Connect to Azure Virtual Desktop with the Remote Desktop client for Windows

The Microsoft Remote Desktop client is used to connect to Azure Virtual Desktop to access your desktops and applications. This article shows you how to connect to Azure Virtual Desktop with the Remote Desktop client for Windows, which will only allow you to subscribe to a feed made available to you by your organization administrators.

You can find a list of all the Remote Desktop clients you can use to connect to Azure Virtual Desktop at Remote Desktop clients overview.

If you want to connect to Remote Desktop Services or a remote PC instead of Azure Virtual Desktop, see Connect to Remote Desktop Services with the Remote Desktop app for Windows.

Prerequisites

Before you can access your resources, you'll need to meet the prerequisites:

• Internet access.

• A device running one of the following supported versions of Windows:

  • Windows 11
  • Windows 11 IoT Enterprise
  • Windows 10
  • Windows 10 IoT Enterprise
  • Windows Server 2019
  • Windows Server 2016
  • Windows Server 2012 R2

  Important

  Support for Windows 7 ended on January 10, 2023.

• Download the Remote Desktop client installer, choosing the correct version for your device:

  • Windows 64-bit (most common)
  • Windows 32-bit
  • Windows ARM64

• .NET Framework 4.6.2 or later. You may need to install this on Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2016, and some versions of Windows 10. To download the latest version, see Download .NET Framework.

Install the Remote Desktop client

Once you've downloaded the Remote Desktop client, you'll need to install it by following these steps:

Tip

If you want to deploy the Remote Desktop client in an enterprise, you can use msiexec to install the MSI file. For more information, see Enterprise deployment.

1. Run the installer by double-clicking the file you downloaded.

2. On the welcome screen, select Next.

3. To accept the end-user license agreement, check the box for I accept the terms in the License Agreement, then select Next.

4. For the Installation Scope, select one of the following options:

   • Install just for you: Remote Desktop will be installed in a per-user folder and be available just for your user account. You don't need local Administrator privileges.
   • Install for all users of this machine: Remote Desktop will be installed in a per-machine folder and be available for all users. You must have local Administrator privileges

5. Select Install.

6. Once installation has completed, select Finish.

7. If you left the box for Launch Remote Desktop when setup exits selected, the Remote Desktop client will automatically open. Alternatively to launch the client after installation, use the Start menu to search for and select Remote Desktop.

Important

If you have the Remote Desktop client for Windows and the Azure Virtual Desktop app installed on the same device, you may see the message that begins A version of this application called Azure Virtual Desktop was installed from the Microsoft Store. Both apps are supported, and you have the option to choose Continue anyway, however it could be confusing to use the same remote resource across both apps. We recommend using only one version of the app at a time.

Subscribe to a workspace

A workspace combines all the desktops and applications that have been made available to you by your admin. To be able to see these in the Remote Desktop client, you need to subscribe to the workspace by following these steps:

1. Open the Remote Desktop app on your device.

2. The first time you subscribe to a workspace, from the Let's get started screen, select Subscribe or Subscribe with URL. Use the tabs below for your scenario.

Subscribe

3. If you selected Subscribe, sign in with your user account when prompted, for example user@contoso.com. After a few seconds, your workspaces should show the desktops and applications that have been made available to you by your admin.

   Tip

   If you see the message No workspace is associated with this email address, your admin might not have set up email discovery, or you are using an Azure environment that is not Azure cloud, such as Azure US Gov. Try the steps in the Subscribe with URL tab instead.

Subscribe with URL

3. If you selected Subscribe with URL, in the Email or Workspace URL box, enter the relevant URL from the following table. After a few seconds, the message We found Workspaces at the following URLs should be displayed.

   Azure environment	Workspace URL
   Azure cloud (most common)	https://rdweb.wvd.microsoft.com
   Azure US Gov	https://rdweb.wvd.azure.us/api/arm/feeddiscovery
   Azure operated by 21Vianet	https://rdweb.wvd.azure.cn/api/arm/feeddiscovery

4. Select Next.

5. Sign in with your user account when prompted. After a few seconds, the workspace should show the desktops and applications that have been made available to you by your admin.

Once you've subscribed to a workspace, its content will update automatically regularly and each time you start the client. Resources may be added, changed, or removed based on changes made by your admin.

Connect to your desktops and applications

1. Open the Remote Desktop client on your device.

2. Double-click one of the icons to launch a session to Azure Virtual Desktop. You may be prompted to enter the password for your user account again, depending on how your admin has configured Azure Virtual Desktop.

Insider releases

If you want to help us test new builds before they're released, you should download our Insider releases. Organizations can use the Insider releases to validate new versions for their users before they're generally available. For more information, see Enable Insider releases.

Next steps

• To learn more about the features of the Remote Desktop client for Windows, check out Use features of the Remote Desktop client for Windows when connecting to Azure Virtual Desktop.

• If you want to use Teams on Azure Virtual Desktop with media optimization, see Use Microsoft Teams on Azure Virtual Desktop.