Why is my WorkSpace frequently disconnecting and reconnecting?

4 minute read

When I connect to my WorkSpace using the Amazon WorkSpaces client, the connection intermittently drops, and then the client attempts to reconnect to the WorkSpace. What causes my WorkSpace to disconnect frequently, and how can I fix this issue?

Short description

A WorkSpace that frequently disconnects and reconnects usually indicates high round-trip time (RTT) or an unstable internet connection.

For a healthy connection from your network to the AWS Region that your WorkSpace is in, the RTT should be less than 100 ms. For more information, see Amazon WorkSpaces client network requirements.

If your local network has trouble maintaining connections, the WorkSpaces client drops the connection and tries to reconnect.

Resolution

To resolve issues with your WorkSpace frequently disconnecting and reconnecting, follow these steps:

Verify your RTT

Use Connection Health Check to verify that your internet connection is suitable for Amazon WorkSpaces:

A FAST Speed Rating indicates that your RTT is less than 100 ms, resulting in a healthy connection.
An ACCEPTABLE Speed Rating indicates an RTT between 100 ms and 250 ms. The RTT is suitable to connect, but you might experience degraded performance.
A SLOW Speed Rating indicates an RTT above 250 ms. You might experience frequent connection issues and extreme lag while using the WorkSpace.

Note: It's a best practice to use Connection Health Check several times throughout the day to see if your data changes.

You can also see health checks specific to the machine that the client is running on. Launch the WorkSpaces client, and then choose Network on the bottom-right corner of the login window.

Instability of the network that you access the WorkSpace from can also cause a WorkSpace to disconnect and reconnect.

Note: Connection issues can occur if you're connected through a VPN, and then connect to your WorkSpace. Confirm whether the issue occurs only when you connect by using VPN or proxy, or whether the connection issues persist without VPN or proxy.

You can ping the WorkSpaces API endpoint for your Region to see how much the RTT changes over the course of the ping. For example:

ping -t workspaces.sa-east-1.amazonaws.com

Let the ping run for at least 30 minutes to capture enough data points to determine if your network is stable. To end the ping, enter Ctrl-C.

The output values for Minimum, Maximum, and Average should be similar. If any pings fail, or if you have RTT outliers in your ping, then this can indicate instability in your network.

Note: If all pings time out, your network might be blocking ICMP-based traffic.

To improve network stability, hard wire your computer to the network.

If antivirus software is installed on the WorkSpace, make sure it doesn't interfere with the service components. You can set the exclusion for the WorkSpaces service component.

Verify the client version

Verify that you're using the latest WorkSpaces client version. First, launch the client to confirm the version that you're using.

For Windows, choose the gear icon, and then choose About Amazon WorkSpaces.
For macOS, choose WorkSpaces on the top toolbar, and then choose About WorkSpaces.

Then, visit WorkSpaces clients. Choose the Client Application link for the platform you're using to review the Release Notes. If your client is out of date, you can download the latest version from the About WorkSpaces page on the client.

Reboot the WorkSpace

There might also be an issue with the PCoIP Agent on the WorkSpace's side. Open the WorkSpaces console, and then select the WorkSpace that disconnects. Then, choose Actions, Reboot WorkSpaces. This runs through a WorkSpace initialization to make sure that all WorkSpace components are healthy.