RDP from a Mac: connect to Windows with Microsoft's Windows App

To RDP from a Mac, install Microsoft’s free Windows App from the Mac App Store, click + → Add PC, type the server’s IP address and log in with its Windows user name and password. Windows App is the program that used to be called Microsoft Remote Desktop: Microsoft renamed it in September 2024 and the old app became Windows App through a normal update, so search the App Store for “Windows App”, not “Remote Desktop”.

1. Mac App Store → search "Windows App" (Microsoft Corporation) → Get
2. Open Windows App → Devices tab → + → Add PC
3. PC name:     203.0.113.10          (203.0.113.10:13389 if RDP runs on another port)
   Credentials: Administrator + the server's password
4. Add → double-click the new PC → Continue at the certificate prompt

Replace 203.0.113.10 with your server’s address. You need three things from whoever runs the Windows machine: its IP address or host name, a user name that may log in over Remote Desktop, and that user’s password. Remote Desktop must also be switched on in Windows, under Settings → System → Remote Desktop. Enabling RDP on Windows Server shows the sconfig and PowerShell routes as well. On a Windows VPS it usually is on from the start; if Windows App cannot reach the server at all, jump to what to do when it cannot connect.

Which RDP client should you use on a Mac?

Use Windows App unless you have a specific reason not to. It is Microsoft’s own client, it is free, and it supports everything a Windows server expects from a modern client: Network Level Authentication, clipboard and folder redirection, Retina resolutions and several monitors. You do not need a Microsoft account to connect to an ordinary server; the sign-in screen the app shows on first start is for Microsoft’s cloud desktops and can be skipped.

• macOS version: Windows App needs macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later. Microsoft’s release notes set that floor with version 11.3.5 in April 2026, and the App Store listing shows it; on macOS 13 a copy you already have keeps working but gets no more updates. Parts of Microsoft’s setup guide still name macOS 12, which applied to earlier builds.
• Already had Microsoft Remote Desktop? The update replaced the app in place, so your saved PCs normally carry over. If you still have an app called “Remote Desktop”, update it from the App Store; Microsoft no longer offers that client for download.
• No App Store? Microsoft also offers Windows App as a standalone .pkg installer, linked from its “What’s new in Windows App” page, for Macs that cannot use the App Store. For your own Mac, the App Store version is the simpler choice because it updates itself.

How do I add a Windows server in Windows App?

1. 1Open the Add PC dialog

   Start Windows App, select the Devices tab, click the + button and choose Add PC.

2. 2Enter the PC name

   Type the server’s IP address or a host name that points to it. If Remote Desktop listens on a port other than 3389, append it after a colon, for example 203.0.113.10:13389. A typo here is a frequent cause of error 0x204 later on, so paste the address rather than typing it.

3. 3Add the credentials

   Open the Credentials menu and add a user account: the Windows user name (on a fresh Windows VPS usually Administrator) and its password. You can also leave it on asking each time. If Windows rejects a password you know is correct, write the name as .\Administrator, which tells Windows you mean the local account and not one in a domain.

4. 4Set the options that matter

   Give the PC a Friendly name so you can tell servers apart, leave Gateway empty unless your company gave you one, and tick Reconnect if the connection is dropped. Leave Connect to an admin session off; it only matters on servers running the full Remote Desktop Services role. The Display, Devices & Audio and Folders tabs are covered below; you can change them at any time.

5. 5Save and connect

   Click Add, then double-click the new tile on the Devices tab. The first connection shows a certificate warning, explained in the next section.

Why does Windows App warn about the certificate?

Windows encrypts RDP connections with TLS by default, but on a standalone server the certificate is one Windows generated for itself. Your Mac has no way to check who issued it, so Windows App asks whether to continue. On a server you just set up, that is expected.

To do it properly once, click Show Certificate and compare its fingerprint with the one the server reports. Open the provider’s console, start PowerShell and run the line below. Windows calls the certificate’s SHA-1 fingerprint its thumbprint and prints it as one block of hex; the macOS certificate details list the same SHA-1 value with spaces between the byte pairs, next to a longer SHA-256 one. If they match, tick the box to always trust the certificate (macOS asks for your Mac password before it changes trust settings) and click Continue.

Get-ChildItem 'Cert:\LocalMachine\Remote Desktop' | Format-List Subject, Thumbprint, NotAfter

After a reinstall, Windows creates a new certificate and the warning comes back. That is normal. A changed certificate on a server you did not touch deserves a second look before you type your password.

How do I get a sharp picture on a Retina display?

