Windows App now connects directly to remote PCs without a work account

Windows App on Windows can now open direct sessions to remote PCs after Microsoft declared the feature generally available in an Oct. 5 post on its Windows IT Pro Blog. Users reach Windows machines, physical or virtual, through the client that already handles Windows 365, Azure Virtual Desktop and Microsoft Dev Box.

No work account or school account is needed to use the feature. Authentication takes place against the target computer when a person connects to it, the post explained.

Billed by the company as “a modern way to connect to remote PCs,” the feature lets people add a computer by its IP address or PC name. Controls for display preferences and local resource redirection become available once a machine is in the list. Redirection settings decide which parts of the local computer a remote session can reach.

Saved entries let users reconnect later without retyping details. Machines a user visits often can also be pinned under Favorites.

Getting started requires Remote Desktop to be switched on at the host PC. On the computer that will reach it, people grab the newest Windows App release in the Microsoft Store, open it and pick either Add a Remote PC or the Add button. Once the address or computer name is entered, a click on Add or Add and Connect completes the setup.

Before reaching this stage, the feature sat in public preview. Microsoft thanked the testers who tried it during that period and sent in feedback.

Back in March 2025, the company set an end date for the Remote Desktop app distributed through the Microsoft Store. Its transition notice said the app would lose support on May 27, 2025, and would no longer be offered for download. People reaching remote desktops through that client were told to rely on Remote Desktop Connection “until support for this connection type is available in Windows App.”

Documentation on Microsoft Learn still advises Windows users who need Remote Desktop Services to “continue to use the Remote Desktop app on Windows.” Remote Desktop Connection, the client built into Windows and sometimes called MSTSC, falls outside the Store app’s retirement, according to Microsoft.