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Problems with using USB pendrives when logged in via Remote Desktop

Michal Cwik 20 Reputation points
2025-09-12T13:39:19.9166667+00:00

Greetings,

I have a problem in one of my client companies, which has a Windows Server Active Directory domain.

Several employees make use of third party applications that require access to special license USB pendrives to operate. They have ordinary, non-admin domain user accounts. These pendrives do not show up in Windows Explorer as removable devices, but they do work and the apps do read the licenses from them properly when the employees are logged on their workstations during regular work.

The apps, however, fail to detect the licenses when the employees work remotely and connect to their workstations through Windows Remote Desktop, using their own domain account when logging in. The pendrives in both cases are plugged into the office PCs, not the employees' private PCs.

So far I have found two clues from my own testing:

  1. This problem does not occur when connecting through Windows Remote Desktop using an admin account - both a local admin and a domain admin.
  2. When using Windows Remote Desktop and logging on a non-admin account, there is also a problem when attempting to unmount an regular USB pendrive - the system demands admin authentication. This does not happen when a regular user is logged in on-premise.

Is there any solution, for example in domain's group policy, which would solve these problems without necessity of giving these users excessive administrative rights?

Windows for business | Windows Server | Directory services | Deploy group policy objects
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  1. Quinnie Quoc 7,400 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2025-09-12T14:49:15.6566667+00:00

    Dear Michal Cwik,

    We understand the challenge you're facing with USB license dongles not being recognized by third-party applications when accessed via Remote Desktop by non-admin domain users.

    This behavior is often linked to permission restrictions and USB redirection policies in Remote Desktop Services. While admin accounts bypass these limitations, standard users may require additional configuration. We recommend reviewing Group Policy settings under Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Removable Storage Access, and ensuring that “All Removable Storage classes: Deny all access” is disabled for non-admin users.

    Additionally, enabling USB device redirection via Group Policy or Microsoft Intune can help ensure that the dongle is properly recognized in RDP sessions. You may also need to confirm that the dongle uses low-level USB redirection, which requires drivers installed on the remote session host.

    For certain license dongles, contacting the manufacturer may reveal alternative licensing methods, such as network-based license files, which can simplify remote access scenarios.

    Please let us know if you’d like assistance configuring these policies or validating device compatibility.

    If my answer is useful for you, please give it a vote.

    Best regards,

    Quinnie Quoc.

    1 person found this answer helpful.
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