How to Enable, Disable, Block, Use Remote Desktop Connection in Windows 11/10

The Remote Desktop Protocol in Windows 11/10/8/7 provides a graphical interface to the user, when he connects his or her computer to another computer over a network connection, using the Remote Desktop Connection client software. At the same time, the other computer must be running the Remote Desktop Services server software.

Windows Remote Desktop Connection enables people to connect any Windows PC with another through a network. It is the new age device sharer that helps you view and access another computer without being physically present there. The desktop and folders and files of the host computer will be visible to the connected computer. This feature makes life easier for system admin, tech support teams, and end-users trying to work from home or access the personal home device from work.

In this post, we will see you can enable or disable Remote Desktop Connection via the Control Panel or Windows Settings and how to use Remote Desktop to connect to a Windows 11/10 PC

Enable or Disable Remote Desktop Connection in Windows 11/10

1] Via Control Panel

Follow the given steps to turn on the feature with Control Panel.

1. Open Control Panel from the Start Menu.
2. Select Security and System.
3. Now, click Allow Remote Access.
4. Go to the Remote tab, tick Allow Remote Assistance connections to this computer, and Allow Remote Connections to this computer.

Let us see this in detail.

Open System Properties box via the Control Panel. Or else, open a command prompt window, type SystemPropertiesRemote.exe and hit Enter to open the Remote tab of the System Properties box.

Under Remote Desktop, you will see three options:

• Don’t allow remote connections to this computer
• Allow remote connections to this computer.

Additionally, you will also see the following option:

• Allow connections only from computers running Remote Desktop with Network Level Authentication (recommended).

1] The ‘Don’t allow remote connections to this computer’ option

This will hide your PC from all computers using Remote Desktop Connections. You too cannot use your device as a host until you change the visibility.

Related: How to increase the number of Remote Desktop Connections in Windows.

2] The ‘Allow remote connections to this computer’ option

This option, as appears in Windows 10 and Windows 8.1, enables users to connect to your PC irrespective of which version their PC is running. This option also enables a third-party Remote Desktop, say, a Linux device maybe, to connect to your device. In Windows 7, this is called ‘Allow connections from computers running any version of Remote Desktop’. Naming on Windows 7 is better explained.

Troubleshoot: Remote Desktop connection issues on Windows.

3] The ‘Allow connections only from computers running Remote Desktop with Network Level Authentication’ option

This is what you need to use if the client computer has the Remote Desktop Connection client. Remote Desktop Client 6.0 made this more exclusive.

Select the desired option and click on Apply.

To enable Remote Desktop Connection select Allow remote connections to this computer. Moreover, it is recommended that you Allow connections only from computers running Remote Desktop with Network Level Authentication only.

To disable Remote Desktop Connection select Don’t allow remote connections to this computer.

If you do not wish to share your administrator credentials with others, click Select Users to add users.

Once this is done, you or the users will now be able to connect using the Remote Desktop Connection to your computer.

TIP: Microsoft Remote Desktop Assistant tool will help you make your PC ready to use Remote Desktop applications.

2] Via Windows Settings

Windows 11

The Settings application on Windows 11 underwent a lot of changes and hence the steps to use Remote Desktop in it are different.

To enable the feature with the help of the Windows 11 Settings app, you need to follow the given features.

1. Open Settings by Win + I.
2. Click System.
3. Scroll down a bit and click Remote Desktop.
4. Now, use the toggle to enable the feature on your computer.
5. You will be asked to confirm your action, so, do that.

This is how you can use Windows 11 Settings to enable Remote Desktop.

Windows 10

This procedure is for the people who use recent versions of Windows 10. Go to the Start Menu and tap the cogwheel to launch Settings. Alternately you could press ‘Windows + I’ keys to open Windows Settings. Next, go to ‘System’ from ‘Settings’ and find the ‘Remote Desktop’ option at the left in System. Click it and wait for the ‘Remote Desktop’ page to load.

A prompt will appear. Click Yes.

Once you do this, you will see additional settings appear:

You can configure your options for the following settings:

1. Keep my PC awake for connections when it is plugged in
2. Make my PC discoverable on private networks to enable automatic connection from a remote device

If you need more options, click on Advanced settings.

Here you will see some additional settings that you can configure.

Note: Ever since Remote Desktop Client 6.0, Remote Desktop Connections only work with Network Level Authentication. If you don’t want to share admin credentials, go to the Remote Desktop Settings and click ‘Select users that can remotely access this PC’ and customize for yourself. There are options to get rid of this restriction too though.

Don’t forget to click ‘OK’ at the end of everything in order to enable Remote Desktop Connection.

IMPORTANT: Make note of the name of this PC under How to connect to this PC. You’ll need this later.

Fix: Your computer can’t connect to the remote computer

How to access or open RDP in Windows

1] From the Search box

Take your cursor to the search box and type in Remote. Locate and click on Remote Desktop Connection.

2] From the Start Menu

1. Click the Windows icon.
2. Scroll down the app list then select Windows Accessories > Remote Desktop Connection.

3] From the Command Prompt

1. Click on the Search box, type cmd, and choose Command Prompt.
2. In the Command Prompt window, type mstsc.exe and hit Enter.

4] From Power Shell 

1. Right-click on the Windows Start icon and select Windows PowerShell.
2. Type mstsc in the PowerShell window and hit Enter.

5] From the Run dialog box

1. Press Win+R to show the Run dialog box.
2. Type in mstsc, then click Ok.

TIP: You can now also give or take Tech Support remotely using Quick Assist in Windows.

How to add users to Remote Desktop User Group

To add users to the Remote Desktop User Group, follow the given steps.

1. Open Settings by Win + I.
2. Click System.
3. Scroll down a bit and click Remote Desktop.
4. Click Remote Desktop users.
5. Click Add.
6. Type the name of the user and click Check Names.
7. Finally, click Ok.

Read: How to enable Remote Desktop without Password in Windows

How to use Remote Desktop Connection in Windows 11/10

1] On your local Windows 11/10 PC:

1. In the search box type Remote Desktop Connection, and then select the result.
2. In Remote Desktop Connection, type the name of the PC you want to connect to, and then select Connect.

2] On your Windows, Android, or iOS device:

1. Open the Microsoft Remote Desktop app, and add the name of the PC that you want to connect to.
2. Select the remote PC name that you added, and then wait for the connection to complete.

PS: To learn how to use Remote Desktop to connect to a Windows PC, visit this post titled – Set up & use Windows Remote Assistance.

It is recommended to select the users you want to share admin info with. Share your device info only with trusted users on familiar devices.

You might want to have a look at these posts too:

1. How to use Windows 10 Remote Desktop in Windows Home (RDP)
2. How to create a Remote Desktop Connection shortcut.
3. Command-line parameters for Remote Desktop Connection
4. List of Free Remote Desktop software for Windows
5. Remotely access another computer using Chrome Remote Desktop.