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Microsoft Remote Desktop in 2026: What to Use Now

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If you searched for the Microsoft Remote Desktop assistant or the Remote Desktop app, here is the situation in plain terms: both are gone. Microsoft retired the Remote Desktop app from the Microsoft Store on May 27, 2025, and the older MSI Remote Desktop client reached end of support on March 27, 2026. What remains — and works fine — is the built-in Remote Desktop Connection (mstsc) and, for cloud PCs, the new Windows App. This guide sorts out which one you need and how to set it up.

Last checked: September 2026.

What died, and what replaced it

  • Remote Desktop app (Microsoft Store) — discontinued May 27, 2025. It can no longer be downloaded, and Microsoft directs its users to the Windows App.
  • Remote Desktop client (MSI installer) — end of support March 27, 2026, for Azure Virtual Desktop and cloud connections.
  • Remote Desktop assistant — the small helper tool this page originally covered. It only automated settings you can change yourself in one screen (shown below), and there is no reason to hunt for it anymore.
  • Remote Desktop Connection (mstsc) — still built into every Windows version and still supported. Press Win+R, type mstsc, press Enter. For connecting to another PC on your network, this is the tool.
  • Windows App — Microsoft’s unified client for Windows 365, Azure Virtual Desktop, and Dev Box. You only need it for those cloud services, not for ordinary PC-to-PC connections.

Turn on Remote Desktop on the PC you connect to

This replaces everything the old assistant did:

  1. On the PC you want to reach, open Settings → System → Remote Desktop and switch it on. Note: the PC must run Windows 10/11 Pro, Enterprise, or Education — Home edition cannot accept incoming Remote Desktop connections (it can still connect outward).
  2. Note the PC name shown on the same screen.
  3. In Settings → System → Power, make sure the PC is not set to sleep — a sleeping PC is unreachable.
  4. On the other computer, run mstsc, enter the PC name (or its local IP address), and sign in with an account that exists on the target PC.
A finger pressing a key on a laptop keyboard
Reaching another desk's PC without leaving yours is the whole point. Photo: Shixart1985 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

When the connection fails

  1. “The remote PC can’t be found.” Use the IP address instead of the name (run ipconfig on the target PC). Name resolution on home networks is unreliable.
  2. The target runs Windows Home. It cannot host RDP sessions, full stop. Use Chrome Remote Desktop instead — it works on every edition.
  3. The PC went to sleep. Set sleep to Never on machines you access remotely, or enable Wake-on-LAN in the BIOS if you know your way around it.
  4. Firewall blocks it. Enabling Remote Desktop in Settings normally opens the firewall rule automatically. If you use third-party security software, allow TCP port 3389 there.
  5. Credentials rejected. Sign in with the target PC’s account, including a Microsoft account email if that is how the PC is set up. Accounts without a password are refused by default.

Connecting over the internet: don’t expose port 3389

Everything above assumes both machines are on the same network. Forwarding port 3389 on your router to reach a PC from anywhere is a genuinely bad idea — exposed RDP ports are scanned and brute-forced constantly. Use a VPN into your home network, or skip RDP for that use case entirely: Chrome Remote Desktop and Remote Utilities both handle internet connections without opening ports.

Do you need the Windows App?

Only if your employer or you use Windows 365 Cloud PCs, Azure Virtual Desktop, or Microsoft Dev Box. Install it from the Microsoft Store, sign in with the work account, and your cloud PCs appear. It does not replace mstsc for local connections, and Microsoft says mstsc is staying.

Featured image: Photo: Håkan Dahlström / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0