How to Keep a Session Alive in RDP

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Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) sessions can time out due to system policies or network configurations. Typically, the session timeout is 15 minutes but it could depend on your security policy. Therefore, you can reset the time limit so that the RDP session won’t be limited by time. Here are two easy ways to help you keep RDP session alive

Method 1: Configure via Group Policy Editor

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1. Press Win + R to open the Run dialog box Type in gpedit.msc and hit "OK" to open the Group Policy Editor.

1. Navigate to:

Path:
Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Remote Desktop Services > Remote Desktop Session Host > Session Time Limits

Find the following settings on the right pane:

• Set time limit for disconnected sessions

• Set time limit for active but idle Remote Desktop Services session

• Set time limit for active Remote Desktop Services session

1. Click on Set time limit for disconnected sessions Tick Enabled and select Never beside "End a disconnected session". Click OK.

1. Click on Set time limit for active but idle Remote Desktop Services session Tick Enabled and select Never. Click OK.

1. Click on Set time limit for active Remote Desktop Services session Tick Enabled and select Never. Click OK.

Method 2: Add a Registry Key

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Adding a Registry key is another easy way to keep the RDP session alive.

1. Press Win + R, type regedit, and press Enter to open the Registry Editor.

1. Navigate to: Computer\HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server > Right-click and click on “New” > “DWORD (32-bit) Value”.

1. Name it KeepAliveEnable Double-click it, set the Value data to 1, tick Decimal, and click OK.

1. Reboot your PC to apply the changes.