What Is Amazon WorkSpaces? Pricing With Examples, Client Download, Login, Free Tier and Every Common Error Fixed

Amazon WorkSpaces is the AWS virtual desktop service: each user gets a full Windows or Linux desktop running in the AWS cloud, which they open from a Windows PC, Mac, Linux laptop, iPad, Chromebook or any web browser, with their files, apps and settings waiting exactly where they left them. In US East, a Standard Windows desktop (2 vCPUs, 4 GB of memory, 80 GB C: drive and 50 GB D: drive) costs $35 a month on AlwaysOn, or $9.75 a month plus $0.30 an hour on AutoStop, which stops the desktop an hour after the user disconnects. The cheapest Windows desktop, Value, is $25 a month; Linux and bring-your-own-license Windows desktops cost a few dollars less. The rule of thumb: below about 80 hours of use a month, AutoStop is cheaper; above it, AlwaysOn wins. New customers get a free tier of two Standard AutoStop desktops for up to 40 hours a month for three months. Users install the free WorkSpaces client from clients.amazonworkspaces.com, type the registration code from their welcome email, and sign in. Below: what WorkSpaces is, every price with worked examples, the client download and login steps, a setup tutorial, the 2026 changes (Pools and PCoIP ending, Secure Browser closing to new customers), and fixes for every common error, from "An unknown error occurred" to a microphone that will not work.

Jake's shop hired a part-time bookkeeper, Maria, who works from home three afternoons a week. The shop's accounting program runs only on Windows, it lives on the old PC in the back office, and Maria uses a MacBook. For a month she drove in on Fridays to use that PC, and the shop's customer files traveled home on a USB stick more than once, which made Ethan wince when he heard about it. Jake's question to Ethan was simple: "Can she just have the back office PC on her Mac, without the USB stick and without me buying her a laptop?"

New to AWS? The cards below explain VPCs, Active Directory file shares, MFA, the Free Tier and Windows remote access, the pieces a WorkSpaces deployment sits on.

What is Amazon WorkSpaces?

Amazon WorkSpaces is Desktop as a Service (DaaS): AWS runs the virtual machines, storage, streaming and patching infrastructure, and your users get a desktop that feels like a normal PC. It is a form of VDI (virtual desktop infrastructure), without the servers, hypervisors and licenses you would buy to build VDI yourself. In practice:

• Each user has their own desktop (a "WorkSpace") with a C: drive for Windows and programs (the root volume) and a D: drive for their profile and files (the user volume). It stays theirs: install software, save files, leave windows open.
• The desktop runs in AWS, not on the device. Only pixels, keystrokes, mouse, audio and video travel over the network, using AWS's Amazon DCV streaming protocol. The laptop can be old, cheap or personal; company data stays in AWS.
• Windows or Linux: Windows desktops with the license included (Windows Server with the Windows desktop experience), Windows 11 with your own license (BYOL), Ubuntu, Amazon Linux, Red Hat Enterprise Linux or Rocky Linux.
• Sizes from 1 vCPU to GPU workstations, called bundles: Value, Standard, Performance, Power, PowerPro, GeneralPurpose and Graphics (NVIDIA GPUs for 3D, video and design work).
• Users sign in with your directory: a free Simple AD directory, your own Active Directory through AD Connector, or AWS Managed Microsoft AD, optionally with MFA and SAML single sign-on.
• Billing by the month or by the hour, per desktop, with no upfront commitment.

What WorkSpaces is used for: remote and hybrid staff, contractors and seasonal workers who need a company desktop on their own device; call centers and back offices; developers who need a powerful Windows or Linux machine; designers and engineers on GPU desktops; regulated businesses that want data off laptops; mergers that need desktops for a new team in days; and disaster recovery desktops for when an office is unreachable.

"WorkSpaces" is also the family name for several related AWS services, covered in their own section: WorkSpaces Applications (app streaming, formerly AppStream 2.0), WorkSpaces Secure Browser, WorkSpaces Core, WorkSpaces Pools and the new WorkSpaces for AI agents. When people say "Amazon WorkSpaces" they usually mean WorkSpaces Personal, the persistent desktop this page is mostly about.

Jake: "So Maria gets a Windows PC that lives in Amazon's building, and her Mac is just the window?"

Ethan: "Exactly. Her Mac is the window, the PC lives in AWS, and the customer files never leave it."

