Microsoft has addressed a significant issue affecting Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) and Remote Desktop Services (RDS) connections, which emerged following the installation of Windows updates since January 2025. This problem primarily impacted users connecting from Windows 11 24H2 to RDS hosts operating on earlier versions of Windows Server 2016.
As detailed in a recent update on the Windows release health dashboard, users reported experiencing disconnections after a mere 65 seconds when establishing UDP connections. While devices running Windows Server 2025 were not directly affected as RDS hosts, they could still experience abrupt Remote Desktop disconnects when acting as RDP clients connecting to older servers.
In its Monday announcement, Microsoft noted, “After installing the January 2025 Windows preview update (KB5050094) and subsequent updates, users might experience unexpected disconnections with Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) sessions, including Remote Desktop Services (RDS).” The company also highlighted a notable surge in reports following the March 2025 Windows security update (KB5053598).
On Thursday, Microsoft confirmed that the known issue would be resolved for Windows 11 24H2 and Windows Server 2025 users with the installation of the KB5053656 preview update. “We recommend you install the latest update for your device as it contains important improvements and issue resolutions, including this one,” the company stated. The fix is set to be generally available with next month’s cumulative updates. In the interim, IT administrators can deploy it on enterprise-managed devices using a Known Issue Rollback group policy.
Issues still waiting for a fix
Earlier this week, Microsoft also alerted users to another known issue causing Remote Desktop freezes on Windows Server 2025 following the installation of security updates released since the February 2025 Patch Tuesday. This issue similarly affected Windows 11 24H2 systems, but Microsoft had previously addressed it with the KB5052093 optional update released on February 25. The company indicated that a fix for the affected Windows Server 2025 devices would be included in a future Windows update.
Additionally, Veeam announced on Tuesday that Microsoft is collaborating to investigate connection errors on Windows 11 24H2 systems when users attempt to restore data from Backup & Replication servers or SMB network shares. Furthermore, on Wednesday, Microsoft resolved another bug that caused USB printers to print random text after updates released since late January 2025.
