RDP from Win 11 to Win 10 Shift gets stuck often

Question

When I connect with RDP client from Windows 11 to Windows 10 Pro the Shift key gets stuck often. This usually happens when I switch to the client, do something there, then switch back to the RDP session.

Beside suddenly typing with all capitals there are more disturbing things like starting a new instance of an app instead of activating a window when clicking on its taskbar button or a hotkey doing an unexpected thing.

Pressing and releasing Shift one time solves the issue until next time which happens pretty soon.

I have two client laptops. One with Win 10 and the other with Win 11 and they both connect to the same Win10 workstation. This never ever happens with the Win 10 clien.

I even copied mstsc.exe from Windows 10 to Windows 11 to see if it's reproducible and indeed, the executable from Win 10 doesn't have this issue even when run from Win 11 (in some other aspects that exe misbehaves though so it's not of much help).

Answer 1

Thanks. It turned out to be AutoHotkey on the client machine having a global Alt-Shift hotkey. RDP client relies on regular window messages, not DINPUT or something. This is why sometimes Shift was stuck.

Answer 2

Hello,

Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft Support.

I understand that you're experiencing an issue with the Shift key getting stuck during RDP sessions from Windows 11 to Windows 10. While this specific issue hasn't been widely reported in our community, we have seen some keyboard-related problems in RDP sessions, and it can sometimes be challenging to pinpoint the exact cause.

To help troubleshoot this issue, I would like to suggest the following general steps:

1. Update Your System:
   • Ensure that your Windows 11 system is fully up-to-date. Go to Settings > Windows Update and check for any available updates. Install them and restart your computer.
2. Update Keyboard Drivers:
   • Make sure that your keyboard drivers are up-to-date. You can do this by going to Device Manager, finding your keyboard, right-clicking on it, and selecting Update driver.
3. Disable Sticky Keys:
   • Sometimes, Sticky Keys can interfere with normal key presses. To disable it, go to Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard and turn off the Use Sticky Keys option.

If these steps do not resolve the issue, I recommend trying an alternative RDP client, such as the Microsoft Remote Desktop app available from the Microsoft Store. This app is frequently updated and may offer a more stable experience compared to the built-in mstsc.exe. Or the newer version Get started with Windows App to connect to desktops and apps - Windows App | Microsoft Learn

Please let me know if these steps help or if you need further assistance.

Regards, Karlie