How Amazon WorkSpaces works

Here is what happens between "create a WorkSpace" and a user typing in Word:

1. You register a directory. WorkSpaces needs a directory of users. If you have none, the console creates a Simple AD directory for you, included in the WorkSpaces price. If you already run Active Directory, AD Connector (also included) points WorkSpaces at it, and users sign in with their normal company password.
2. The directory lives in your VPC. The directory uses two subnets in different Availability Zones of a VPC you choose, and each desktop's network interface goes in one of them, so desktops can reach your servers, file shares and databases privately.
3. You launch WorkSpaces for users, picking a bundle, an operating system, a running mode (AlwaysOn or AutoStop) and optional KMS encryption for the volumes. Provisioning takes about 20 minutes.
4. Users get a welcome email with a registration code, a link to set their password and a link to download the client.
5. The client connects. The WorkSpaces client authenticates over HTTPS (port 443), then streams the desktop over DCV on port 4195 (TCP and UDP) through an AWS streaming gateway. The user sees their desktop full screen.
6. Internet access from the desktop goes out through your VPC: either a public IP on each WorkSpace or a NAT gateway.
7. AWS takes snapshots of the volumes every 12 hours, which power Restore (back to the last snapshot) and Rebuild (fresh C: drive, D: drive kept from the snapshot).

Admins manage everything from the WorkSpaces console, the AWS CLI, or Group Policy for Windows settings such as clipboard, printers, drive redirection and session timeouts. Users can be allowed to restart, rebuild, resize volumes or change their own running mode from the client.

Amazon WorkSpaces pricing: every bundle

WorkSpaces Personal has two running modes, and you can switch a WorkSpace between them at any time:

• AlwaysOn: a fixed monthly price, unlimited use, the desktop is always running and ready instantly. Best for full-time users.
• AutoStop: a small fixed monthly fee for storage and infrastructure, plus an hourly rate only while the desktop runs. It stops automatically after the user has been disconnected for the AutoStop time (1 hour by default), billing stops as soon as that time passes, and it resumes in typically under 90 seconds on the next sign-in with apps and documents as they were left. Best for part-time users.

US East (N. Virginia) prices for Windows with the license included, at each bundle's default volume sizes, in October 2026:

Bundle	vCPU / memory	C: / D: drives	AlwaysOn	AutoStop	Break-even
Value	1 / 2 GB	80 / 10 GB	$25/month	$7.25 + $0.22/hour	81 hours
Standard	2 / 4 GB	80 / 50 GB	$35/month	$9.75 + $0.30/hour	84 hours
Performance	2 / 8 GB	80 / 100 GB	$50/month	$13 + $0.47/hour	79 hours
Power	4 / 16 GB	175 / 100 GB	$78/month	$19 + $0.68/hour	87 hours
PowerPro	8 / 32 GB	175 / 100 GB	$140/month	$19 + $1.53/hour	79 hours
GeneralPurpose.4xlarge	16 / 64 GB	175 / 100 GB	$295/month	$19 + $2.28/hour	121 hours
GeneralPurpose.8xlarge	32 / 128 GB	175 / 100 GB	$590/month	$19 + $4.56/hour	125 hours

Break-even is the number of hours a month at which AutoStop costs the same as AlwaysOn: (AlwaysOn price minus the AutoStop monthly fee) divided by the hourly rate. For Standard, ($35 - $9.75) / $0.30 = about 84 hours. A full-time employee works about 160 hours a month, so full-timers belong on AlwaysOn; someone working three afternoons a week belongs on AutoStop.

Linux and bring-your-own-license Windows cost less, because there is no Microsoft license fee in the price:

Bundle	Ubuntu	Amazon Linux	Windows BYOL
Value	$23 or $7.25 + $0.19/h	$21 or $7.25 + $0.17/h	$21 or $7.25 + $0.17/h
Standard	$33 or $9.75 + $0.28/h	$31 or $9.75 + $0.26/h	$31 or $9.75 + $0.26/h
Performance	$48 or $13 + $0.45/h	$46 or $13 + $0.43/h	$46 or $13 + $0.43/h
Power	$76 or $19 + $0.66/h	$74 or $19 + $0.64/h	$74 or $19 + $0.64/h
PowerPro	$138 or $19 + $1.51/h	$136 or $19 + $1.49/h	$136 or $19 + $1.49/h

Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Rocky Linux sit between Amazon Linux and Ubuntu, for example $34 and $32 a month for Standard on AlwaysOn.

