By default xrdp will create a new session when you remotely connect and the local user must be logged out first for this to work or otherwise you will see a blank screen when you connect remotely.

To have xrdp log you in to the existing active logged-in local session instead, follow these steps:

First, enable screen sharing in Ubuntu settings and set a password.

Then, edit /etc/xrdp/xrdp.ini like so:

sudo nano /etc/xrdp/xrdp.ini

Then, copy and paste the following at the end of the file:

[xrdp1-loggedin]

name=Local Active Session

lib=libvnc.so

username=na

password=ask

ip=127.0.0.1

port=5900

Then, save the file and close the editor by pressing Ctrl + x then y then Enter

Finally, you might need to disable password encryption (A security hazard but might be required to allow connections from clients that don’t support it) by running in the terminal:

gsettings set org.gnome.Vino require-encryption false

Notice that in Ubuntu 22.04, Unfortunately, encryption can only be disabled if you disable encryption for all passwords in the keyring by setting a blank password for keyring login.

Next, login locally then connect from a remote machine and choose Local Active Session from the Session drop-down menu when you see this screen:

Then, enter the password you set for screen sharing and click the OK button when you see the password field that looks like this: