Enable and match it to your purchased license type ( Per User or Per Device ). Conclusion
Many online tutorials outline methods to delete this GracePeriod key to reset the 120-day timer back to zero. While technically feasible in isolated test environments by taking ownership of the key and granting full control permissions to the Administrators group, relying on this method in a production environment introduces significant liabilities:
Give the Administrators group Full Control permissions. rds cal license registry key free
During this timeframe, the session host accepts inbound user or device connections without validating them against an active Remote Desktop License Server.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server\RCM\GracePeriod Step 3: Change Ownership of the GracePeriod Key Enable and match it to your purchased license
⚠️ Editing these keys manually does create free, valid licenses. The License Server cryptographically verifies each CAL with Microsoft clearinghouse.
For testing, development, and validation phases, Microsoft offers the . This provides 180 days of free, fully functional server deployment, including evaluation periods for the RDS role to build out proof-of-concept environments legally. Open-Source Remote Desktop Alternatives During this timeframe, the session host accepts inbound
how many CALs you actually need based on your team size.