GPU desktops for 3D, CAD, video editing and AI work cost much more, and their quotas start at zero, so request them before you plan a rollout:

• Graphics G6 (NVIDIA L4, including fractional-GPU sizes): from $193 a month AlwaysOn or $20 a month plus $0.54 an hour for the smallest size (2 vCPUs, 8 GiB), up to several thousand dollars a month for the largest.
• Graphics.g4dn (4 vCPUs, 16 GB, NVIDIA T4): $537 a month, or $22 plus $1.54 an hour.
• GraphicsPro.g4dn (16 vCPUs, 64 GB): $959 a month, or $66 plus $11.16 an hour.
• Graphics G7 bundles for the heaviest workloads start around $42 a month plus $5.77 an hour on AutoStop.

GPU desktops on AutoStop do not hibernate: when they stop, open apps close and unsaved work is lost, so users should save before disconnecting. The same applies to the GeneralPurpose bundles.

Other charges to know:

• Bigger drives: each bundle comes in a few volume combinations (Standard with a 100 GB D: drive is $38 instead of $35), and custom sizes are billed at $0.10 per GB-month.
• Microsoft Office and other software add a per-user monthly fee on Windows license-included WorkSpaces: Office LTSC Standard 2024 is $15.70, Office LTSC Professional Plus 2024 $21.43, Visio 2024 Standard $8.77 or Professional $19.35, Project 2024 Standard $22.63 or Professional $38.01, and Visual Studio 2022 Professional $48.51. Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise runs on BYOL Windows WorkSpaces with your own Microsoft 365 licenses.
• Directory: Simple AD and AD Connector are included; AWS Managed Microsoft AD is billed separately by AWS Directory Service.
• Internet access: a public IPv4 address on each WorkSpace costs $0.005 an hour (about $3.65 a month), or you pay for a NAT gateway shared by all of them.
• Multi-Region Resilience: standby WorkSpaces in a second Region cost a low monthly fee plus hourly use when activated, and replicating the volumes costs per GB-month.
• Education pricing: qualifying schools and universities save $3.52 per user per month on WorkSpaces Personal.

Worked examples: what WorkSpaces really costs

Example 1: Maria, the part-time bookkeeper. Three afternoons a week, about 5 hours each, so roughly 65 hours a month on a Standard Windows WorkSpace.

• AutoStop: $9.75 + 65 x $0.30 = $9.75 + $19.50 = $29.25 a month.
• AlwaysOn: $35 a month.
• AutoStop saves $5.75 a month at 65 hours. If her hours grow past 84 a month, switch her to AlwaysOn.

Ethan: "About thirty dollars a month. Less than the gas for her Friday drive."

Jake: "And the USB stick goes in the drawer?"

Ethan: "The USB stick goes in the bin. Her Mac can't even copy files out unless I allow it."

Example 2: a 20-person office, all full time. 20 Standard Windows WorkSpaces on AlwaysOn plus Office LTSC Standard 2024 on each, with internet access through one NAT gateway.

• Desktops: 20 x $35 = $700
• Office: 20 x $15.70 = $314
• NAT gateway: about $33 a month for the gateway hours, plus $0.045 per GB of internet traffic processed
• Total: about $1,047 a month plus data, or about $52 per user, with no PCs to buy, image, patch hardware for or replace.

Without Office, for a team that works in web apps and Google Workspace, the same office costs about $733 a month plus data, roughly $37 per user.

Example 3: a mixed team. 10 full-time staff on Standard AlwaysOn, and 15 part-timers averaging 30 hours a month on Standard AutoStop.

• Full-timers: 10 x $35 = $350
• Part-timers: 15 x ($9.75 + 30 x $0.30) = 15 x $18.75 = $281.25
• Total: $631.25 a month. Putting everyone on AlwaysOn would cost 25 x $35 = $875, so matching the running mode to the person saves $243.75 a month.

Example 4: a developer workstation. One PowerPro Windows WorkSpace (8 vCPUs, 32 GB) used 120 hours a month.

• AutoStop: $19 + 120 x $1.53 = $19 + $183.60 = $202.60
• AlwaysOn: $140
• At 120 hours, past the 79-hour break-even, AlwaysOn is cheaper by $62.60.

