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If you’re looking for a way to clean install or set up Windows 11 with a Local Account and skip the Microsoft Account requirement, this guide is for you.
Microsoft announced last week that it had removed the ability to install Windows 11 with a local account using the well-known “bypassnro” command, which removed the requirement to connect to the Internet and use a Microsoft account to configure the operating system, by adding the “BypassNRO” value to the registry.
More specifically, Microsoft says that “We’re removing the bypassnro.cmd script from the build to enhance security and user experience of Windows 11. This change ensures that all users exit setup with internet connectivity and a Microsoft Account.”
However, there are still ways to bypass the network and Microsoft account requirements to set up Windows 11 with a local account, and in this guide you will find the most common of them.
How to Set up/Install Windows 11 without a Microsoft Account.
- Set up Windows 11 with a Local Account using a command.
- Install Windows 11 with a Local Account by modifying Registry.
- Create a Windows 11 Installation Media with RUFUS (for clean installations). *
* Info: The instructions in methods 1 & 2 can be used either during a clean install of Windows 11 or when setting up a new pre-installed with Windows 11 device for the first time. (Out of the box experience/OOBE). On the other hand, the instructions in method-3 can only be used when you want to perform a clean install of Windows 11.
Method 1. Set up Windows 11 with a Local Account a command.
The first method to bypass the Microsoft Account requirement and set up a local account during the Windows 11 installation, is by using the “start ms-cxh:localonly” command.
1. On “Lets connect you to a network” screen, press SHIFT + F10 to open a command prompt window.
2. Click inside the command prompt window, type the following command and press Enter:
- start ms-cxh:localonly
3. On “Create a user for this PC” window, type a username and a password (optional) for the local account and click Next.
4. That’s it! The setup program will continue to install Windows 11 using the local account.
Method 2. Install Windows 11 with Local Account by modifying Registry.
If for any reason, the above method does not work for you, follow the instructions below to add the “BypassNRO” value to the registry, to bypass the internet connection requirement, and configure Windows 11 with a local account.
1. On the “Lets you connect to a network” screen, press SHIFT + F10 to open a command prompt window.
2. Click inside the command prompt window, type the following commands and press Enter:
- reg add HKLMSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionOOBE /v BypassNRO /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
- shutdown /r /t 0
3. After typing the above commands the PC will restart.
4. After restart, choose your region and keyboard layout again and click Next.
5. Now, on the “Lets you connect to a network” screen, click I don’t have Internet.
6. On the next screen, type a name for the local account, click Next, and continue to complete the Windows 11 installation.
Method 3. Create a Windows 11 Installation media with RUFUS.
The final way to configure Windows 11 with a local account is to create a Windows 11 USB installation media with the RUFUS utility which bypasses the Microsoft account requirement when installing Windows.
Step 1. Download Windows 11 ISO file.
1. Go to Windows 11 Download page.
2. Select Windows 11 (multi-edition ISO) and click Download.
5. When the download is complete, proceed to step-2.
Step 2. Create Windows 11 USB Installation Media with RUFUS.
1. Plug an EMPTY USB disk on your PC (at least 8GB)
2. Download and run the RUFUS USB Creator Utility.
3a. At Rufus utility, click SELECT and then…
3b. ..choose the Windows 11 ISO file you downloaded in step-1 and click Open.
4. Then click the Start button.
5. Now at Windows User Experience options, select the option “Remove requirement for an online Microsoft Account“, to clean install Windows 11 with a local account and click OK.*
* Notes: Here you can also the following options if you want:
- Remove requirement for 4GB+ RAM, Secure Boot and TPM 2.0, if you want to setup Windows 11 on a computer that does not meet the Windows 11 hardware requirements.
- Create a local account with username: To set the name of the local account you want to use in Windows.
- Set regional options to the same values as this user’s: To set the same regional settings as the user you are currently using to create the installation media.
- Disable data collection: To skip the privacy questions.
- Disable BitLocker automatic device encryption: To prevent BitLocker to encrypt your device automatically.
6. Finally click OK on the warning message. *
* Caution: Any files on the USB disk will be deleted during the operation!
7. When the operation is completed, click CLOSE and you done! From now on, you can use the created USB disk to perform a installation of Windows 11 on any machine using a local user account.
That’s it! Which method worked for you?
Let me know if this guide has helped you by leaving your comment about your experience. Please like and share this guide to help others.
