To connect to your Windows instance using an RDP client

1. Open the Amazon EC2 console at https://console.aws.amazon.com/ec2/.
2. In the navigation pane, choose Instances.
3. Select the instance and then choose Connect.
4. On the Connect to instance page, choose the RDP client tab.
5. For Username, choose the default username for the Administrator account. The username you choose must match the language of the operating system (OS) contained in the AMI that you used to launch your instance. If there is no username in the same language as your OS, choose Administrator (Other).
6. Choose Get password.
   
7. On the Get Windows password page, do the following:
   1. Choose Upload private key file and navigate to the private key (.pem) file that you specified when you launched the instance. Select the file and choose Open to copy the entire contents of the file to this window.
   2. Choose Decrypt password. The Get Windows password page closes, and the default administrator password for the instance appears under Password, replacing the Get password link shown previously.
   3. Copy the password and save it in a safe place. This password is required to connect to the instance.
      
8. Choose Download remote desktop file. Your browser prompts you to either open or save the RDP shortcut file. When you have finished downloading the file, choose Cancel to return to the Instances page.
   • If you opened the RDP file, you’ll see the Remote Desktop Connection dialog box.
   • If you saved the RDP file, navigate to your downloads directory, and open the RDP file to display the dialog box.
9. You might get a warning that the publisher of the remote connection is unknown. Choose Connect to continue to connect to your instance.
   
10. The administrator account is chosen by default. Paste the password that you copied previously, and then choose Continue.

    Tip

    If you receive a « Password Failed » error, try entering the password manually. Copying and pasting content can corrupt it.

11. Due to the nature of self-signed certificates, you might get a warning that the security certificate could not be authenticated. Use the following steps to verify the identity of the remote computer. Alternatively, if you trust the certificate, choose Yes (Windows) or Continue (Mac OS X) to skip the following steps.
    
    1. [Windows] Choose View certificate.[Mac OS X] Choose Show Certificate.
    2. [Windows] Choose the Details tab, and scroll down to Thumbprint.[Mac OS X] Expand Details, and scroll down to SHA1 Fingerprints.

       This is the unique identifier for the remote computer’s security certificate.

    3. In the Amazon EC2 console, select the instance, and then choose Actions, Monitor and troubleshoot, Get system log.
    4. In the system log output, look for RDPCERTIFICATE-THUMBPRINT. If this value matches the thumbprint (Windows) or fingerprint (Mac OS X) of the certificate, you have verified the identity of the remote computer.
    5. [Windows] Return to the Certificate dialog box and choose OK.[Mac OS X computer] Return to the Verify Certificate dialog box and choose Continue.
    6. [Windows] Choose Yes in the Remote Desktop Connection window to connect to your instance.[Mac OS X] The process automatically commences connecting to your instance. Note that you might need to switch spaces to see the Windows instance screen. For more information, see See open windows and spaces in Mission Control on Mac.

To connect to instances using RDP with Fleet Manager (console)

1. Open the Amazon EC2 console at https://console.aws.amazon.com/ec2/.
2. From the navigation pane, choose Instances.
3. Select the instance and then choose Connect.
4. On the Connect to instance page, choose the option to Connect using Fleet Manager, then choose Fleet Manager Remote Desktop. This opens the Fleet Manager Remote Desktop page in the AWS Systems Manager console.
   

To connect to your Windows instance using its IPv6 address

1. Get the initial administrator password for your instance, as described in Connect to your Windows instance using RDP. This password is required to connect to your instance.
2. [Windows] Open the RDP client on your Windows computer, choose Show Options, and do the following:
   
   • For Computer, enter the IPv6 address of your Windows instance.
   • For User name, enter Administrator.
   • Choose Connect.
   • When prompted, enter the password that you saved previously.

   [Mac OS X] Open the RDP client on your computer and do the following:

   • Choose New.
   • For PC Name, enter the IPv6 address of your Windows instance.
   • For User name, enter Administrator.
   • Close the dialog box. Under My Desktops, select the connection, and choose Start.
   • When prompted, enter the password that you saved previously.
3. Due to the nature of self-signed certificates, you may get a warning that the security certificate could not be authenticated. If you trust the certificate, you can choose Yes or Continue. Otherwise, you can verify the identity of the remote computer, as described in Connect to your Windows instance using RDP.

To connect to a Windows instance using Session Manager on the Amazon EC2 console

1. Open the Amazon EC2 console at https://console.aws.amazon.com/ec2/.
2. In the navigation pane, choose Instances.
3. Select the instance and choose Connect.
4. For Connection method, choose Session Manager.
5. Choose Connect.
   

   Tip

   If you receive an error that you’re not authorized to perform one or more Systems Manager actions (ssm:command-name), then you must update your policies to allow you to start sessions from the Amazon EC2 console. For more information and instructions, see Quickstart default IAM policies for Session Manager in the AWS Systems Manager User Guide.