VMware: Repeated characters when typing in remote console

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Everyone knows the hanging keyboard console session issue, when you type your username or password the keyboard hangs. If you access a virtual machine console over a slow connection, you’ll encounter keyboard sync issues

If you open a remote console to a virtual machine from a slow network connection (such as a VPN) while tethered to a mobile phone providing Internet access, the experience is not optimal, as keyboard and mouse gestures aren’t timed exactly the same. This is especially problematic if you try to enter a password where the characters are masked.

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Solution

There are two ways to add a extra line in the configuration file of the virtual machine,

 

Option 1. Edit VMX file directly

1. Power off the virtual machine.

2. Add a line, similar to this, at the end of your virtual machine’s configuration (.vmx) file

keyboard.typematicMinDelay = "2000000"

The delay is specified in micro-seconds, so the line in the example above increases the repeat time to 2 seconds. This should ensure that you never get auto-repeat unless you intend it.

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3. Power on the virtual machine.

 

Option 2. Edit VMX via vSphere Client

1. Power off the virtual machine.

2. Edit settings > Options > General > Configuration Parameters, add new row with text:

keyboard.typematicMinDelay = "2000000"

The delay is specified in micro-seconds, so the line in the example above increases the repeat time to 2 seconds. This should ensure that you never get auto-repeat unless you intend it.

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3. Power on the virtual machine.

 

Ps. You can edit the .VMX files directly, but a better practice is to configure this value within the vSphere Client for a virtual machine template. When you consider that most of the access to a virtual machine is provided by tools such as remote desktop, there is no harm in configuring this value globally for all virtual machines that originate from a template

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