[Windows][Remote Control] Valid ChatGPT authentication is not recognized — "remote control requires ChatGPT authentication"

What version of the Codex App are you using (From “About Codex” dialog)?

26.903.71938 (released September 10, 2026); Windows AppX package 26.903.9818.0, x64

What subscription do you have?

ChatGPT Plus

What platform is your computer?

Windows 11 x64

What issue are you seeing?

Remote Control cannot be enabled in the Codex/ChatGPT desktop app on Windows.

After scanning the pairing QR code on my mobile device, the Windows host reaches this confirmation prompt:

Allow your devices to control this computer?

Clicking Allow consistently fails with:

Unable to enable Remote Control. Please try again.
(Chinese UI: 无法启用远程控制。请重试)

The issue is consistently reproducible. The key diagnostic contradiction is that the local Codex authentication state is valid ChatGPT OAuth, while the Remote Control backend repeatedly reports that ChatGPT authentication is unavailable.

Authentication verification (no credential values included)

AuthMode        : chatgpt
HasApiKey       : False
HasTokens       : True
HasAccountId    : True
HasAccessToken  : True
HasRefreshToken : True
TokenExpired    : False

Also verified:

• OPENAI_API_KEY is not set.
• CODEX_HOME is not overridden.
• No forced_login_method or preferred_auth_method override was found in config.toml.

Relevant sanitized logs

INFO codex_app_server_transport::transport::remote_control::websocket
waiting to resolve remote control preference until authentication is available
error=remote control requires ChatGPT authentication

INFO codex_login::auth::manager
Reloading auth

INFO codex_login::auth::manager
Reloaded auth, changed: false

This suggests that Remote Control waits for ChatGPT authentication even though the authentication manager has already loaded a valid ChatGPT auth state. The failure appears to occur before later WebSocket authentication/connection errors such as HTTP 403, HTTP 503, or socket error 10060.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

1. Open the Codex/ChatGPT desktop app on Windows.
2. Sign in normally with a ChatGPT account.
3. Go to Settings → Connections → Control this PC / Remote Control.
4. Scan the pairing QR code with the mobile ChatGPT app.
5. On the Windows host, click Allow when prompted to let the authorized device control the computer.
6. Observe: Unable to enable Remote Control. Please try again.
7. Retry after a fresh ChatGPT login; the same error occurs.

What is the expected behavior?

Remote Control should recognize the existing valid ChatGPT authentication, enable the remote-control service, and allow the authorized mobile device to connect.

Additional information

Troubleshooting already attempted

• Fully exited the desktop application and terminated related processes.
• Restarted Windows.
• Confirmed the app is up to date.
• Retried Remote Control multiple times.
• Tested through a mobile hotspot instead of the normal network.
• Confirmed that API-key authentication is not configured.
• Confirmed that the ChatGPT OAuth access token exists and is unexpired.
• Backed up and moved aside the existing auth.json and cap_sid authentication state.
• Restarted the app and completed a fresh ChatGPT login.
• Confirmed that a new valid ChatGPT authentication state was created.
• Retried Remote Control after the fresh login; it still fails.

Suspected cause

This looks like an authentication-state propagation or recognition issue between the Windows desktop authentication manager and the Remote Control app-server transport. The authentication manager recognizes a valid ChatGPT login, while load_remote_control_auth() / the Remote Control transport behaves as if ChatGPT authentication is unavailable.

It may be useful to investigate whether the Windows desktop Remote Control process reads a different credential store, auth owner, or sandboxed authentication context from the one represented by ~/.codex/auth.json.

Possibly related issues

• #43979 — Windows Remote Control cannot be enabled / device attestation unavailable
• #41121 — Windows Remote Control reaches the WebSocket stage but receives HTTP 403 after enrollment

This report appears to fail earlier, during Remote Control authentication-state resolution.

No auth.json, token, Account ID, or other credential value is attached or included. I can provide additional sanitized logs if needed.

Trace load_remote_control_auth() from the Remote Control app-server transport and compare its authentication lookup with codex_login::auth::manager, using the sanitized logs as the starting point. Check how the Windows process accesses the existing ChatGPT OAuth state, including auth.json and any separate credential context. Done means a valid, unexpired ChatGPT login is recognized and Remote Control proceeds past the authentication-availability check.