Disable Multiple Session for Single User

Prevent Multiple Sessions

To prevent multiple sessions for a single user in Windows Server using Group Policy (GPO), follow these steps:

Method 1: Using Group Policy (GPO)

1. Open Group Policy Management

   • Press Win + R, type gpedit.msc, and press Enter. (For a domain environment, open gpmc.msc.)

2. Navigate to the Policy Location

   Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → Windows Components → Remote Desktop Services → Remote Desktop Session Host → Connections

3. Modify the Policy

   • Double-click "Restrict Remote Desktop Services users to a single Remote Desktop Services session".

   • Set it to Enabled.

   • Click Apply and OK.

4. Apply the Policy

   • Run the following command to enforce the policy:

     gpupdate /force

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Method 2: Using Local Group Policy (Secpol.msc)

1. Open Local Security Policy (secpol.msc).

2. Navigate to:

   Local Policies → Security Options

3. Find and Enable:

   "Limit number of concurrent sessions to 1"

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Method 3: Using Registry Editor (Alternative)

If you don’t want to use GPO, modify the registry:

1. Open Registry Editor (regedit).

2. Navigate to:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server

3. Find "fSingleSessionPerUser".

   • If it doesn’t exist, create a DWORD (32-bit) Value with this name.

   • Set its value to 1 (1 = Single session per user).

4. Restart the server for changes to take effect.

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Effect of This Policy

• A user who is already logged in won’t be able to start another session.

• If they try to log in again, the existing session will be reconnected instead.