To automate these decisions across hundreds of users, AWS publishes the free Cost Optimizer for Amazon WorkSpaces solution. You deploy it with CloudFormation; it tracks each WorkSpace's hourly use and switches AutoStop desktops that pass the break-even to AlwaysOn (and back at the start of the month), and it can flag desktops nobody has used. The AWS Pricing Calculator at calculator.aws also covers WorkSpaces for planning, and a budget alert, as in our three-layer billing alerts setup, catches forgotten desktops.

Is Amazon WorkSpaces free? The free tier

WorkSpaces is not free, but new WorkSpaces customers get a free tier that covers a real trial:

• Two Standard AutoStop WorkSpaces (any operating system) with 80 GB root and 50 GB user volumes, for up to 40 hours of combined use a month, for up to three months.
• Five Performance AutoStop Ubuntu WorkSpaces with 80 GB root and 100 GB user volumes, for up to 100 hours of combined use a month, for up to three months.

Usage beyond the free hours is charged at normal AutoStop rates, and after three months everything is billed normally, so delete trial WorkSpaces you are not keeping. Two practical notes: your account starts with a quota of one WorkSpace per Region, so request an increase if you want both free desktops; and accounts on the newer credit-based Free Tier work differently, as our Free Tier types explainer shows.

Even without the free tier, one Standard AutoStop desktop used for 10 hours of testing costs $9.75 + $3.00 = $12.75 for the month.

Amazon WorkSpaces client download and login

Download the client from the WorkSpaces download page, https://clients.amazonworkspaces.com/. It detects your device and offers the right version:

• Windows: the WorkSpaces client for Windows 11; version 5.34 and later bring the new client experience for DCV WorkSpaces, and DCV needs at least 5.22.1.
• macOS: macOS 14 Sonoma, 15 Sequoia and 26 Tahoe.
• Linux: Ubuntu 22.04 and 24.04.
• iPad, Android tablets and Chromebooks: use Web Access in Chrome or Safari for DCV WorkSpaces (it includes touch gestures, an on-screen keyboard and a trackpad mode), and install it as an app from the browser for a full-screen window.
• Web Access on any computer: the latest three versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari, if your administrator has enabled it. It supports up to two monitors, webcams on Chrome and Edge, and copy and paste of text and images.

Signing in the first time:

1. Open the welcome email from Amazon WorkSpaces and choose the link to set your password (if your company uses its own Active Directory, you already have one).
2. Install and open the client.
3. Enter the registration code from the email. It looks like WSpdx+ABC12D: the letters after "WS" identify the Region, and the rest identifies your company's directory.
4. Enter your username and password, plus an MFA code if your company uses one.
5. Choose Sign In. If the WorkSpace was stopped (AutoStop), it starts, which typically takes under 90 seconds.

Lost the email? Ask your IT team for the registration code, or for a login link: administrators can create links that register the client automatically. On the client, Settings, Manage Login Information shows and changes saved registration codes. If Forgot password? appears on the sign-in screen, your company has enabled self-service resets; otherwise IT resets it in the directory.

Ending your session: on AutoStop WorkSpaces, choose Disconnect WorkSpace or quit the client when you finish. A closed laptop lid or a locked screen may keep the client connected, and then the desktop keeps running and billing.

Maria installed the Mac client in two minutes, pasted the code from Ethan's email, and was looking at a Windows desktop with the accounting program on it before her coffee cooled.

Set up Amazon WorkSpaces, step by step

This is the shortest path for a small business with no existing Active Directory:

1. Pick a Region close to your users, for the lowest latency: US East or US West for the US, Europe (London) for the UK, Asia Pacific (Sydney) for Australia, Asia Pacific (Mumbai) for India. The client's connection health check shows the round-trip time to each Region.
2. Request quotas in Service Quotas if you need more than one WorkSpace, or any GPU WorkSpace.
3. Open the WorkSpaces console and choose Create WorkSpaces, then WorkSpaces Personal.
4. Directory: if you have none, create a Simple AD directory (Small is enough for up to 500 users). Choose a VPC with two private subnets in different Availability Zones.
5. Users: create each user with a username, first and last name and email address. The email receives the welcome message.
6. Bundle: pick the operating system and size, for example Standard with Windows, and the DCV protocol.
7. Running mode: AutoStop for part-time users (set the AutoStop time; 1 hour is the default), AlwaysOn for full-time users.
8. Encryption: optionally encrypt the root and user volumes with a KMS key. This can only be chosen at launch.
9. Choose Create WorkSpaces. Status moves from Pending to Available in about 20 minutes, and the welcome emails go out.
10. Internet access: in the directory's settings, turn on Enable internet access to give each WorkSpace a public IP, or route the subnets through a NAT gateway (better for many desktops and a fixed outbound IP).
11. Lock it down: set an IP access control group so only your office or VPN can connect, turn on MFA through a RADIUS server or SAML, and use trusted devices (certificates) if only company laptops should connect. Our MFA guide explains the basics.
12. Control data movement with Group Policy or the directory's access settings: clipboard direction, local drive and USB redirection, printing.

