Troubleshooting Black Screen Issues on Omnissa Horizon

Users on Omnissa Horizon are experiencing black screen issues when reconnecting to a session. The issue occurs 4-5 times a day and the only workaround is to force a logoff, leading to lost work. The setup and environment are described in detail, along with past troubleshooting attempts. A fellow ControlUp member suggests looking at Horizon Agent logs and utilizing Horizon’s API to lock a VM for further investigation.

Read the entire ‘Troubleshooting Black Screen Issues on Omnissa Horizon’ thread below:

Hi, we’re experiencing frequent black screen issues when reconnecting to an existing user session in Omnissa Horizon.

Our setup:

• All VMs are non-persistent, with an automatic logoff after 3 hours of inactivity

• Horizon version: 2503.1 (ESB)

• Using App Volumes (not all users are assigned an application stack)

• DEM for profile management

• VMs are currently Windows 10 (migration to Windows 11 planned for this summer)

Client environment:

• Thin clients are actually Windows PCs (Windows 10 and 11)

• Running Imprivata in Kiosk mode with a custom Windows shell (desktop is not accessible)

• Screensaver, login, and SSO credentials are all managed through Imprivata

• Sessions are frequently disconnected and reconnected throughout the day, as users alternate between digital work and patient interaction

• Each thin client is typically used by 2–3 different users per shift

The issue:

• We don’t see any obvious errors on the VMs

• We are unable to consistently reproduce the problem

• However, we receive 4–5 user reports per day

• When it happens, the only workaround is to force a logoff, allowing a new VM to be assigned

• This is not ideal, as users lose their session and must reopen all applications

What we’ve already tried:

• Reinstalling Horizon Agent, VMware Tools, Imprivata, etc.

• Cross-checking App Volumes usage

• Applying antivirus exclusions

Has anyone experienced a similar issue and found a solution?

hmm that’s a tough one

@member any thoughts / logs / automations you would have configured to catch the root cause next time this happens?

horizon agent logs is the only thing I can think of to look at. Using the horizon api you should be able to lock a vm for forensic investigation so the user gets a new one assigned while you work at it

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