How to enable Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) on Windows Server 2019,2022

RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) is the protocol that allows a user to connect to a Windows Server through a graphical interface over any network.
In fact, there are several ways to enable Remote Desktop on Windows Server 2019 and 2022. So you can choose one of them that is suitable for you to enable RDP on Server 2019. After RDP is enabled, you can access the remote server from your local device

Method 1. Enable Server 2019 RDP from Server Manager

• Step 1. Click on the Start button and you can see Server Manager.

• Step 2. Click on “Local Server” on the left in Server Manager window. We can see that Remote Desktop is “Disabled”.

• Step 3. Click on the “Disabled” text to open the “System Properties” window, and then locate on the “Remote” tab.

NOTE: The System Properties window can also be accessed from Control Panel option by clicking on System and then on Remote settings in the left panel or from the Windows command prompt by executing the below command.

SystemPropertiesRemote

• Step 4. Tick “Allow remote connections to this computer” in the “Remote Desktop” tab.

• Step 5. You’ll receive a warning message after the above step, click on “OK”

Now, Remote Desktop may still show as “Disabled”; you can refresh or press Control + F5 to refresh to “Enabled”.

Method 2: Using the Command Prompt

• Step 1. Search cmd in the search box to open Command Prompt.
• Step 2.In the Command Prompt window, type the following command and press the enter key: net start termservice

Method 3. Allow Remote Desktop on Win Server 2019 from Powershell

If you can’t enable RDP  from Server Manager, you can try to enable Remote Desktop in Windows Server 2019 with Powershell.

• Step 1. Search “PowerShell” in the Search box and then select Run as Administrator.

• Step 2. The registry value that enables/disables Remote Desktop can be modified using the Set-ItemProperty cmdlet

 

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

• Step 3. Once this is completed, the Enable-NetFirewallRule cmdlet can be used to set the Windows firewall to allow remote desktop connections.

Enable-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup "Remote Desktop"

Note:With this method if you want to disable Remote Desktop connection you can change the value 0 to 1

Set-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server' -name "fDenyTSConnections" -value 1

Method 4. Using Windows Firewall

• Step1: Press Start and enter firewall.cpl in the text box and press the enter key.
• Step 2.On the Windows Defender Firewall page, click on the Allow an app or feature through the Windows Defender Firewall option.

• Step 3. Click on the Change settings button. Scroll down and tick the Remote Desktop and Remote Desktop (WebSocket) option in the list.

Method 5.Using Group Policy

In addition, Remote Desktop can also be enabled by using Group Policy.

• Step 1. Press Start and enter “gpedit.msc” to open Group Policy .

• Step 2. Navigation:

Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Remote Desktop Services -> Remote Desktop Session Host\Connections

• Step 3. In the right pane, double click on “ Allow users to connect remotely by using Remote Desktop Services.”

• Step 4. Select “Enabled” and click on “OK”.

There you have it. Once you’ve completed these steps, you’ll be able to use Remote Desktop on Windows Server. You can now enjoy wider connectivity and access to your files, data, and apps.