RDP gets stuck at "Please Wait" after re-connecting using User with existing session, but works if using "Other User"

Question

This question is in relation to another post "RDP to Windows 10 hangs at Please wait screen" (https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/451406/rdp-to-windows-10-hangs-at-please-wait-screen.html). I found some more information that shows it is still possible to connect to the machine correctly using a 3rd party app called "aFreeRDP" which connects using "Other User", as opposed to connecting to a previously logged in session for the username that is being used to log in. I am posing this as a new question because when I tried to place a response comment to the Microsoft support representative in the thread (LeilaKong-MSFT), the website would not allow me to post the reply after clicking "Submit", even when ensuring that the post was under the 1600 character limit. Here is a repost of my comment, so that it reaches a Microsoft support representative:

Hello LeilaKong-MSFT,

I have found new information that could lead to a solution of the issue if RDP getting stuck at "Please Wait" after connecting. Please determine why this alternate Android app "aFreeRDP" allows a normal connection, even while the MS Remote Desktop (RDP) Android app and Windows application gets stuck at "Please Wait" after connecting. My conclusion is that, since the "aFreeRDP" app connects as "Other User" and then enters the credentials there, it creates a new session for the user and doesn't get stuck at "Please Wait", whereas the Microsoft application is trying to restart a previous session for that use which is stuck in a loop state after an erroneous disconnect while using VPN.

Instructions:

1. Recreate the issue- make sure that while using RDP to connect to the destination pc it gets stuck at "Please Wait". This usually occurs after connecting to the destination through a VPN and then putting the client pc/laptop to sleep by closing the lid or shutting down abruptly, which presumably makes the destination PC's RDP session get stuck.
2. On an Android phone, use "Microsoft Remote Desktop" app to connect, and confirm that it also gets stuck at "Please Wait".
3. From Google Play store, install "aFree RDP" which is a 3rd party RDP app. Setup the connection with the exact same user/password you used on MS RDP and connect to the destination pc. You will notice that the aFreeRDP connects as "Other User" and then enters the user/password credentials at that point which allows the app to connect to the pc successfully with the desktop being shown as normal. You can use the pc as normal.
4. At this point if you disconnect aFreeRDP and then try to connect using MS RDP it will still be stuck at "Please Wait", since MS RDP appears to restart the user's session rather than use the "Other User" method to log in. Notice that if you then connect back using aFreeRDP again it uses "Other User" which still logs in perfectly and allows you to use the desktop.

Conclusion: It seems when connecting to the session as "Other User" and entering the credentials there, the system creates a new session, whereas the official MS RDP is stuck using the old session which is somehow in an infinite loop wait state.

I believe this shows that the RDP session can be connected to normally. There are many people in my company that encounter this issue daily that are not IT knowledgeable and subsequently have had to go into the office to reset their PC every other day or otherwise have IT people do so. Many people would not know about trying aFreeRDP, and would not even think to connect to their PC using their phone anyway. I do believe that, at this point, working remotely should be a simple and robust process, and that glitches like these need to be resolved as soon as possible so that non-IT workforce do not have to deal with this confusion.

Microsoft, please use this information to fix this issue. Thank you in advance.

Answer 1

To Leila-MSFT and everyone else with this issue:

I found a solution in MS RDP for the issue of RDP getting stuck at "Please Wait" after connectng, but I am only willing to explain and post it if I can speak with Leila-MSFT or someone at Microsoft directly. I would appreciate not having to post back and forth and be asked to "try" things when I clearly provided a possible solution in my last post that could be tested and confirmed by Microsoft support. If anyone from MS is willing to speak directly, please send me a direct message so that I can explain the problem and temporary solution, at which time you can confirm that it will become a permanent fix in updated versions of MS RDP. If you are willing to discuss the solution you will be helping many people with this issue, and if not at least I figured out the culprit of the issue and can post the solution elsewhere.

Answer 2

We're having the same issue. Yesterday I left Windows 11 RDP client open (mstsc) and connected when I left the office and according to logs we had many small internet outages during the night (probably ISP doing maintenance). This morning when I tried to reconnect the RDP I was stuck on Please wait. Thankfully there was someone on site to reboot the remote target PC, after reboot RDP works fine. But this is clearly a bug in Microsoft's RDP implementation and could cause harm if there's no other way to access the target PC.

