---
title: "TURN relay | PrimalDesk Docs"
description: "A fallback route when direct connectivity is unavailable."
url: "https://docs.primaldesk.com/articles/turn-relay"
---

# TURN relay

A fallback route when direct connectivity is unavailable.

TURN forwards traffic between the client and host through a relay server. It can help when ICE cannot establish a direct route. The backend is still required for connection setup.

![An encrypted UDP connection between client and host through a relay](https://docs.primaldesk.com/diagrams/turn-path.svg)

A relay adds a network hop and may increase latency or limit available bandwidth. Session traffic remains transport-encrypted; the relay can observe connection metadata.

Relay support is experimental. A failed direct connection may still fail to connect, and current native relay transport requires UDP. Prefer a working direct route where available.

This guide describes the current development and testing phase.

[Back to help center](https://docs.primaldesk.com/help-center.md)

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