How to speed up a slow Remote Desktop connection

First, find out where the slowness is

There are three places lag can come from:

1. Your own internet. Wi-Fi problems or a busy home network.
2. The distance to the server. Far away means more delay.
3. The server itself. Too little memory or CPU for what is running.

Test each one in turn.

1. Check your own connection

• Use a cable instead of Wi-Fi if you can.
• Close apps on your PC that use the internet, such as downloads, streaming or cloud sync.
• Restart your router if the whole connection feels slow.
• Try another network, such as your phone's hotspot. If it is faster, the problem is your usual network.

2. Lower the display settings

In Remote Desktop Connection, click Show Options before you connect.

On the Display tab: - Set Colors to a lower setting such as High Color (16 bit). - Move the resolution slider to a smaller size.

On the Experience tab: - Choose a slower connection type, such as Modem or Broadband, which turns off visual extras. - Untick Desktop background, Font smoothing, Show contents of window while dragging and Menu and window animation.

These settings send less data, so the screen updates faster.

3. Check the server's load

Inside the session, open Task Manager (right-click the taskbar).

• If Memory is close to 100 percent, the server is running out of RAM. Close programs you do not need or move to a plan with more memory.
• If CPU stays at 100 percent, a program is using everything. Find out which one on the Processes tab.
• If Disk is at 100 percent, Windows may be updating or a program is writing a lot of data. Wait, or find the cause.

A restart also clears many small problems.

4. Distance matters

Every 1,000 km between you and the server adds at least about 10 milliseconds of round-trip delay, and real routes add more. A server on the other side of the world will always feel less snappy than a nearby one.

If lag is constant, a closer region helps the most. See how to choose a VPS location.

5. Other small things

• Turn off sound redirection in Local Resources if you do not need audio.
• Avoid playing video inside the Remote Desktop session. It uses a lot of bandwidth.
• Use the current version of the Remote Desktop app.