Remote Desktop Sessions Perform Full Reconnect When Switching Between Open Sessions
Remote Desktop Sessions Perform Full Reconnect When Switching Between Open Sessions
When switching between already-established Remote Desktop sessions, the client appears to disconnect and fully reconnect to the remote system instead of maintaining the existing session state. This results in the screen being completely redrawn and introduces a noticeable delay before the session becomes usable again.
Further testing indicates that this behavior is not limited to multiple concurrent sessions. The same issue occurs even when only a single Remote Desktop session is open. Simply switching away from the session and returning to it can trigger what appears to be a full reconnect.
Expected Behavior:
- Open Remote Desktop sessions should remain connected when switching between windows.
- Returning focus to an existing session should be instantaneous or require only a display refresh.
- No full reconnect or session reinitialization should occur unless the connection was actually interrupted.
Actual Behavior:
- Session appears to reconnect when brought back into focus.
- Entire screen is redrawn.
- Noticeable delay before the session becomes responsive.
- Issue occurs with both multiple open sessions and a single session.
Impact: This significantly disrupts workflow, especially for users who frequently switch between Remote Desktop sessions throughout the day. The repeated reconnect behavior adds unnecessary latency and negatively impacts productivity.
Version 2026.2.5.1 appears to be the last version that worked as expected
Version 2026.3.0.5 and higher have this issue.
Is this a new setting I'm not finding that can be disabled?
All Comments (7)
Hello
Sorry for the inconvenience. There's nothing specific that was changed here (i.e. you're not missing a new setting), it sounds like a bug and probably related to the new UI components in 2026.3. However after some testing I can't easily reproduce it on my side.
At a guess, and to try and unblock you quickly, in your RDP session(s) what are you using for Display > Screen Sizing Mode? If it's "Smart Reconnect", do you still have the same issue if you change to something else ("Dynamic Resolution" would probably be better overall)? You can tweak this per session, or if your sessions are at "Default", the "Default" value is in Settings > Types > Remote Desktop (RDP) > Display.
If it does change something, I'm not suggesting this as a fix, but it would suggest that client dimensions are being recalculated on tab switch on your side, and we'd need to find out why. Dynamic resolution would help but not be perfect (RDM would still have to negotiate the new resolution with the server, not as slow as a reconnect but not seamless either).
Please let me know if something isn't clear or you have other questions
Kind regards,
Richard Markievicz
I'm running Apple Studio Displays in their native resolution which I believe is a 5K resolution of 5120x2880.
My current settings
Settings -> Types -> Remote Desktop -> Display
- Display (Configured / Default)
- Remote Desktop Size (Automatic)
- Screen Sizing mode (Scrollbar)
Settings -> Types -> Remote Desktop -> Scaling
- Optimize for Retina displays (No)
- Desktop Scaling Level (100%)
Changing Screen size mode from Scrollbar to Smart Reconnect
- Seem to have fixed the issue!
Changing Screen size mode from Scrollbar to Dynamic Resolution
- Seem to have fixed the issue!
Changing Screen size mode back from Dynamic Resolution to Scrollbar
- Seem to have fixed the issue!
So basically just updating the setting fixed the issue... I can no longer reproduce it regardless of the screen size mode.
Thanks for your guidance!
I'm running Apple Studio Displays in their native resolution which I believe is a 5K resolution of 5120x2880.
My current settings
Settings -> Types -> Remote Desktop -> Display
- Display (Configured / Default)
- Remote Desktop Size (Automatic)
- Screen Sizing mode (Scrollbar)
Settings -> Types -> Remote Desktop -> Scaling
- Optimize for Retina displays (No)
- Desktop Scaling Level (100%)
Changing Screen size mode from Scrollbar to Smart Reconnect
- Seem to have fixed the issue!
Changing Screen size mode from Scrollbar to Dynamic Resolution
- Seem to have fixed the issue!
Changing Screen size mode back from Dynamic Resolution to Scrollbar
- Seem to have fixed the issue!
So basically just updating the setting fixed the issue... I can no longer reproduce it regardless of the screen size mode.
Thanks for your guidance!
@mclanglois
Actually... a little update with more information.
When I hide the Ribbon, the issue come comes back regardless of the Screen size mode.
If the Ribbon is visible in either Classic or Simplified, the issue again goes away.
So I believe your initial thoughts are correct, and that this is a minor bug in the new UI components.
I can live with the Ribbon in Simplified mode :)
Hello
Thanks, that's really clear and it sounds like you have a workaround.
I can reproduce it but only with the smart reconnect. I think what is happening, is that a layout operation triggers a client-size change when you switch tabs with the ribbon hidden. For me, it's totally visible with smart reconnect but not the other screen sizing modes; if we assume the layout is happening in any case it would trigger a full screen redraw which could look very much like a reconnection. I don't know why I don't notice it, but it might simply be that I'm using a much smaller resolution than you with a very fast connection to a local server. Is there any way you can capture a short video of the problem using a different screen sizing mode than smart reconnect?
Thanks and kind regards,
Richard Markievicz
I can; do you have a private link were I can upload the video?
Hello
Great, thank you. I will ask the support team to furnish you with a secure upload link.
Thanks and kind regards,
Richard Markievicz
I'm having this exact same issue! I'm wondering if it's occuring from the new default blue border around the tab of the active connection. When I click on another tab, the blue bar goes away from the previously selected tab and moves to the new tab. I wonder if for a short miliseconds timeframe, the blue border disappears making the tab bar only a pixel or 2 less height then renders the new blue bar increasing the size again which triggers the resize logic. This is a complete guess, but it does appear that there is slight "flicker" on the horizontal tabs bar when switching between tabs where the tabs all shift up/down very minimally and quickly.