Remote Desktop with 2 Surface Pros

Question

This is a tad frustrating...

I have two Surface Pro machines, a v5 running Windows 10 Pro and the second a v9 running Windows 11 Pro.

Both are on the same wireless network and I'm logged in to both with my Microsoft account credentials.

Here is the issue (which I've pinned down to, after several hours of frustration):

I can use RDP on my SP9 to connect to the SP5.

I can't do the same in reverse, i.e. connect to the SP9 from the SP5. I get an error:

The logon attempt failed.

The SP9 is brand new, the SP5 isn't.

Any help would be appreciated, because this has to be something simple that I'm not seeing.

Thank you

Answer 1

see docs:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/how-to-use-remote-desktop-5fe128d5-8fb1-7a23-3b8a-41e636865e8c

Answer 2

That's exactly what I did - and must have read it half a dozen times to make sure I didn't miss anything, but it doesn't really explain why it works one way and not the other, unless there's something in Win11 I need to enable/disable :-(

Answer 3

Hello,

If this is a credential issue, you may check the Windows Logs > Security from event viewer for Event ID 4625. This event indicates a failed logon attempt. By examining the details of 4625, you can identify the specific reason for the log on failure.

If this is a network issue, here are some steps to troubleshoot:

PING failed might be due to the firewall blocks incoming ICMP requests, ensure that the firewall on SP9 allows ICMP Echo Request (ping) traffic.

Use command ipconfig/all double-check the IP configuration of both the SP9 device and the machine you're pinging from. Ensure they are on the same subnet and that there are no IP conflicts.

Also ensure the network profile are same on both device.

If after these checks you're still unable to reach SP9 via ping, consider using other methods to test connectivity, such as trying to establish a different type of connection (like a shared folder access attempt or an RDP connection directly by IP if applicable), which can sometimes bypass certain types of firewall restrictions or reveal more about the nature of the connectivity problem.

There are some prerequisites outlined in the passage "To connect to a remote PC, that computer must be turned on, it must have a network connection, Remote Desktop must be enabled, you must have network access to the remote computer (this could be through the Internet), and you must have permission to connect. For permission to connect, you must be on the list of users. Before you start a connection, it's a good idea to look up the name of the computer you're connecting to and to make sure Remote Desktop connections are allowed through its firewall." extracted from Enable Remote Desktop on your PC | Microsoft Learn

For a successful connection, confirm that all prerequisites are met.

Additionally, try disabling NLA on your SP9:

---

If the Answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and upvote it.

Regards,

Karlie