Microsoft doesn’t want you to install Windows 11 with a local account without an internet connection. New updates In the Insider Preview Build of Windows 11 Microsoft reveals that the company has eliminated some mechanisms that allowed new installations of Windows 11 to be configured with a local account. The question, of course, is why Microsoft is so obsessed with us using online accounts.
Why is it important. For four decades, users have been able to install Windows using a simple local account. It was enough to configure a username (“jpastor”, for example) and a password (Let’s hope not “123456”) to start using your Windows PC or laptop immediately. Over time, Microsoft recommended installing Windows using online accounts, but in Windows 11 that recommendation is almost a requirement.
Microsoft doesn’t want you to use local accounts. In the latest update of its internal compilation – which will end up being the version for all users – those responsible for Microsoft explained that they are eliminating known methods (tricks) to install Windows 11 with a local account so that the user experience is not harmed:
“We are removing known mechanisms for creating a local account in the Windows Setup Experience (OOBE). Although these mechanisms were often used to bypass Microsoft account setup, they also inadvertently skipped critical setup screens, which could result in users exiting OOBE with a device that was not fully configured for use. Users will need to complete OOBE with Internet and a Windows account. Microsoft to make sure the device is configured correctly.”
The old tricks don’t work. A few months ago Microsoft already deleted some well-known methods in the past such as “bypassnro”, and with these measures Microsoft also eliminates from now on the “start ms-cxh:localonly” command that users they had discovered which worked after some previous crashes. With the update, that command no longer works, and what it causes is that OOBE is reset.
What if I don’t want to add a Microsoft account, what? The company is making it increasingly difficult to use a local user/password type account
Services, services, services. The reason for this obsession with online accounts is clear: when you install Windows 11 with an online account, that account is automatically associated with Microsoft cloud services. The company tries to “sell” you subscriptions to OneDrive, Microsoft 365 or Xbox, because the services are increasingly a fundamental part of Microsoft’s business model. Of course the other reason is power associate the data they collect —for example, with telemetry— to a specific user account.
Frustration. Users have been demonstrating their frustration on social networks and forums for years about this issue. Many simply have a preference for local accounts or do not have connections on the computers on which they want to install Windows 11, but the operating system insists on asking them for an online account.
There are still “tricks”. Theoretically it follows there are ways to escape that requirement of installing Windows 11. In some forums users explain how we can tell Windows that we want to configure it for work or school. When the system asks us for a login, we must click on “Join a domain”, which allows us to create a local account. Other somewhat more complex methods consist of edit installation image of Windows and configure a “unattended installation“.
The game of cat and mouse. In reality, these types of Microsoft requirements have always led to a unique game of cat and mouse. Windows can block a method, and that’s when users search and they usually find another (or others) to achieve the same thing. The problem here is for novice users without much knowledge, who will have a harder time starting to use their computers with local accounts and due to ignorance – or convenience – they end up installing with an online account to avoid problems.
Image | Windows
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