remote Desktop Services and double-click it.

Step 3. Go to Log On tab and make sure that the Local System account isn’t checked. Then click Apply and OK to save the change.

Method 4. Change Registry settings

Editing your registry is another method suggested by users. To resolve Windows Remote Desktop access denied problem, the Users group should be given specific rights.

Step 1. Press Win + R to invoke the Run dialog box. Then type in “regedit” and hit OK to open System Properties.

Step 2. Navigate here: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > Microsoft > Windows NT > CurrentVersion > Winlogon. Right-click Winlogon and then choose Permissions.

Step 3. Select user in the upper box. Then make sure that the user has Read permissions set to Allow in the lower box. Finally, click Apply and OK to save changes.

Method 5. Create a new DWORD

Some people suggest that adding a new DWORD to the registry may help solve the problem. Thus, we’ll try this method as well to see if it can help you solve the Remote Desktop access denied problem.  

Step 1. Press Win + R to invoke the Run dialog box. Then type in “regedit” and hit OK to open System Properties.

Step 2. Navigate here: Computer > HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SYSTEM > CurrentControlSet > Control > Terminal Server. In the right pane, right-click the empty space and choose New >DWORD (32-bit) Value.

Step 3. Enter IgnoreRegUserConfigErrors as the name of the new DWORD and double-click it to open its properties.

Step 4. Set the Value data to 1 and click OK.

Easy & free Remote Desktop alternative: AnyViewer

To be honest, although the Windows built-in Remote Desktop is one of the most convenient ways to control a computer remotely, it seems that RDP problems are very common. In addition to the one we mentioned here, you may also encounter problems like RDP user account did not work, RDP your credentials did not work, and RDP option is greyed out, etc.

To avoid all these problems, you can use AnyViewer, an easy and free Windows Remote Desktop alternative. AnyViewer is compatible with multiple Windows operating systems,  including Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7 and Windows Server 2022/2019/2016/2012 R2. if you’re a Windows user, AnyViewer is a perfect choice for you.

To make it more user-friendly, you can achieve remote control over AnyViewer in two easy ways. One way is to send a control request to the other side, they can either allow or deny your control request. Another way is to input a security code, just like the way you input the IP Address and User Name when using RDP. Next, we’ll introduce how to achieve remote connection using security code in detail. 

Step 1. Download, install and launch AnyViewer on both computers. Go to Log in, and then click Sign up. (If you already have signed up on its official website, you can log in directly.)

Step 2. Fill in the signup information.

Step 3. Then you can see you successfully logged in to AnyViewer. Your device will automatically be assigned to the account you've logged in.

Step 4. Log in to the same AnyViewer account on the two devices, then click Remote control to achieve unattended remote access.

Note: If you want to assign more devices, you can upgrade your account to a Professional or Enterprise plan. Professional or Enterprise edition users can also connect to another computer in privacy mode, which means they can black the screen and block the mouse and keyboard of the remote computer.

Conclusion

This post introduces five solutions to the Remote Desktop access denied problem. If you're facing the problem now, check them to troubleshoot your problem. Besides, you can also use the easy and free Remote Desktop alternative, which allows you to achieve remote connections easily without any connection problem.