Microsoft is replacing Remote Desktop with its new Windows app

Microsoft is ending support of its Remote Desktop app for Windows on May 27th. If you use the Remote Desktop app to connect to Windows 365, Azure Virtual Desktop, or Microsoft Dev Box machines then you’ll have to transition to the Windows app instead.

The new Windows app, which launched in September, includes multimonitor support, dynamic display resolutions, and easy access to cloud PCs and virtual desktops. Microsoft says “connections to Windows 365, Azure Virtual Desktop, and Microsoft Dev Box via the Remote Desktop app from the Microsoft Store will be blocked after May 27th, 2025.”

The existing Remote Desktop app is not to be confused with Microsoft’s Remote Desktop Connection app that has shipped inside Windows for more than 20 years. This app will continue to exist in Windows 11 after May 27th, and Microsoft says it can still be used to connect to machines until the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) is supported in the Windows app.

The mention of RDP support could mean Microsoft will eventually support personal accounts in its Windows app. You can only currently use the Windows app if you have a work or school Microsoft account, despite Microsoft’s long-term ambition of moving Windows fully to the cloud to “enable improved AI-powered services and full roaming of people’s digital experience.”