On a workstation running Windows 11 IoT Enterprise 24H2, connecting through Remote Desktop leaves the person using the physical console logged in and apparently unlocked. They also don't receive any notification that an RDP session has connected. Is this an intentional feature of the IoT Enterprise edition, or has Windows 11 changed how RDP handles interactive sessions? On standard desktop editions, I thought an RDP connection normally locked or disconnected the existing console session.
3 Answers
On regular Home, Pro, or Enterprise desktop editions, this usually isn’t supported as a normal feature. Older workarounds involved modifying Remote Desktop components, but those can be unsafe, unsupported, and easily broken by updates. For remote assistance while leaving the user’s screen active, a legitimate remote-management or support tool is generally a better option than altering system DLLs.
The behavior is generally associated with Windows IoT Enterprise LTSC. It can allow concurrent interactive sessions for administrative or device-management purposes, similar in spirit to the session allowances on Windows Server, though the exact limits depend on the edition and configuration. Check the local Remote Desktop and session policies before assuming every IoT installation behaves identically.
Windows 11 IoT Enterprise has different session and licensing behavior from regular Windows editions. It appears to support one RDP session alongside one active physical console session, rather than forcing the console user off or locking the screen. This isn’t necessarily a new feature across Windows 11; it’s more likely specific to the IoT Enterprise edition and its intended kiosk or embedded use cases.
Testing on several IoT Enterprise 24H2 machines showed the same behavior. Standard Windows 11 Enterprise did not allow the console and RDP sessions to remain active in the same way.
The observed setup seems to allow either one physical session plus one RDP session, or two RDP sessions without an active console session.