How To Install Windows 11 without a Microsoft Account

How To Install Windows 11 without a Microsoft Account

By default, you must have (or create) a Microsoft account in order to install Windows 11 Home  (and versions of Pro that are build 22H2 and up). Though Microsoft accounts are free, Microsoft's tactic to force you to use an account is plainly wrong. 

Maybe you want to use a local account because you are installing Windows 11 on a child's PC or on a PC that you plan to sell, give to a friend or donate to a charity (without giving other people access to personal data). Or perhaps you just like your privacy and don't want to create an account with Microsoft in the first place.

Whatever your reason for doing so, there's a relatively easy way to install Windows 11 without using a Microsoft account. We should note that Microsoft is trying to make it more difficult to set up a local Windows account so our instructions, shown below, have changed a bit recently.

There's a simple trick for setting up a local account that involves issuing a command to keep Windows from requiring Internet to install and then cutting off Internet at just the right time in the setup process. However, you can also prepare your install disk using Rufus, which removes the login requirement, a process we document further down this page. 

If you've already downloaded and created a Windows 11 boot disk with Rufus or otherwise, follow these steps to set up without a Microsoft account.

1. Follow the Windows 11 install process until you get to the "choose a country" screen. 

Now's the time to cut off the Internet. However, before you do, you need to issue a command that prevents Windows 11 from forcing you to have an Internet connection.

2. Hit Shift + F10. A command prompt appears. 



3. Type OOBE\BYPASSNRO to disable the Internet connection requirement. 

The computer will reboot and return you to this screen.

4. Hit Shift + F10 again and this time Type ipconfig /release. Then hit Enter to disable the Internet.

5. Close the command prompt.

6. Continue with the installation, choosing the region. keyboard and second keyboard option.


A screen saying "Let's connect you to a network" appears, warning you that you need Internet.

7. Click "I don't have Internet" to continue.

A new login screen appears asking "Who's going to use this device?"

8. Enter a username you want to use for your local account and click Next.


9. Enter a password you would like to use and click Next. You can also leave this field blank and have no password, but that's not recommended.

10. Complete the rest of the install process as you normally would.



Original Article credit: https://www.tomshardware.com/how-to/install-windows-11-without-microsoft-account


    • Related Articles

    • How to install Microsoft Windows 11 on VirtualBox!

      The following step-by-step guide shows how to install Microsoft Windows 11 (latest Insider Preview build 22463.1000) on top of VirtualBox 6.1; this guide has been tested and verified on both macOS as well as Linux hosts. This is to address the ...

    • How to install Windows from USB / DVD

      (Image: © TechRadar) Looking to figure out how to install Windows 10 via USB or DVD? Well, you’ve come to the right spot. Windows 10 has been around for a while now, with Microsoft bringing in a number of welcome improvements to the table. And, if ...

    • How to uninstall Microsoft UWP Apps from Powershell command prompt

      There are many apps pre-installed in Windows that you didn't ask for, nor need. Not only that but they are all installed from the horrid Windows Store, not full desktop apps. Here is a quite a good list of commands we can use to uninstall them. ...

    • How to activate and install Norton AV on Windows

      Go to my.Norton.com and sign in with your Norton account email address and password. If you don't have an account yet please create one and choose "I have a licence key". Insert the subscription licence key provided. Norton will ask you to insert ...

    • How to update BIOS to be able to Install windows 11 on PC

      You Need to Update BIOS so that you can install Windows 11 on the PC. Description： ASUS EZ Flash 3 program allows you to easily update the BIOS version, save BIOS file to USB flash drive. You can update the UEFI BIOS tool of the motherboard. Usage ...