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Install Windows 11 Home Without Microsoft Account (4 Methods)
You will learn 4 practical ways to set up Windows 11 Home without a Microsoft account and keep your data safe with free backup software.
By Ivy Updated on October 17, 2022
Can I install Windows 11 without a Microsoft account?
In fact, Microsoft offers you better integrations with OneDrive and Office, content synchronization between computers, and better security, thus, it wants you to set up Windows 11 using a Microsoft account. But still, many users want to set up Windows 11 without a Microsoft account, just like the following user case.
Windows 11 forced everyone to have a Microsoft account and I actually have an MS account. But still don’t want to use it for my windows user. Personally, I don’t want any information being shared with MS’s servers, or synced between my PCs. It tries to put all your docs in one drive but folders are named exactly the same as they are in your local dir. Can I install Windows 11 without Microsoft account?
- Question from Reddit
The problem is that Microsoft removes the option to use a local account from the initial setup on Windows 11 home. So is it possible to set up Windows 11 Home without Microsoft account? You can do this although Microsoft says you cannot and this article will introduce you to the workaround.
Windows 11 setup: local account VS Microsoft account
In the past, Microsoft allows you to set up Windows installation with a local account or Microsoft account, but now it requires the latter one. What are the differences between them?
- Microsoft account: Microsoft account is also known as Windows Live ID or Microsoft Passport. It’s an online account and if you use services such as OneDrive, Xbox, or Skype you need to sign in to your MS account. With an MS account, you can enjoy free cloud storage of OneDrive and sync all your settings and data.
- Local account: It’s an offline account and you don’t need a network connection or an email address. You need to set a username and password and then you will have the access to the system’s resources and settings. You can use this account only for this device and you will be more secure since everything will be stored locally. And you are able to use Microsoft account after installation.
It's not difficult to see that the local account has more security as privacy and you can easily log in with your password. And in the next part, I will help you install Windows 11 without Microsoft account.
How to install Windows 11 home without a Microsoft account
To install windows 11 with local account, you need to start the installation process as usual, and then when it asks for an internet connection, continue with the network discconect or disable internet requirement solutions.
💔Warning: The installation process will delete everything currently on this computer. Thus, before installing Windows 11, it's recommended to backup your files if you are sure you want to upgrade Windows 10 to Windows 11. If not, you'd better create a system image backup in Windows 10.
Backup files or system to protect your data
You could consider using free backup software - AOMEI Backupper Standard. It supports all the backup solutions (system/disk/partition/file backup) and can be used on Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7/XP and Vista.
👉 To backup files in Windows 10, just select File Backup feature, files or folders you want to backup and then destination path to save it, click Start Backup.
👉 To backup system in Windows, select System Backup instead and destination path, click Start Backup.
To ensure data security, please download it to have a try!
Also, you can use it for long-term data protection after installing Windows. It offers you daily/weekly/monthly schedule backup to backup files automatically. Once it is enabled, it will backup only changed files with incremental backup, thereby saving backup time and disk space.
In addition, if you backup files to external hard drive but don't want o keep it always connected, try the premium feature - USB plug in on the professional version. And then, you can enjoy a safer backup method - differential backup (less demanding for recovery) and automatic backup cleanup methods in the backup scheme.
Install Windows 11 with local account with different methods
After backing up files or system, you can install windows 11 without any worries. Since there are various ways to install Windows 11, you can choose one of them based on your situation and then continue with setup process.
👉 If your computer meet the minimum system requirements for Windows 11, refer to download and install Windows 11.
👉If your computer does not meet system requirements, refer to install Windows 11 on unsupported hardware.
Then, let's move forward to the setup process and I'll introduce you to different methods for using local account.
Way 1: Set up Windows 11 without a Microsoft account using Offline account
1. On the page of OOBE (out- of-the-box experience), select your region and then click Yes to continue.
2. Select your keyboard layout or input method, then click Yes.
3. Disconnect the network or turn off the Wi-Fi router immediately when you are asked to add your Microsoft account, it will enable Windows 11 offline account option automatically. Then, click Sign-in options and Offline account.
4. Click Limited experience and then it will start the process of creating offline account for Windows 11. Follow the steps to complete the installation.
Way 2: Bypass Microsoft account windows 11 setup via Task Manager
1. Press Shift+F10 to open the command prompt window when you are asked to connetc to a network.
2. Type taskmgr and press the Enter to open the Task Manager.
3. In the Processes tab, find out and right-click the Network Connection Flow. Then, click End task in the drop-down menu.
4. Close the Task Manager and Command Prompt, then continue to install Windows 11 with local account.
Way 3: Bypass Microsoft account windows 11 setup via command prompt
Except for Task Manager, you still can directly using command line to bypass the Microsoft account.
1. In the Let's connect you to a network page, press Shift + F10 to open command prompt.
2. Type taskkill /F /IM oobenetworkconnectionflow.exe in the command prompt window and press Enter to run it.
3. Close the command prompt window and continue to install Windows 11 with local account.
Way 4: Set up windows 11 without microsoft account by disabling the network
OOBE\BYPASSNRO is a registry key that causes OOBE to not require a network. By using this command, you can bypass the Microsoft account Windows 11 setup.
1. When you see the Let’s connect you to a network page, press Shif+F10 to open the command prompt window.
2. Type OOBE\BYPASSNRO and press Enter to run this command.
3. Then, your computer will be restarted and then you will go back to the same OOBE page. You can click the option: I don’t have internet.
4. Click Continue with limited setup and then you can set your local account to install Windows 11.
Now you have finished the steps and you have installed Windows 11 with local account. Then you can reconnect the Internet and enjoy Windows 11.
Summary
This tutorial provides you with 4 methods to install Windows 11 without Microsoft account. However, you should notice that a clean installation will erase all the data on your PC. So you should backup your important files or folders or system before you run this method. As the best free software, AOMEI Backupper Standard can help you to easily backup files, system, disk and partition.
Besides, you can use AOMEI Backupper to backup regularly and protect your data in an all-around way. It can support incremental or differential backup and enable automatic backup cleanup methods to delete backup files automatically. You can upgrade now a higher edition to enjoy the premium functions.
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