[How-to] Enable Remote Desktop on Windows Server 2022

Remote Desktop on Windows Server 2022

As the latest released Server operating system released by Microsoft, Windows Server 2022 gets significant development in Azure, security, and application compatibility, to support virtualization outside the network, resist the increasing cyber-attacks and provide a flexible platform for container applications.

Remote Desktop is a Windows feature, which allows you to connect to a computer from another location as if you were local. On Windows Server 2022, the Remote Desktop feature is disabled by default. To access a Server 2022 machine remotely,  Remote Desktop on it should be enabled first. 

How to enable Remote Desktop on Windows Server 2022

There are many practical ways to turn on Windows Server 2022 Remote Desktop and you can choose the one that you like. 

Way 1. Enable Windows Remote Desktop on Server 2022 from Server Manager

Step 1. Log in to Windows Server 2022 using a local administrator account.

Step 2. Type “Server Manager” in the search box and double-click the pop-up item to open Server Manager.

Step 3. Click “Local Server” and find out “Remote Desktop”.

Step 4. Then, click “Disabled” and you’ll be in the “System Properties” window. 

Step 5.  Choose “Allow remote connections to this computer”.

Step 6. A message saying that Remote Desktop Firewall exception will be enabled pops up and you can click “OK” to allow Remote Desktop through firewall.

Step 7 (Omissible). Click “Select Users” button; click “Add” button and you’ll see “Select Users” window.

Step 8(Omissible). Type the user name you want to add and click “OK”. Or you can click  “Advanced” button to select the user from the list.

Step 9. Click “OK” to save the change and exit from “System Properties” window.

Way 2. Enable Windows Remote Desktop on Server 2022 from Control Panel

Step 1. Type “Control Panel” in the search box and double-click the pop-up option to open Control Panel.

Step 2. In the “Control Panel” window, click “System and Security”.

Step 3. Then, click “Allow remote access” and you can access the "System Properties" Window and subsequent operations are the same as Way 1. 

 Way 3. Enable Windows Server 2022 Remote Desktop from Run dialogue

Step 1. Press “Windows” + “R”, input “sysdm.cpl” and press Enter.

Step 2. The “System Properties” window pops up and you can click “Remote” tab. Then, you can see “Allow remote connections to this computer” option and enable Sever RDP with the same operations in Way 1. 

Way 4. Windows Server 2022: Enable Remote Desktop from Powershell

Step 1. Press Windows + X and choose “Windows PowerShell (Admin)” to run PowerShell as administrator.

Step 2. To allow remote connections, type the command line below and hit Enter.

✐ “Set-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server' -name "fDenyTSConnections" -value 0”.

Step 3. To make Windows Firewall allow RDP, type the following command line and hit Enter.

✐ “Enable-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup "Remote Desktop".

Install Remote Desktop Services on Windows Server 2022

After Remote Desktop is enabled on Windows Server 2022, you can access and manage the server remotely. If you want to allow multiple users to access it at the same time, you need to install Remote Desktop Services (RDS, which is removed on Server 2022 by default. Here are the detailed steps:

Step 1. Log in to Server 2022 using a local administrator account.

Step 2. Go to Server Manager; choose “Add roles and features” and click “Next”.

Step 3. On the Select installation type page, choose Role-based or feature-based installation and click Next.

Step 4. On Select Destination window, select the server, and click “Next”.

Step 5. On Select Server Roles window, choose “Remote Desktop Services”.

Step 6. Check “Remote Desktop Session Host” and follow the prompts to finish the RDS installation.

Step 7. Restart Windows Server 2022.

How to remote desktop Windows Server 2022 from another device

If you are unfamiliar with how to remote desktop to Server 2022 after enabling RDP, keep reading!

▶ From a computer that is running Windows:

Step 1. Press "Windows" + "R", input "mstsc" and hit Enter to open Remote Desktop Connection window. 

Step 2. In the window, type in the IP address of Windows Server 200 and click "Connect". 

Step 3. Do as the Windows login prompts to complete remote access. 

▶ From a computer that is running Linux:

Step 1. Use xterm to open Command shell.

Step 2. In the window, type "desktop" to check whether rdestkop is installed. 

Step 3. If not, install the desktop package. If is, type "desktop" followed by the IP address of the Windows Server 2022 and hit Enter. 

▶ From a computer that is running Mac OS X versions 10.9 and later:

Step 1. Download and install Microsoft Remote Desktop from the Mac App Store.

Step 2. Click the "New“ button and fill in the necessary information, including PC name (IP address of the Windows Server), username, password, etc. Then, close this window.

Step 3. Under "My Desktops", choose the Server and press "Start" to access the Server. 

▶ From iOS device

Step 1. Download and open RD iOS client. 

Step 2. Click the “+”  and select “Add PC” in the pop-up window.

Step 3.  Click “PC name”. Enter the hostname or IP address of the Server.

Step 4. Click “User Account”. If you often need to control a PC from iPhone remotely, it is recommended that you select “Add User Account”.

Step 5. Back to the main interface and click the IP address icon just created, enter the credentials of the laptop in the pop-up window, and click “Continue”

Step 7. Then you have remotely accessed Windows Server from iOS device. 

▶ From Android device

Step 1. Download Microsoft Remote Desktop from Google Play and run it

Step 2.  Tap “+” icon and wait for the app to scan for the remote PC. Then, choose the one that you want to access.

Step 4. If there is no PC appearing, tap “Add Manually”. Then, you’ll be in a window that is labeled “Add desktop”.

Step 5. You can type the computer name or IP address of the host PC under PC name. Under user name, type the username and password after choosing “Add user account”.

Step 6. Expand “Show additional options” and you can change settings or leave them alone. Then, click “Save”.

Further reading: Windows Server 2022 Remote Desktop alternative

It's not difficult to enable Remote Desktop on Windows Server 2022. However, if Windows Server 2022 RDP isn't working or you want to look for an easier and more overall remote desktop software, it's recommended to use AnyViewer.

It enables you to take full control of the remote computer, only view the screen of the remote computer, shut down, or reboot the remote PC with 1 click after you assign the device to an AnyViewer account. During the remote session, you can chat with the one on the other end, adjust window resolution, transfer files between the local machine and the remote machine, and so on. 

What's most important, even if the computers are within the same network, you don't need to configure port forwarding. Click the following button to have a try right now.

System requirements:

• The host computer: Windows Server 2022/2019/2016/2012 R2 or Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7.
•  The client device: Windows Server 2022/2019/2016/2012 R2 or Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7; iOS 10.0 version and later; or Android 6.0 version and later.

Now, see how to use AnyViewer to access Windows Server 2022. 

Step 1. Download, install, and run AnyViewer on the Windows Server 2022 machine. Create an AnyViewer account and log into it. 

Step 2. On your local device, download, install, and run AnyViewer. Log into the same account. Once logged into an AnyViewer account, the device will be assigned to the account automatically.

Step 3. Go to "Device" and locate Windows Server 2022 machine. Click it and click “One-click control”. 

Now, you can see the remote Server 2022 device's screen and operate it from a distant place as if you were sitting in front of the Server. 

Notes:
☞ One-click control is available only between assigned devices. Free account supports assigning devices up to 3. To assign more devices, you can choose Professional or Enterprise plan.
☞ To access a PC from Android/iOS devices, it's recommended to download AnyViewer iOS app from App Store or Android app from Google Play.