Remote Desktop Connection Error “The Connection was Denied”

The error ‘The connection was denied because the user account is not authorized for remote login’ typically occurs when the user account that you are using to remotely connect to the target system doesn’t have sufficient permissions. This error has occurred to many users in the past as well and it seems like Windows 10 is no exception to it. Upon trying to establish a connection, users have reported that they are prompted with the said error message.

Remote Desktop can be utilized for different things such as troubleshooting errors on a target system etc, however, the feature itself has a number of errors. To circumvent this particular issue, you can follow the solutions that we have given down below.

What causes the ‘The Connection was Denied Because the User Account is not Authorized for Remote Login’ Error on Windows 10?

The cause of the error is in the error message itself that is —

With that said, you can deal with the error by applying the following workarounds. Make sure to use an administrator account while implementing the given solutions.

Solution 1: Creating a New Security Group

In order to fix the issue, you might want to create a new security group whose members will have the power to establish a Remote Desktop connection. Here’s how to do it:

1. Press Windows Key + R to open Run.
2. Type in ‘secpol.msc’ and press Enter.
3. Navigate to Local Policies > User Rights Assignment.
4. From the list of policies, locate Allow log on through Remote Desktop Services and double-click it.

   

5. If there’s no Remote Desktop Users group under Administrators, follow the below instructions. If you already have one, skip to the next solution.
6. Click Add User or Group and enter Remote Desktop Users under ‘Enter the object names to select’.

   

7. Hit OK.
8. Restart your system for it to take effect or you can just enter the following command in an elevated command prompt:

   gpupdate /force

Solution 2: Giving Access to your User Account

In some cases, if the user account that you are using to establish a Remote connection isn’t a member of the Remote Desktop Users group, you will be prompted with the said error. In such a scenario, you will have to add it in the Remote Desktop Users group. Here’s how to do that:

1. Press Winkey + R to open Run.
2. Type in lusrmgr.msc and press Enter.
3. Click on Users and then double-click your user account.
4. Switch to the Member Of tab.

   

5. If there’s no Remote Desktop Users group under Administrators, click Add.
6. Select Advanced and then click Find now.
7. From the list, double-click Remote Desktop Users and then click OK.

   

8. Your user account is now a member of the Remote Desktop User group.
9. Try establishing a connection now.

Solution 3: Checking Remote Desktop Service Log On User

If your Remote Desktop Service is using Local Service instead of Network Service as the log on user, it can also cause the issue to occur. You can fix this by changing it to Network Service. Here’s how to do it:

1. Press Windows Key + R to open Run.
2. Type in ‘services.msc‘ and press Enter.
3. Locate Remote Desktop Service and then double-click it.

   

4. Switch to the Log On tab.
5. If the Local Service account is selected, you’ll have to change it. Click Browse.
6. Select Advanced and then click Find now.
7. From the list, double-click Network Service and then click OK.

   

8. Restart the service by right-clicking the service and selecting Restart.