Server 2025 RDSH Default printer change

Question

In an RDSH Windows Server 2025 environment, I have an issue where the default printer changes every time the user logs off and logs back on.

How can I keep the default printer the same as the one the user sets?

Answer 1

Hi Ross Nishuler,

To ensure your users retain their manually selected default printer in a Windows Server 2025 RDSH environment, you must address both the Remote Desktop connection behavior and the operating system's internal print management. First, open the Group Policy Editor on your session hosts and navigate through Computer Configuration, Administrative Templates, Windows Components, Remote Desktop Services, Remote Desktop Session Host, and Printer Redirection. Enable the policy named Do not set default client printer to be default printer in a session. This prevents the server from automatically pulling the physical endpoint's default printer and overriding the session setting upon connection.

Next, you must disable the Windows feature that dynamically changes the default printer based on the user's recent print activity. Open the Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER, Software, Microsoft, Windows NT, CurrentVersion, Windows. Create or modify a DWORD value named LegacyDefaultPrinterMode and set it to one. This reverts the system to strictly honoring the user's manual printer selection. Finally, ensure your profile management system, such as FSLogix or User Profile Disks, is properly capturing and roaming the user registry hive so these settings persist across logoffs and new sessions in your farm.

Hope this answer has brought you some useful information. If it did, please hit “accept answer”. Should you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment.

VPHAN

Answer 2

Configure the Remote Desktop printer redirection policy so the RD Session Host does not keep resetting the default printer to the client’s default.

Use the ADMX-backed policy TS_CLIENT_DEFAULT_M (Policy CSP – ADMX_TerminalServer):

1. Deploy the policy to the RDSH (via Group Policy or MDM using the Policy CSP path ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/ADMX_TerminalServer/TS_CLIENT_DEFAULT_M).
2. Set TS_CLIENT_DEFAULT_M to Enabled.
   • When this policy is enabled, the default printer in the session is the printer specified on the remote computer (the RDSH), not the client default printer.
3. Once enabled, the user’s default printer choice inside the RDS session will persist (subject to profile/roaming settings) instead of being overwritten by the client default at each logon.

If the policy is Disabled, the RD Session Host automatically maps the client default printer and sets it as the default on each connection, which causes the behavior described.

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References:

• Policy CSP - ADMX_TerminalServer