RDP Server: Windows 10 Version 10.0.19044.3324
RDP Client: Windows 11 Version 10.0.22621.2361

Answer 3

We were having the same issue and discovered that the below group policy fixes it for our users:

Local Computer Policy> Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Remote Desktop Services > Remote Desktop Session Host > Connections > Select network detection on the server - set to Enabled, Turn off Connect Time Detect and Continuous Network Detect

Answer 4

HI Eric-1715,

"Conclusion: It seems when connecting to the session as "Other User" and entering the credentials there, the system creates a new session, whereas the official MS RDP is stuck using the old session which is somehow in an infinite loop wait state."
From your description, I think your current issue seems that user can not reconect to his existing remote session by using Microsoft Remote desktop app with symptom "Please wait".
1.If we remote access remote win10 by using local admin account of remote win10, will the same reconnected issue happen?

2.If we do clean boot on remote issue win10 pc, will we also reproduce the current issue?
How to perform a clean boot in Windows
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/how-to-perform-a-clean-boot-in-windows-da2f9573-6eec-00ad-2f8a-a97a1807f3dd

3.If we disable NLA on remote win10 computer and reboot the issue win10, will the same issue happen?
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server\WinStations\RDP-Tcp
REG_DWORD: SecurityLayer
Value: change 2 for 0
But the little check box that Enable or Disable NLA is actually the following registry key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server\WinStations\RDP-Tcp
REG_DWORD: UserAuthentication
Value: change 1 for 0

how to disable NLA
https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/c07323c2-77fa-4eb4-91ed-7ba6fa23bd00/how-to-disable-nla?forum=winserversecurity

4.When issue happen, are there any logs on remote win10 client at issue time?

client win10
event viewer\windows logs\
security
application
system

Event Viewer – Applications and Services Logs -Microsoft-Windows-RemoteApp and Desktop Connections_Admin
Event Viewer – Applications and Services Logs -Microsoft-Windows-RemoteApp and Desktop Connections_operational
Event Viewer – Applications and Services Logs -Microsoft-Windows-remoteassistance
Event Viewer – Applications and Services Logs -Microsoft-Windows-RemoteDesktopServices-RdpCoreTS_Admin
Event Viewer – Applications and Services Logs -Microsoft-Windows-RemoteDesktopServices-RdpCoreTS_Operational
Event Viewer – Applications and Services Logs -Microsoft-Windows-RemoteDesktopServices-remotefx-synth3dvsc
Event Viewer – Applications and Services Logs -Microsoft-Windows-RemoteDesktopServices-remotefx-vm-kernel-mode-transport
Event Viewer – Applications and Services Logs -Microsoft-Windows-RemoteDesktopServices-remotefx-vm-user-mode-transport
Event Viewer – Applications and Services Logs -Microsoft-Windows-RemoteDesktopServices-SessionServices_Operational

Event Viewer – Applications and Services Logs -Microsoft-Windows-TerminalServices-clientactivexcore
-rdpclient/analytic
-rdpclient/operational
Event Viewer – Applications and Services Logs -Microsoft-Windows-TerminalServices-local sessionmanager
Event Viewer – Applications and Services Logs -Microsoft-Windows-TerminalServices-remoteconnectionmanagement

Event Viewer – Applications and Services Logs -Microsoft-Windows-TerminalServices-ClientUSBDevices
_Admin
_Operational
Event Viewer – Applications and Services Logs -Microsoft-Windows-TerminalServices-PnPDevices_Admin
Event Viewer – Applications and Services Logs -Microsoft-Windows-TerminalServices-PnPDevices_Operational
Event Viewer – Applications and Services Logs -Microsoft-Windows-TerminalServices-Printers_Admin
Event Viewer – Applications and Services Logs -Microsoft-Windows-TerminalServices-Printers_Operational
Event Viewer – Applications and Services Logs -Microsoft-Windows-TerminalServices-remoteconnectionmanagement

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