In general, Windows 11/10 lets you establish only one Remote Desktop Connection on one computer. However, with a few tweaks, you can establish more than one Remote Desktop Connection on a Windows system. This can be useful if you see a You have been disconnected because another connection was made to the remote computer message. Let’s see how to increase the number of Remote Desktop Connections on Windows 11/10.
How many RDP sessions can you have on Windows 11?
In normal conditions, Windows 11/10 restricts the number of users who can connect via Remote Desktop Connection. By default, this number is 1. If another user tries to connect when one Remote Desktop Connection is already established, then the new user gets an error message. The error message says-
Another user is signed in. If you continue, they’ll be disconnected. Do you want to sign in any way?
To avoid this, you can increase the number of users who can log into the Remote Desktop service simultaneously.
Read: Can you enable Concurrent Sessions in Windows?
How to increase the number of Remote Desktop Connections in Windows 11/10
Need to allow multiple Remote Desktop Connections in the Server? You can allow more than two RDP sessions in Windows 11/10 by making use of a Gropu Policy setting.
Here are the steps with the help of which you can increase or limit the number of Remote Desktop Connections in Windows 11/10.
1] Press Start Menu and start typing gpedit.msc.
2] Now, open this console. It opens the Local Group Policy Editor window.
3] Follow these steps:
Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Remote Desktop Services > Remote Desktop Session Host > Connections
You will see the following list in the open right-hand side panel.
4] After this, double-click on the ‘Limit number of connections’ option. The following window opens. By default, its state is displayed as ‘Not Configured’.
5] Select the Enabled radio button to increase or limit the number of Remote Desktop Connections. This enables the counter menu of ‘RD Maximum Connections allowed’ in the Options section.
6] Now, increase or decrease the maximum number of connections allowed in the counter using the up or down arrow, as per the requirement.
7] Once the number is selected, click OK to apply the changes.
You will see the following information on the right-hand side panel of Help.
This setting specifies whether Remote Desktop Services limits the number of simultaneous connections to the server.
You can use this setting to restrict the number of Remote Desktop Services sessions that can be active on a server. If this number is exceeded, additional users who try to connect receive an error message telling them that the server is busy and to try again later. Restricting the number of sessions improves performance because fewer sessions are demanding system resources. By default, RD Session Host servers allow an unlimited number of Remote Desktop Services sessions, and Remote Desktop for Administration allows two Remote Desktop Services sessions.
To use this setting, enter the number of connections you want to specify as the maximum for the server. To specify an unlimited number of connections, type 999999.
If the status is set to Enabled, the maximum number of connections is limited to the specified number consistent with the version of Windows and the mode of Remote Desktop Services running on the server.
If the status is set to Disabled or Not Configured, limits to the number of connections are not enforced at the Group Policy level.
This setting is designed to be used on RD Session Host servers (that is, on servers running Windows with Remote Desktop Session Host role service installed).
After this, you will see the state of ‘Limit number of connection’ is changed to ‘Enabled’.
To restore the settings, go through the same steps.
Restart your computer for the changes to take effect.
Related: Remote Credential Guard protects Remote Desktop credentials.
How do I allow more than 2 RDP sessions to a Windows 11?
By default, Windows 11/10 allows only one Remote Desktop Connection. You can tweak the Local Group Policy and bypass the limit and increase the number of connections you can establish with Remote Desktop. The increase in the number of connections can take a toll on the performance of your devices. Make sure to establish connections that are necessary.
Related read: How to change Remote Desktop Resolution in Windows 11.