The same with the AWS CLI, once the directory exists:

# List the public bundles and their IDs
aws workspaces describe-workspace-bundles --owner AMAZON \
  --query "Bundles[].[BundleId,Name]" --output table

# Create an AutoStop WorkSpace for one user (AutoStop time in 60-minute steps)
aws workspaces create-workspaces --workspaces \
  "DirectoryId=d-906712abcd,UserName=maria,BundleId=wsb-clj85qzj1,WorkspaceProperties={RunningMode=AUTO_STOP,RunningModeAutoStopTimeoutInMinutes=60}"

# Switch a WorkSpace to AlwaysOn later
aws workspaces modify-workspace-properties --workspace-id ws-a1b2c3d4e \
  --workspace-properties RunningMode=ALWAYS_ON

# Stop an AutoStop WorkSpace now, to stop the hourly charge
aws workspaces stop-workspaces --stop-workspace-requests WorkspaceId=ws-a1b2c3d4e

For shared files, keep data off individual desktops: an FSx for Windows File Server share joined to the same directory gives everyone a mapped drive, survives rebuilds and is backed up separately.

Jake: "And if the accounting program breaks her desktop?"

Ethan: "Then I press Restore and it goes back to how it was this morning. Snapshots every twelve hours."

WorkSpaces Applications, Secure Browser, Core, Pools and AI agents

The WorkSpaces family has grown well beyond the personal desktop. Here is what each member does and costs:

• WorkSpaces Applications (formerly Amazon AppStream 2.0, renamed in November 2025) streams individual applications, not whole desktops, from shared fleets. Users open one app in a browser window. You pay per instance-hour (a Windows stream.standard.medium is $0.10 an hour in US East, Linux $0.084), a $0.025 hourly fee for stopped on-demand instances, and $4.19 per Windows user per month for the Microsoft RDS license ($6.42 for multi-session fleets). Example: 100 users streaming 100 hours each on stream.standard.medium costs about $1,469 a month, or about $14.69 per user.
• WorkSpaces Secure Browser gives users a locked-down, cloud-hosted web browser for internal websites and SaaS apps, with no data landing on the device. It costs $7 per active user per month (standard.regular) including 200 streaming hours, then $0.035 an hour; larger sizes are $20 and $35. It closes to new customers on October 29, 2026; existing customers carry on.
• WorkSpaces Core is the infrastructure without the AWS management layer, for companies that run Citrix, Omnissa Horizon, Workspot, Leostream or Dizzion and want those tools to manage desktops on AWS. You buy the VDI software license separately.
• WorkSpaces Pools provided non-persistent desktops shared by many users. It stopped accepting new customers on July 31, 2026, and support ends on December 31, 2027; AWS points Pools users to WorkSpaces Applications.
• WorkSpaces for AI agents, generally available since June 30, 2026, gives AI agents a managed cloud desktop where they can operate desktop applications that have no API (claims systems, patient records, back-office tools) through the Model Context Protocol (MCP), with the same identity and network controls as human users. It is billed by active session time, with 10 free session hours per Region each month.
• WorkSpaces Thin Client, the low-cost Fire TV-based device for connecting to WorkSpaces, reaches end of support on March 31, 2027.

WorkSpaces vs AppStream (WorkSpaces Applications): choose WorkSpaces Personal when each person needs their own persistent desktop with their own files and installed software; choose WorkSpaces Applications when many people need the same one or two applications and no personal desktop, which is cheaper at scale.

