Fix Windows 365 app issues on Cloud PCs

With the Windows 365 app, users can unlock new experiences in Windows 11/10 — including access to their local and Cloud PCs from your taskbar or Start menu. In this post, we discuss the problems with the Windows 365 app for Windows Cloud PC clients and how to fix the issues.

The Windows 365 app ships as part of all Windows 11 editions (currently does not support Windows 11 IoT and configuring Remote Desktop Protocol properties), so it will be pre-installed without downloading. However, the app is available on the Microsoft Store and at windows365.microsoft.com. The app delivers high-performing & reliable experiences for Microsoft Teams and your other Microsoft 365 apps. The Windows 365 app offers key value-adds, including:

Use of a Cloud PC as a window or fullscreen
High-performing, reliable experiences for Microsoft Teams, multimedia redirection, and other Microsoft 365 apps
User actions to Restart, Reset, Restore, Rename, and Troubleshoot Cloud PCs are available directly from Windows
A direct single sign-on experience
Support for Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and Microsoft Authenticator for secure access to Cloud PCs
Accessibility using a screen reader and keyboard shortcuts
Regular and automatic app updates to ensure employees are using the most up-to-date version of Windows 365

Fix Windows 365 app issues on Cloud PCs

Before you proceed with the solutions for common issues with the Windows 365 app, there are basics you need to cover and a pre-checklist you need to take note of. Microsoft recommends uninstalling the Remote Desktop app before installing the Windows 365 app. Also, install regular and automatic app updates to ensure you’re always using the most up-to-date version of Windows 365. And for the best experience, the following are both the software and hardware requirements for the Windows 365 app.

Operating systems: Windows 11/10
CPU: 2vCPU with 1 GHz or faster processor
RAM: 4096 MB
Hard drive: 200 MB or more
.NET Framework version: 4.6.1 or later
Video: DirectX 9 or later with WDDM 1.0 driver

If you’re using Microsoft Teams and/or Multi-Media redirection on the Cloud PCs, the hardware requirements are:

Operating systems: Windows 11/10
CPU: At least 2vCPU with a minimum 1.6 GHz or faster processor. For higher video/screen share resolution and frame rate, a four-core processor or better is recommended.
RAM: 4096 MB
Hard drive: 3 GB or more
.NET Framework version: 4.6.1 or later
Video: DirectX 9 or later with WDDM 1.0 driver. Background video effects require Windows 11/10 or a processor with an AVX2 instruction set. Also, Teams audio and video offloading on a Cloud PC benefits from a dedicated Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) within the device.

Read: Webcam redirection not working in Windows 365 Cloud PC

Below are known Windows 365 app issues (with fixes) Cloud PC users may encounter.

Windows 365 app not installing, updating, opening, launching or crashing

There could be a number of reasons why users may experience the issue on their local machine from botched app installation to corrupt system files. In any case, the following suggestions can help.

Run Windows Store Apps Troubleshooter
Repair/Reset the Windows 365 app
General troubleshooting for Microsoft Store apps not downloading, installing, updating or Windows Store apps not working or opening in Windows 11/10.

Can’t connect to Cloud PC error

Some Cloud PC users may get the error message Can’t connect to Cloud PC when the Connect button is clicked. To fix this issue, perform the following actions:

On the local machine, open the Settings app.
Navigate to Apps > Default apps.
Find the AVD HostApp and update the default app for .avd files.
Next, open Command Prompt in admin mode.
Run the reg.exe command below to remove the old Remote Desktop Client cache that could cause this issue:

reg delete "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\progF3672D4C2FFE4422A53C78C345774E2D" /f

Exit the CMD prompt once the command executes.

Windows 365 app doesn’t show any Cloud PCs

Some users may face the issue whereby after they sign in, the Windows 365 app doesn’t show any Cloud PCs. This issue could be due to the user being signed in as the wrong user. In this case, the following is applicable:

Make sure to sign in with an account that is enrolled with the Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) account that has Cloud PCs provisioned.
Make sure that you sign in to the Windows 365 app with the right user account.

Change Cloud PC session from full screen to window mode

Generally, Windowed mode prevents the app that is running inside a window from covering your whole screen. You can run Microsoft Store apps in full-screen mode in Windows 11/10. However, the Windows 365 app supports a windowed mode to work more efficiently side-by-side with your local PC. To activate window mode, simply click on the window mode button in the connection bar. You can now clearly see a well-defined border that separates the window from the rest of the environment.

The Windows 365 app asks to select a new default app

After the Remote Desktop Client is installed, the user may see the file type association message below when connecting to the Cloud PC.

How do you want to open .avd files from now on?

In this case, just make sure to select the Azure Virtual Desktop (HostApp) option as the default program to launch the Cloud PC session.

I hope you find this post informative and helpful!

What is the difference between Windows 365 and Azure Virtual Desktop?

Azure Virtual Desktop combines the scale, security, and cost benefits of Azure and Microsoft 365 for a secure remote desktop from virtually anywhere. AVD supports all current versions of Windows, including Windows 11/10 Enterprise (single session), EVD (multi-session), and Server 2012/2016/2019. Whereas the Windows 365 Cloud PCs only support Windows Enterprise (single session) since they are dedicated, non-multi-user desktops.

Is Windows 365 SaaS or PaaS?

PaaS is the Platform as a Service. However, Windows 365 is SaaS software as a service because you have an installed version of Windows on the cloud. Some of the disadvantages of using a virtual desktop (VDI) include: