Forum Discussion
Azure Virtual Desktop External Identities
hi tadhgclifford Since the feature is still in public preview, the setup can be a bit tricky because some configurations aren’t yet fully automated. A few things to double-check:
App Assignment:
Make sure the external user (B2B guest) has been explicitly assigned to the AVD application group — this doesn’t happen automatically even if the user has directory access.
Group Membership Propagation:
If you’re using Entra groups for app assignment, verify that the guest user appears in the group as a member (not pending). In some cases, it can take a few minutes to sync through Entra ID before AVD recognizes the user.
RBAC Permissions:
Confirm that the external user has at least the Desktop Virtualization User role on the AVD application group resource scope.
Supported Client:
External identities currently work only in the latest version of the Windows Desktop client (and sometimes not yet in the web client).
If you’ve confirmed all of the above and still don’t see resources, it may help to collect logs via the AVD client diagnostics tool and raise a ticket through Azure Support — they can verify if your tenant has full External Identity preview enablement.
Hi Surya. Many thanks for your reply and the detail you provided.
I have narrowed the issue down to the fact that, when in the Windows App, I can't switch organisations in my guest account, i.e. my guest account is not showing the AVD resources available because it is pointing at the home organisation.
I have tested successfully when connected via a web browser, as I am able to connect to the relevant directory/organisation.
In web browser:
In Windows App: