Windows 11 without a Microsoft account?

[backwoodsman]

Setting up a Windows 11 Pro machine for a customer (nuke & pave after a security breach). I've probably missed something somewhere, but none of the hacks I can find still work. All I want to do is make the thing work so I can restore the data and get it back to my customer, and let them add their MS account later if they want to. Sorry for the dumb question, but how do I do that?

 

[Sky-Knight]

On Pro you can, but on Home you cannot.

But the process during first boot makes you think you cant. Just feed the login bogus crap until it lets you make a local account.

 

[ThatPlace928]

Why not just ask for their MS account login info? Seems like a workaround would take longer.

 

[backwoodsman]

Why not just ask for their MS account login info? Seems like a workaround would take longer.

Because sometimes you can't reach the customer right away, and I don't (and shouldn't) have access to their email and text messages. And a simple "Not now" or "Local account" button would be fastest of all, but of course control freaks like Microsoft don't give you that choice. I don't hate Windows quite as much when people are paying me by the hour to make it work, but things like this really narrow the gap.

I did try several iterations of the "bogus crap" method @Sky-Knight suggested, but it never gave me a local account option, and it doesn't let you do anything at all if you turn off the network. Did I mention how much I hate Windoze? Eventually the customer got back to me, so I was able to coordinate with her to add her MS account.

I'd still like to know of a working workaround for future reference, if anyone knows one.

 

[Sky-Knight]

I'm not sure where it got missed. I just did this recently. There's an option to "setup for a business", and then "join a domain". This flow was very similar on Windows 10 as it is on 11, and again is only there for Pro.

The Internet is down trick only works if the installer doesn't have internet at all the entire time. That's by far the easiest thing to do, simply never join Windows 11 to the Internet until after you see a desktop.

 

[backwoodsman]

I'm not sure where it got missed. I just did this recently. There's an option to "setup for a business", and then "join a domain". This flow was very similar on Windows 10 as it is on 11, and again is only there for Pro.

It isn't a business machine, and there's no domain to join. But would that path have provided a local account option?

The Internet is down trick only works if the installer doesn't have internet at all the entire time. That's by far the easiest thing to do, simply never join Windows 11 to the Internet until after you see a desktop.

That was the first thing I tried. There was no option to do anything at all until it had an internet connection.

It occurs to me, would this be different if I'd installed from an ISO instead of from the machine's recovery partition? (It's a Dell laptop, in case that matters.)

 

[sapphirescales]

I'd still like to know of a working workaround for future reference, if anyone knows one.

Always use Rufus to create the Windows 11 install media and they have an option to disable the Microsoft account requirement. You can also check the boxes to disable the CPU/TMP checks so you can both upgrade and do a clean install using the flash drive on unsupported hardware.

 

[carmen617]

I have been using a fake email address (no@no.com) to bypass Microsoft account setup for the last year or two. It no longer works, period. Doesn't seem to matter how many times I put in a bogus email address or which one I use, the last 5 or so new machines i have set up in the last week or two haven't popped up with the local account option. I am now telling my clients that they must give me their Microsoft account credentials for me to do a N&P or a new system setup. It's a real big pain in the ass, as then Microsoft pushes me through their idiotic "buy Microsoft 365" and "use your free trial of XBox" screens, and automatically turns on Bitlocker and OneDrive backup, so I have to remember to turn them off (unless the client has a 365 subscription) before running Fabs.

 

[Porthos]

It occurs to me, would this be different if I'd installed from an ISO instead of from the machine's recovery partition? (It's a Dell laptop, in case that matters.)

Yes

 

[JoelM]

If it's PRO it's super easy.
On the first screen choose "Setup for Work or School"
On the next screen there is a small "sign-in options" link in the middle of the screen. Choose this and then choose Domain Join but just type in a local username. You don't actually have to join a domain.

 

[timeshifter]

At some point during the OOBE (I think when it asks to select a network) I do Shift + F10, get a command window, click it to give it focus then type in oobe\bypassnro and press enter. The machine reboots and you can then choose Limited or No Internet and set up a local account. May have to have network disconnected too, I usually don't so not 100% sure.

 

[britechguy]

Why not just ask for their MS account login info?

I always request this information as a matter of course these days. If the client does not want to give me their "real" password I tell them to change it to something I can use until I hand the device back, and then they can switch it to something else.

The days of "waiting until later" are very much over for me. Just like I can't (and don't) deal with iPhones without an Apple ID and Android devices without a Google Account, I expect a Microsoft Account now for Windows 10/11.

 

[symbatech]

I use a spare MS account that I have to create the initial login account. Once logged in, you can add an additional local user account with no password (I use the customer's first name), set it as administrator, log out and back in to that account, then delete the initial MS account. Extra steps, but it does work. The customer can then use their MS login and set up a PIN, password, or biometric security.

 

[thecomputerguy]

At some point during the OOBE (I think when it asks to select a network) I do Shift + F10, get a command window, click it to give it focus then type in oobe\bypassnro and press enter. The machine reboots and you can then choose Limited or No Internet and set up a local account. May have to have network disconnected too, I usually don't so not 100% sure.

This is what I do and it still works. On first boot as soon as you see the welcome screen. Make sure you don't hook it up to internet.

Shift+F10 or Shift+Fn+F10

oobe\bypassnro

 

[sapphirescales]

I use a spare MS account that I have to create the initial login account. Once logged in, you can add an additional local user account with no password (I use the customer's first name), set it as administrator, log out and back in to that account, then delete the initial MS account. Extra steps, but it does work. The customer can then use their MS login and set up a PIN, password, or biometric security.

Just turn off bitlocker if you do this. If you leave bitlocker on the recovery key will be stored in the garbage Microsoft account that you created. If your client signs into their own Microsoft account afterwards Microsoft will not store their bitlocker recovery key in that account.

 

[sapphirescales]

This is what I do and it still works. On first boot as soon as you see the welcome screen. Make sure you don't hook it up to internet.

Shift+F10 or Shift+Fn+F10

oobe\bypassnro

This method still works. The only difference now is you cannot hook up to the Internet before running this command.

 

[Sky-Knight]

It isn't a business machine, and there's no domain to join. But would that path have provided a local account option?

It's the only way to get at the local account option without complaint. It's the process I use to setup every single Pro device I touch, and the vast majority of them while business owned never see Active Directory.

Just encourage your users to link an account on the unit to a Microsoft account once they get it back, so they get the recovery keys backed up. The support call when they lose those really sucks, and I know they're still going to lose the account but darn it... finding a lost account is EASIER than trying to decrypt a drive.

I do not recommend @symbatech's process for the reasons pointed out by @sapphirescales

 

[ThatPlace928]

I always request this information as a matter of course these days. If the client does not want to give me their "real" password I tell them to change it to something I can use until I hand the device back, and then they can switch it to something else.

The days of "waiting until later" are very much over for me. Just like I can't (and don't) deal with iPhones without an Apple ID and Android devices without a Google Account, I expect a Microsoft Account now for Windows 10/11.

Agreed. One woman dropped her laptop off early in the morning a couple weeks ago and, by the time I got her password to log in, it was after 8 pm. A whole day that I could have installed her new o/s and had it ready for her...... or so I thought.

Unfortunately, she had deleted a lot of .dll files, all of which I found in the recycling bin. No upgrade possible there. So I installed Windows fresh [keeping her files] but that bombed out on me, too. The 3rd time worked perfectly, after upgrading all her drivers, BIOS, and RAM, then getting Windows updates, cleaning, and defragging. Then I installed anti-virus software that ferreted out a LOT of viruses.

And this woman told me from the very beginning that this is her preferred laptop [1.1ghz on the CPU - i7 8550U with the lowest ghz rating possible] and that she was something of a software engineer. All I can do with those people is point out what NOT to do and smile, then send them on their way. She was a real PITA, AFTER she got home. She expected it to be super fast but her CPU wasn't geared for the speed she wanted. She called back and says she hates the Windows Defender because it gets in her way. In my opinion, she's most likely doing something she shouldn't and she's getting warnings.

 

[britechguy]

She called back and says she hates the Windows Defender because it gets in her way.

If Windows Defender is getting in her way, she's DEFINITELY doing something sketchy. SmartScreen, on the other hand . . .

I've never had a single security suite that is less obtrusive than Windows Security (of which Defender is a part). It's about as "set it and forget it" as anything can be, and still does its job very well indeed.

 

[ThatPlace928]

If Windows Defender is getting in her way, she's DEFINITELY doing something sketchy. SmartScreen, on the other hand . . .

I've never had a single security suite that is less obtrusive than Windows Security (of which Defender is a part). It's about as "set it and forget it" as anything can be, and still does its job very well indeed.

Exactly! I generally turn off notifications but, if something's super critical, it will still give a message. Windows Defender is a great bit of software. Beats all those other dinosaurs that we had to use before Defender came along.