What changed in 2026

If you are reading older guides, these changes matter:

• PCoIP is ending. PCoIP-based WorkSpaces Personal stopped accepting new customers on July 31, 2026, and support ends on October 31, 2027, because HP is retiring the PCoIP technology. Amazon DCV (formerly called WSP) is now the single protocol. Migration is free: use Actions, Modify Protocol for WorkSpaces on a current operating system (up to 40 minutes each, with an automatic snapshot and rollback), or Migrate WorkSpace to move to a newer OS and DCV in one step. PCoIP zero client devices cannot run DCV and need replacing.
• DCV brings Windows 11 and Windows Server 2025 support, certificate-based authentication and WebAuthn (security keys such as YubiKey inside the session).
• WorkSpaces Pools closed to new customers (July 31, 2026), ending December 31, 2027.
• Secure Browser closes to new customers on October 29, 2026.
• Thin Client support ends March 31, 2027.
• WorkSpaces for AI agents launched (preview in May, generally available June 30, 2026).
• PCoIP Web Access closed to new users in November 2025; Web Access for DCV continues.

Our list of AWS services retired in 2026 covers these alongside every other AWS deadline.

WorkSpaces vs Azure Virtual Desktop, Windows 365 and an EC2 instance

• WorkSpaces vs Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD): AVD is Microsoft's VDI on Azure. You pay for the Azure virtual machines and storage you run, and Windows 10 or 11 Enterprise (including multi-session, several users per VM) is covered by eligible Microsoft 365 licenses. It suits companies already deep in Azure and Microsoft 365 that want multi-session Windows. WorkSpaces gives each user a simple per-desktop monthly or hourly price, needs less VDI expertise, and fits companies whose servers and data are already in AWS.
• WorkSpaces vs Windows 365: Windows 365 is Microsoft's Cloud PC, a fixed price per user per month for a set size, managed with Intune. It is the simplest option for Microsoft-only shops. WorkSpaces adds hourly billing for part-time users, Linux desktops, GPU bundles and AWS networking.
• WorkSpaces vs Citrix or Omnissa Horizon: those are full VDI platforms with deep policy and multi-cloud features. Many large companies run them on AWS through WorkSpaces Core.
• WorkSpaces vs a Windows EC2 instance with Remote Desktop: an EC2 instance is cheaper for one technical person and gives full control, but you manage patching, licensing (Remote Desktop Services needs licenses for more than two admin sessions), backups, security and the RDP exposure yourself. Our EC2 RDP fix guide shows the work involved. WorkSpaces is the managed option for non-technical users.

Is Amazon WorkSpaces a VDI? Yes: it is VDI delivered as a managed service (DaaS), so you get the VDI result without running VDI infrastructure.

Ethan: "If you were all-in on Microsoft 365 with a hundred people, I'd price Windows 365 too. For one part-time bookkeeper and an AWS account you already have, WorkSpaces is the easy answer."

Quotas, Regions and limits

• WorkSpaces per Region: 1 by default for new accounts (adjustable). GeneralPurpose.4xlarge and 8xlarge: 1 each. Every Graphics bundle: 0 until you request it.
• Images: 40 per Region (adjustable); custom bundles: 50; directories: 50.
• IP access control groups: 140 per Region, 35 per directory, 30 rules each.
• Standby WorkSpaces (Multi-Region Resilience): 5 by default.
• API rate: 2 calls per second; bulk scripts should batch and retry.

WorkSpaces Personal runs in most major Regions, including US East and West, Canada, London, Frankfurt, Ireland, Paris, Sydney, Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul, Mumbai and São Paulo, plus AWS GovCloud (US). Pick the Region closest to your users: latency under about 100 milliseconds feels like a local PC, and the client's health check shows it.

Amazon WorkSpaces not working? Every common error, fixed

Start with the connection health check. The client's sign-in screen has a Network or health check option, and https://connectivity.amazonworkspaces.com/ tests from a browser. It checks internet access, the registration service, the streaming gateway on port 4195 (DCV) or 4172 (PCoIP), and round-trip time. A failed gateway check explains most errors below.

"An unknown error occurred"

The client authenticated over port 443 but could not open the streaming session. Allow outbound TCP and UDP 4195 for DCV WorkSpaces (TCP and UDP 4172 for PCoIP) to the WorkSpaces gateway ranges for your Region, on the office firewall and on any firewall software on the computer. Then update the client to the latest version and try again.

"No network. Network connection lost"

The client cannot reach the WorkSpaces service at all. Check that your internet works, that ws-broker-service.REGION.amazonaws.com resolves in DNS, that a proxy is not blocking port 443 (on a Mac, set the proxy in the operating system instead of a custom proxy in the client), and that your computer's root certificates are up to date. Intermittent Wi-Fi also produces this message.

