RDP session on Linux/Wayland: dead keys are dropped (^ + e gives "e", ^ + Space gives a space), works in xfreerdp and wlfreerdp
RDP session on Linux/Wayland: dead keys are dropped (^ + e gives "e", ^ + Space gives a space), works in xfreerdp and wlfreerdp
Dear Support Team,
Thank you for your excellent product. I am already using it on Windows and now I am trying to use it on Ubuntu Linux as a replacement for Remmina.
I would like to report a very small bug. It is not a major issue, but it can be a little annoying for non-English users who need to type accented characters in their daily work.
Product: Remote Desktop Manager for Linux
Version: 2026.3.1.1 64-bit, .NET 10.0.12
OS: Ubuntu 26.04.1 LTS, Wayland session [GNOME ?]
Keyboard: Swiss French QWERTZ physical keyboard, layout "French (Switzerland)"
Description
In an embedded RDP session, dead keys are not taken into account. Pressing a dead key followed by a letter outputs only the letter, without the accent: ^ then e gives "e", not "ê". Pressing a dead key followed by Space outputs only a space, not the accent character itself. The dead key press itself produces nothing, so it is impossible to type ^, ~ or ¨ [exact key combination to confirm], or any accented letter built with them.
This affects every dead key I tested: ^, ~ (AltGr + ^) and ¨ [to confirm].
Regular keys and other modified characters work normally: Shift + 2 gives ", AltGr + 2 gives @.
Expected behavior
The dead key is forwarded or composed correctly, so that ^ then e gives "ê", and ^ then Space gives "^", as with other RDP clients.
What works
- Dead keys work normally in RDM's own interface (e.g. the search bar), including ^ then e giving "ê".
- With the same server, the same user and the same keyboard layout, both xfreerdp and wlfreerdp handle dead keys correctly and give "ê".
What I tried without success
- RDP entry keyboard layout set to French (Switzerland) and to French (France)
- "Send Unicode" set to true and to false
- Launching RDM with GTK_IM_MODULE set to ibus and to none [and the AVALONIA_IM_MODULE / XMODIFIERS variants]
Steps to reproduce
- Open an RDP session to a Windows machine from RDM on Ubuntu (Wayland), with a Swiss French keyboard.
- Click in a text field in the remote session (e.g. Notepad).
- Press ^, then e: only "e" appears.
- Press ^, then Space: only a space appears.
- Repeat with ~ (AltGr + ^) and ¨: same result.
Analysis
The dead key event seems to be lost between the local keyboard handling and the RDP layer on Wayland: the following key arrives as a plain key without any accent. This is my interpretation, not a confirmed diagnosis.
I can provide logs or run additional tests if needed.
Thanks in advance for your attention.
All Comments (5)
Hello,
Thank you for the detailed report, and for testing with xfreerdp and wlfreerdp. That made this much quicker to pin down.
This is a known regression in Remote Desktop Manager for Linux, introduced with the new interface in version 2026.3. Keyboard input sent to RDP sessions is not handled correctly for some non-US layouts, and dead keys are part of it. Other users have reported the same behavior with Spanish and German layouts. Because RDM's own interface is not affected, and other FreeRDP clients work, the cause is in how RDM passes keystrokes to the RDP session, not in your system configuration. Changing the IM module variables, the keyboard layout or the Send as Unicode setting will unfortunately not help.
Our development team is working on a fix, and I have added your case to the existing ticket, with the details you provided. I'll let you know as soon as a version with the fix is available.
In the meantime, there is a workaround: downgrading Remote Desktop Manager for Linux to version 2026.2.2.2. Users with the same issue have confirmed that it restores normal keyboard behavior in RDP sessions. You can download previous versions from our website.
Thank you for your patience, and for your kind words about the product.
Best regards,
Carl Marien
Hello,
Good news: the issue you reported should now be fixed. The ticket for the RDP keyboard regression has been resolved, and the fix is included in Remote Desktop Manager for Linux [version 2026.3.1.1].
Please update to this version (or later) and check whether dead keys now work correctly in your embedded RDP sessions. For example, ^ then e should give “ê”, and ^ then Space should give “^”. If you downgraded to 2026.2.2.2 as a workaround, you can now upgrade again.
If the problem is still there after the update, please let me know. Include the exact version installed and which dead keys still fail, and I’ll look into it further.
Best regards,
Carl Marien
Hello,
Thank you for the update.
I am already running the 2026.3.1.1 version and the bug has been reported with this version.
Have you planned to release a new version >2026.3.1.1 or did I misunderstand?
Thanks in advance,
Kind regards
Hello again,
I confirm that downgrading to 2026.2.2.2 resolves the issue with keyboard on my side.
In addition, the cursor now behaves correctly. With 2026.3.1.1, the cursor shape never changed as expected and was always displayed as the standard arrow, which made resizing windows somewhat difficult.
For reference, I did not open a bug report regarding this cursor issue, so I am not sure whether it has already been reported.
Please let me know if you would like me to open a bug report for the cursor shape issue observed in 2026.3.1.1.
However, I also noticed that the user interface in 2026.2.2.2 looks a bit strange and less polished, with icons, text boxes, and other UI elements appearing too small.
I can confirm that the overall user interface is significantly better in 2026.3.1.1, both in terms of appearance and usability.
Kind regards
Hello,
Thank you for confirming that 2026.2.2.2 works for the keyboard, and for the extra details.
You don’t need to open a bug report for the cursor shape issue. It has already been reported and our QA team has reproduced it: in embedded RDP sessions on 2026.3.1.1, the cursor always stays as the standard arrow instead of changing (for example to the resize arrows or the text cursor). Our development team is aware of it.
Another user reported the same behavior, and you can follow that discussion here: https://forum.devolutions.net/topics/56704/rdp-session-on-linuxwayland-dead-keys-are-dropped---e-gives-e---space-
Best regards,
Carl Marien