How do I know if Remote Desktop is enabled ?

If you want to connect to a Windows server or PC using Remote Desktop (RDP), the first thing to check is whether it’s actually enabled. Here’s how you can quickly verify that.

Check Remote Desktop settings via System Properties

The fastest way is to use the built-in system settings:

1. Press Win + R, type SystemPropertiesRemote, and hit Enter.

2. The Remote tab of the System Properties window will open.

3. Look under the Remote Desktop section.

   • If “Allow remote connections to this computer” is selected, Remote Desktop is enabled.

   • If it’s set to “Don’t allow remote connections”, then it’s disabled.

You don’t need to click OK or Apply — just checking is enough.

This method works on both Windows Server editions and standard Windows 10/11 machines.

Check if Firewall allows Remote Desktop

Even if RDP is enabled in system settings, it might still be blocked by the firewall — especially on servers or VPS environments.

To make sure it’s not blocked, run the following command:

netsh advfirewall firewall show rule name="Remote Desktop - User Mode (TCP-In)"

If the rule is properly configured, you’ll see:

Enabled: Yes
Direction: In
Action: Allow

If Enabled is set to No, or if the rule doesn’t show up at all, then Windows Firewall is likely blocking incoming RDP connections — which means you won’t be able to connect even if RDP is turned on. To enable it manually (requires admin):

netsh advfirewall firewall set rule name="Remote Desktop - User Mode (TCP-In)" new enable=yes

This small fix can save you from hours of connection errors, especially when working with cloud VPS instances.