The logon attempt failed error while connecting Remote Desktop

In the past, we’ve told you how to enable or disable the Remote Desktop connection and troubleshoot it when it disconnects frequently. While using this Remote Desktop feature on Windows 11/10, one might encounter a The logon attempt failed error. Connecting the system remotely using another version, like Windows 7, may work perfectly, but one might get this error when using Windows 11/10.

We first ensured the Windows Firewall was set to turn off to fix this hitch. We also tried to use the Remote Desktop Modern App, but it did not change the situation. This solution mentioned on a Technet thread suggests a method to fix this issue.

The logon attempt failed for Remote Connections

There are two ways to fix the long attempt failed for the Remote connections problem.

1. Allow Remote Desktop through Firewall
2. Add logon details to Windows Credentials

Make sure to use an admin account to make the changes.

1] Allow Remote Desktop through Firewall

• Press the Windows Key + R combination, type Firewall.cpl in the Run dialog box, and press Enter to open the Windows Firewall.

• Click on Allow an app or feature through Windows Firewall, you’ll see the list of apps installed on the PC.

• Click Change settings first. Then, in the Allowed Apps and Features section, please scroll down the list to look for the Remote Desktop app and put a checkmark against it. Click OK.

Reboot the machine; your problem should be fixed. However, if your computer is part of a domain, you cannot save your credentials when you connect to a remote computer by default. Here is how you can get rid of this problem:

• Open the Local Group Policy Editor.
•  In the left pane, navigate to the following path.

Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> System -> Credentials Delegation

• Look for policy setting Allow delegating saved credentials with NTLM-only server authentication and double-click on it.
• Select Enabled and hit Show in the following window:

• Finally, in Show Contents window, put the Value as TERMSRV\Computer Name, where you have to substitute your computer name after TERMSRV\.
• Click OK; Apply; OK. Close the Group Policy Editor.

• We’re done fixing the issue so far. You only need to reboot the machine; your issue should be fixed.

I hope this helps.

UPDATE: Dakota North adds in the comments – TERMSRV/*.* is the correct syntax and it allows all servers.

2] Add logon details to Windows Credentials

If you an save the credentials, here is how to do it.

• Open Control Panel
• Go to Credential Manager > Go to Manage Your Credentials interface

• Click Windows Credentials > Add Windows Credentials.
• Add Username and Password.

• Click on the OK button to save the changes.

Related read: Your credentials did not work on the remote desktop.

What does logon attempt failed mean?

“Logon attempt failed” on Remote Desktop means you couldn’t connect. It’s usually due to a typo in your username/password, the remote firewall blocking the connection, or the user not being allowed Remote Desktop access.

How do you find failed login attempts in Windows?

You can do this if you enable logon attempt tracking on your computer. Go to Local Policies under Security Settings and find “Audit logon events.” Check both successful and failed attempts to monitor all login activity.