Important: The method described below involves modifying critical system files. This is technically a modification of the operating system's licensing behavior. Using this method in a commercial production environment may violate Microsoft’s Terms of Service and Licensing Agreements. You should ensure you have the proper Remote Desktop Services (RDS) Subscriber Access Licenses (SALs) for legitimate use. Proceed at your own risk, and always create a full system backup or snapshot before modifying system DLLs.
Microsoft offers an official 180-day evaluation of Windows Server 2016 with full RDS functionality. This is completely free, legal, and rearmable up to 3 times (total 540 days). termsrvdll patch windows server 2016 free
Temporary Free RDS Patch for Windows Server 2016 Evaluation Option 2: Microsoft Evaluation Center (180-Day Full Version)
To extend the 120-day RDS grace period without purchasing CALs (for testing only): No patching, no malware
- Use
slmgr /rearm(limited to 3-6 times).- For a
termsrv.dllmodification approach, note that Microsoft does not support this. Any free patch found online should be scanned for malware.- Safer free alternative: Reinstall Server 2016 Evaluation (180 days trial) from Microsoft Evaluation Center.
Do not apply in production.
Backup: Before applying any patches or updates, especially those that modify system files like termsrv.dll, it's crucial to have a current backup of your system. This ensures you can recover in case the update causes issues.
Testing: If possible, test updates in a non-production environment before applying them to critical servers. This helps identify any potential problems before they affect your users.