Fixing a Black Screen with macOS Windows App and Ubuntu GNOME Remote Login
I recently connected to an Ubuntu desktop from a Mac using Microsoft’s Windows App. The connection opened successfully, but the remote window stayed completely black.
The cause
Ubuntu’s GNOME Remote Login uses RDP server redirection. The first connection reaches the system RDP service, and GNOME then redirects the client to the graphical user session.
The macOS Windows App did not follow that redirect with its default connection profile. The connection therefore appeared to succeed, but no desktop pixels were displayed.
The fix
Export the connection from Windows App as an RDP file:
- Open Windows App on macOS.
- Select the remote PC.
- From the macOS menu bar, choose Connections → Export to RDP file….
- Open the exported
.rdpfile in a plain-text editor. - Find this line:
use redirection server name:i:0
Change it to:
use redirection server name:i:1
If the line is missing, add it to the file. Save the file, then import it back into Windows App with Connections → Import from RDP file…. On some versions of the client, the import command is under File → Import.
Open the newly imported connection. Make sure the file still ends in .rdp rather than .rdp.txt.
Why this works
The value i:1 tells the RDP client that it may use the server name supplied during the RDP redirection step. This setting is unrelated to folder, drive, or clipboard redirection.
The important clue in the server logs was the RDP handoff: the server sent a redirection request, and the client failed during the follow-up connection. That pointed to the client profile rather than a general network or graphics problem.
Notes
Use the Remote Login credentials shown in Ubuntu’s Settings → System → Remote Desktop → Remote Login panel. These are the credentials configured for GNOME Remote Login.
If the problem continues, other black-screen causes are possible. Check the GNOME Remote Desktop logs and confirm that the client is using the imported profile.
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