In Royal TSX 3.0 we added a new (layer-based) rendering engine to our RDP implementation. This new engine improves performance while reducing power consumption so it's a big improvement.


Unfortunately, Apple introduced a bug in macOS Mojave 10.14.5 which may cause the session to show as a black screen. This problem only applies to Royal TSX V3 and FreeRDP plugin versions before 3.4.1. It has already been fixed in the FreeRDP plugin version 3.4.1 and Royal TSX V4. If you're using an older version of Royal TSX or the FreeRDP plugin we recommend that you update to a newer version to fix the problem. If you however want to continue using an older version, a simple workaround for this problem is to switch to another rendering engine. Here's how to do that:

  • Go to "Royal TSX - Preferences"
  • Navigate to "Connection Types - Remote Desktop"
  • Scroll down and switch the "Rendering Engine" to "OpenGL" or "Core Graphics (Quartz)"


Also, this way of rendering the remote screen is problematic when using certain USB adapters to connect external monitors. Specifically, USB adapters/video controllers by DisplayLink have several known issues:

If you're not sure whether or not your Adapter/Docking Station/Converter is using a chip by DisplayLink, you can check in the "System Information.app" by going to "USB", finding your device and looking for "Manufacturer: DisplayLink" in the details pane.

Since this mode uses hardware/GPU acceleration to render the remote screen, it's also impossible to use this mode when macOS is run inside a virtual machine or under certain circumstances when connected to a real Mac remotely using Apple Remote Desktop/Screen Sharing.

Until either DisplayLink or Apple correct these issues, here's a workaround for getting RDP connections working properly when using DisplayLink hardware or in installations where no GPU acceleration is available:

  • Open the "Preferences"
  • Navigate to "Connection Types - Remote Desktop"
  • Switch the "Rendering Engine" to "Metal" or if that doesn't work either to "OpenGL" or "Core Graphics (Quartz)"

We've contacted DisplayLink about the issue and are currently waiting for their answer.