Click the pencil icon on the PC’s tile and open the Display tab. These are the settings Windows App offers, and what each one changes:

Without the Retina option, Windows renders at the Mac’s scaled resolution and macOS enlarges the picture, so text looks slightly soft. With it, text is crisp, but every frame carries four times the pixels and a small server spends more CPU on encoding it. A practical start: Retina off, resolution updates on; switch Retina on if you read a lot of text and the connection keeps up. If the Windows interface ends up tiny, set the scale in Windows under Settings → System → Display → Scale.

With several monitors, one macOS setting causes blank screens: if Displays have separate Spaces (System Settings → Desktop & Dock) is off, full screen is on and Use all monitors is off, the other displays go black. Either switch that macOS setting on or use all monitors.

How do I copy and paste and share files?

Copy and paste, sound and shared folders are set per saved PC, so when the clipboard does nothing, check that PC’s settings before you blame the server. Click the pencil icon on the tile and open Devices & Audio:

• Clipboard: choose Bidirectional to copy both ways. The other options are Local to Remote Only, Remote to Local Only and Disabled. With the clipboard on, Windows App can carry text, images and files.
• Play sound: On this computer plays the server’s audio on your Mac. Tick the microphone or camera only if an app on the server needs them.

For anything larger than a few files, share a folder instead. On the Folders tab, tick Redirect folders, click + and pick a folder on your Mac. Tick Read-only if the server should only read from it. The folder appears inside Windows in File Explorer under This PC as a network drive, and is usually reachable as \\tsclient\FolderName. Changes apply to the next connection, so disconnect and reconnect after editing.

If the clipboard is on in Windows App and still nothing arrives, the server is the problem: either rdpclip.exe has hung or a policy blocks redirection. Copy and paste not working in Remote Desktop walks through both. Keep in mind that a shared folder is readable from the server while the session is open; share a dedicated folder rather than your whole home directory.

Which keys do what in a Windows session?

A Mac keyboard has no Alt, no Windows key and often no End or forward Delete, so a few Windows combinations need a different grip. Windows App maps the common editing shortcuts for you:

Characters come out wrong? Windows App asks Windows to use the same layout as your Mac, but that fails for some Mac-specific layouts and when you reconnect to a session started with another layout. In scancode mode the app sends the physical key position and Windows applies its own layout, so a German keyboard typing into a session set to US English swaps Y and Z and scatters the symbols. Either add your layout in Windows (Settings → Time & language → Language & region) or switch Windows App to Unicode mode with Control+Command+U, which sends the characters you see on your Mac. Scancode suits keyboard shortcuts and programs that react to single keys; Unicode suits typing text and passwords.

To reach Task Manager without the security screen, right-click the Start button or the taskbar and choose Task Manager.

What if Windows App cannot connect?

Error code 0x204 (“We couldn’t connect to the remote PC”) means the app never reached Remote Desktop on the server. Test the port from Terminal on your Mac before changing anything, with your server’s address in place of 203.0.113.10:

nc -vz -G 5 203.0.113.10 3389

Connection to 203.0.113.10 port 3389 [tcp/ms-wbt-server] succeeded!

-G 5 gives up after five seconds. The macOS nc ignores -w while connecting, so the Linux habit of -w 5 would leave you waiting much longer.

• Succeeded: the network path works, so check the PC entry itself: the address, a :port suffix you forgot or no longer need, and a Gateway that should be empty. Deleting the tile and adding it again clears a stale entry.
• Timed out or refused: the server does not accept connections on that port. Remote Desktop may be off, the Windows Firewall may block it, the server may still be booting, or your own network may block outgoing port 3389. Try once over your phone’s hotspot to rule out the last one. The open port checker answers the same question without a second network: it tries the port from our server, so open there and timed out from your Mac points at your own network.
• Credentials rejected: re-enter the user name and password in the PC entry rather than relying on a saved account from an older server, and remember that a password set through a web console may have been typed with a different keyboard layout.

Everything server-side, from the firewall rule to NLA and CredSSP errors, is covered in Remote Desktop can’t connect to the remote computer. If you moved RDP off port 3389 on purpose, the guide to changing the RDP port shows the matching firewall rule.

What should you do after the first login?

An RDP port open to the whole internet is scanned and guessed at around the clock. Restrict the Remote Desktop firewall rules to your own IP address, keep Network Level Authentication on and use a long password. The Windows RDP security checklist has the commands. Closing the Windows App window only disconnects you: your programs keep running on the server, which is useful for long jobs. To end the session, sign out from the Start menu.

Frequently asked