Dialpad on Azure Virtual Desktop

Dialpad works seamlessly on Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) with Microsoft’s Multimedia Redirection (MMR) plugin.

With MMR, video streams and WebRTC calls bypass the AVD virtual machine, connecting directly from your device to Dialpad’s Telephony Engine. This reduces latency and improves call quality for a smoother, more reliable experience.

Lets dive into the details.

Who can use this

Azure Virtual Desktop users can run Dialpad in their VDI environment.

Requirements

To use Dialpad with Azure Virtual Desktop, ensure you have:

• Windows installed on the client machine.

• An Azure Virtual Desktop VM or VDI setup.

• Dialpad running in Chrome or as a Progressive Web App (PWA).

Setup

To configure Azure Virtual Desktop for Dialpad use, you’ll need to:

1. Set up your Windows Client

2. Set up your Azure Virtual Desktop Virtual Machine

3. Validate the configuration

Before we dive in, let’s look at a few common terms you’ll see throughout this article.

Set up your Windows Client

Suitable clients are listed in the Prerequisites section of the official Microsoft documentation. Look for the line that starts with: "You need to connect to a remote session from one of the following supported apps and platforms."

Set up your Azure Virtual Desktop Virtual Machine

Complete the following setup steps on the Azure Virtual Desktop Virtual Machine. Ideally, automate these steps or include them in the VM’s deployed image.

First, you’ll need to Install the MMR Host Service

On the AVD VM, install the AVD MMR service following instructions from Microsoft:

1. Install the host component and browser extension from an MSI file

2. Make sure to follow all steps including:

   1. Prerequisites

   2. Install multimedia redirection on session hosts

   3. (Optional) Enable the browser extension

Note

If you don’t plan to use Dialpad in a browser, you can install the Dialpad Progressive Web App (PWA) from the Windows app store or from Dialpad.

Next, it’s time to enable call redirection for Dialpad.

By default, call redirection is enabled only for a limited number of sites. To use it with Dialpad, you must enable it for dialpad.com

Follow Microsoft's instructions to enable call redirection for specific domains.

Tip

While it's recommended to use group policy configuration, you can enable call redirection for all sites for testing purposes. Follow Microsoft's instructions on both the client PC and the Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD) VM to enable call redirection for all sites.

Validate the setup

Now that everything is configured, verify that Dialpad is using Azure Virtual Desktop Multimedia Redirection (AVD MMR).

1. Open Chrome or Edge and go to https://www.dialpad.com/app

   1. If you installed the PWA, open it instead.

2. Log in if necessary

3. Select the gear icon to open Hardware Settings

   1. If everything is set up correctly, you’ll see the Multimedia Redirection is enabled notification

4. Ensure that the Microphone and Speaker/Headset dropdown list your local machine’s devices.

   1. They should not include “Remote Audio” devices, which are virtual devices provided by AVD when MMR is not enabled.

   2. If you still see “Remote Audio” devices, refresh the app and try again.

   

5. Make a test phone call in the Dialpad app to confirm that audio works in both directions

   1. If you're using Dialpad in Edge or Chrome, the AVD MMR plugin will update to display a phone icon while you're on a call.
      

Frequently asked questions

Why isn’t my VDI setup working?

While Dialpad works with Azure Virtual Desktop, we do not manage this integration. For assistance, please reach out to Microsoft Support through one of the following channels:

• Microsoft Azure Support – Azure Support

• Azure Virtual Desktop Documentation – AVD Docs

• Microsoft Q&A Community – Microsoft Q&A

• Enterprise Support – If you have a Microsoft enterprise agreement, contact your Microsoft representative.