I'm having trouble connecting to a USB device over RDP

Andry · May 15, 2024

I'm encountering a problem with a program that operates on my office PC. It relies on a license key plugged into the USB connector.When I access the PC via RDP, the key isn't detected. However, everything functions smoothly when I use the program locally the key is recognized and the program operates correctly. Is there a way in Windows to enable RDP access to the key? Additionally, are there any solutions available to make this setup work seamlessly?
I would be grateful for your help

Catnip · May 15, 2024

I had the same problem (almost). My security key resides on a server that I really do have access to when I use RDP instead of a USB key dongle, but it was not reading the key from my remote computer for some reason. What I did was to enable the Ports function of Remote Desktop, like this:

If that doesn't work for you, try the Other supported Plug and Play devices check box and see if that helps.

Something else you can do is to add the path to your license dongle to your %PATH% variables in both your home and local machines. I did that in my case, but I am not entirely positive that it was needed.

Lum · May 16, 2024

As far as I'm aware RDP does support redirecting certain USB devices, although there might be limitations on specific types of devices. You could try using another application for seamless operation. In our office, we rely on FlexiHub: Centralized Access for Remote USB & COM devices for this purpose, and it works quite well.