How to reset your Remote desktop user account expiry date on your Azure cloud service

If you have not re-deployed your azure cloud service for a while you might just find that your remote access account has expired. Here is a simple way to push out the expiry date without re-deploying.

  1. Login to the Azure Management Console ( https://manage.windowsazure.com ), navigate to you cloud service and select the configure tab
  2. Download the configuration and save to a local temp area.
  3. Open it up in notepad
  4. Find the setting that looks like
    <ns0:Setting name=”Microsoft.WindowsAzure.Plugins.RemoteAccess.AccountExpiration” value=”2013-09-07T23:59:59.0000000+01:00″ />
  5. Just change the year to sometime in the future e.g. 2016 and save.
  6. Then from the same configure page in the Azure management console, upload the config file.
  7. Wait a few minutes while the file is process and voila! you can now log in. Of course you must know the original password and usename you used when you last deployed.

3 thoughts on “How to reset your Remote desktop user account expiry date on your Azure cloud service

  1. Hi. I cant see the configure tab in my Azure environment. It is suposed to be in between monitor and scale it seems on your screenshot. Any idea why?

    1. Sorry, I have no idea. This applies to Cloud Services, not the Websites. Maybe you are using the website feature. I would log a call with Microsoft about it if you still can’t see ‘Configure’

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