How to fix the problem of a microphone not working in an RDP session

The move to remote work initiated by the pandemic shows no signs of ending anytime soon. Many organizations have committed to letting employees continue to work remotely indefinitely. It can be a problem for remote workers using the Remote Desktop Protocol, to efficiently manage access to peripheral devices between the host and remote terminal, especially when enabling microphone over RDP.

Remote workers often use an RDP on their home machine to access resources on their work computer. If their microphone is not working on RDP, it can be impossible for them to participate in conference calls or meetings.

This article provides detailed instructions that can help you resolve the problem of a microphone not passing through RDP.

Fix a microphone not working on RDP sessions

Use the following steps to address the problem of a microphone not working through RDP.

     1. Enable Windows Audio Service

Open Control Panel -> System and Security

Select "Administrative Tools" or "Administration"

Start "Services" on your Windows machine.

Locate and right-click on the "Windows Audio" icon and select Properties

In the settings window that opens, you set the Startup Type to “Automatic”. This ensures that the audio service will be started automatically each time the system restarts.

Once the configuration is complete, start the service by selecting "Windows Audio" and click “Run” or “Start”.

     2. Enable audio redirection in server properties

If the problem is that your microphone over RDP in Windows 10 is not working, you need to access and modify the server properties. Press Win + R and type the command GPEDIT.MSC. Press OK or Enter to run the command.

In the new window that appears, select Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Remote Desktop Services -> Remote Desktop Session Host -> Device and Resource Redirection -> Allow Audio and Video Playback Redirection.

Under Remote Desktop Services or Device and Resource Redirection, there are two policies that may be the reason your microphone stops working after a few seconds on RDP. You want to click Allow or Enable on both of the following policies.

• Allow audio and video playback redirection.
• Allow Audio Recording Redirection.

     3. Update Register Parameters.

On a Windows machine press the keyboard shortcut Win + R and execute the REGEDIT command.

We can now verify that both policy rules are indeed enabled as we need. In the new window that opens, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SYSTEM \ CurrentControlSet \ Control \ Terminal Server \ WinStations \ RDP-TCP.

Open the file so it can be edited.

Insert "00000000" in the small window that appears to replace its current value of “0 and click OK.

     4. Final Windows Settings

1. Start the Remote Desktop Connection application.
2. Enter the IP address of the server in the General tab.
3. Go to Local Resources -> Options tab and check the Play on this computer and Record from this computer boxes in the displayed window.
4. Click OK and Connect.

This should resolve the problem of your microphone not working in an RDP session.