Zscaler, VPN or proxy blocks WorkSpaces

Security tools that tunnel or inspect traffic often break streaming. Exclude the WorkSpaces gateway ranges and ports 4195 and 4172 from the Zscaler tunnel and from SSL inspection (or set them to bypass), and make sure any VPN supports an MTU of at least 1,200 bytes. PCoIP streaming in particular needs a direct connection on 4172.

Registration code is invalid

Copy the code again from the welcome email without spaces, and check it belongs to the right company and Region. If your company moved desktops to another Region or directory, it gave you a new code; remove the old one under Manage Login Information.

"Your device is not authorized" or sign-in blocked

Your company restricts which devices or networks can connect. Connect from the office or VPN (IP access control groups), use a company-managed device with its certificate (trusted devices), or ask IT whether your platform (for example, Web Access or Android) is allowed.

Microphone or audio not working

Give the WorkSpaces client microphone permission (Windows: Settings, Privacy & security, Microphone; macOS: System Settings, Privacy & Security, Microphone; Web Access: allow the browser prompt), pick the right headset in the client's preferences, and close other apps holding the microphone. If the desktop shows no microphone at all, audio input is turned off by your administrator's policy.

Display errors, black screen or the wrong monitors

Update the client and your graphics drivers, try one monitor first, and in the client's display settings choose the monitors to use. A black screen with PCoIP usually means outbound UDP 50002 and 55002 are blocked on the device. On Web Access, a Group Policy that forces YUV444 encoding causes rendering problems; ask IT to turn it off for browser users.

WorkSpaces keeps disconnecting

Use a wired or stronger Wi-Fi connection, check the round-trip time in the health check, and look for a VPN with a small MTU. Disconnects at exact intervals usually come from your company's idle or session timeout policy. On an iPad or Android device, minimizing the Web Access app pauses the connection briefly.

WorkSpace not launching, stuck starting or "Unhealthy"

A stopped AutoStop WorkSpace takes up to about 90 seconds to start; give it two minutes. If the console shows Unhealthy, an admin can Reboot, then Restore (back to the last snapshot), then Rebuild (fresh system drive, user files kept). A full C: drive or a broken Windows update causes most of these.

Directory unavailable or users cannot sign in

WorkSpaces cannot reach your domain controllers. For AD Connector, check that your on-premises domain controllers are up and reachable from the directory's subnets (VPN or Direct Connect up, security groups and DNS correct). For Simple AD or Managed AD, check the directory's status in the Directory Service console.

Is Amazon WorkSpaces down?

Check the AWS Health Dashboard (health.aws.amazon.com) for Amazon WorkSpaces in your Region. If it shows no event, the cause is almost always on the network path between you and AWS: run the connection health check.

Best practices and cost controls

• Match the running mode to the person: AutoStop under about 80 hours a month, AlwaysOn above, or let the Cost Optimizer switch them.
• Delete WorkSpaces when people leave. AutoStop desktops still cost their monthly fee while stopped.
• Teach part-time users to disconnect at the end of the day, and keep the AutoStop time at 1 hour.
• Keep data on shared storage (FSx, OneDrive, SharePoint) rather than only on individual D: drives.
• Move to DCV now if any WorkSpaces still use PCoIP; it is free and the deadline is October 31, 2027.
• Restrict access with IP access control groups, MFA and trusted devices, and switch off clipboard and drive redirection where data must stay in AWS.
• Use a NAT gateway for internet access when you have many desktops, for one fixed outbound IP your SaaS vendors can allow.
• Build a custom image once your desktop is set up, and create new WorkSpaces from it, so every new user starts with the right apps.

Frequently asked questions

Two months later, Maria's WorkSpace was costing the shop $28 to $31 a month, depending on how long the quarter-end afternoons ran. The back-office PC had been wiped and given to the shop's newest technician, the USB stick was in a drawer, and the accounting program had been updated once, by Ethan, from his own couch. Jake's only complaint was that Maria now finished early on Fridays. "She doesn't have to drive in anymore," Ethan said. "That was the point."

Revision note. Written October 21, 2026. Prices are US East (N. Virginia) list prices on that date. We will update this page when WorkSpaces prices, bundles or end-of-support dates change.