Microsoft Account Bypass Now Being Blocked During Setup

When I had Windows 11, I set it up with a Microsoft account and then created a local account with admin privileges for daily use. I did it for a short time but felt really uncomfortable on how they kept changing things like this through their mandatory updates. I ended up making it a Linux machine. Instead of working against their customers, and forcing things on them that they may not want or need, Microsoft should ask themselves why people are hacking their own computers just to get them to work the way they should. They've taken away options that many users took for granted over the years and it's not right. I won't use Windows 11 again, or future Windows products if these trends continue. I just set up a Windows 10 PC for some offline work without a Microsoft account and it nagged me throughout the entire setup process and tried to trick me the whole way and scare with me "security" fear mongering. Seriously, how is connecting all my activities and personal data to the cloud and leaving it in the hands of strangers more secure than being password protected inside my home???

how i miss windows 7 when a system was a system...

Theres actually an even easier way. Press CTRL+Shift+F3 during the oobe, then your system will reboot and boot to a desktop. DO NOT RESTART UNTIL YOU HAVE FINISHED THE NEXT STEP OR YOU WILL HAVE TO REINSTALL WINDOWS!!! Go into the settings app, and create a new local user in the settings. Finally, reboot your PC. Not only would you have skipped the Microsoft Account setup, but you have also skipped the ENTIRE OOBE except from the Privacy and Data sharing setup.

What pisses me off about this is there are legitimate reasons that prevent signing into a Microsoft account. Such as a computer in an offgrid location, on a ship, or a computer that can't be connected to the internet for security reasons.

I can explain why they've done it. And it goes hand in hand with some other odd things they do; odd, until you add them all together. For instance, they let you buy Windows keys from third-party resellers for cheap. They allow you to upgrade for free using your old key. And of course, you used to be able to use a Win7 or Win8 key to install Win10. Why do they do this? And why do they require you to have an account to install Win11? Because they no longer make their money by selling Windows licenses. They make their money by selling your information to whomever wants it, and they cannot attribute the information they gather to you unless you have an account. The more you know....

What was once a push is now becoming a shove.

I'm glad MS account bypass is no longer an issue for me because I am no longer a Windows user. It's their software, they can do whatever they want, but I am no longer there. I'm now a happy Linux user.

From the recent set up (about a week ago) I have done, OOBE\BYPASSNRO still works, but you have to disable your wifi network adapter first: 1. press Shift+(Fn)+F10 and select the window. 2. type ncpa.cpl (It should open the network adapter window) 3. Right click on the wifi adapter, click disable. Close that window 4. type oobe\bypassnro in the command prompt. The pc will restart. 5. You should be able to continue with limited setup.

Because Windows is not the product, we are the product.

The oobe\bypassnro method will still work, but you MUST NOT connect to the network or internet until AFTER your first sign in, when prompted, click on "I don't have Internet" link at bottom and you can continue to sign in local. So, when installing Windows11, leave network cable or WiFi disconnected, until your all the way in.

I build PC's and Laptops every day. All you need to do when it gets to this account setup page is disconnect the internet source. So pull the ethernet cable or turn the wifi off. then hit enter. After 20 seconds it will give up and give you the local account entry. Once you have done that, reconnect to the internet. Job done.

This practice should be illegal. OPERATING SYSTEMS should have extra regulations -- and FORCING ads, accounts, or installation of apps, should be very much protected and easy to avoid -- and their use should be OPT IN.

Because of Microsoft's untrustworthy behaviour, I (a life long Windows tech and power user) has installed started to learn Linux... Keep it up MS, let's see where it gets you 👍

US marketing behaviour is getting to be a scam.

Done some extensive testing today. You are sort of correct on the bypassnro front. That is a bypass for when you do not have internet. So what they have done is check if there is internet and then make use of it, even if you did bypassnro. If you disable internet and don't set up wifi and do a bypassnro, you can continue without internet and create a local "limited" setup system like before with zero problems. Tried it several ways. I was trying way more complex things, monitoring changes in the system trying to determine things because you said it wasn't working. But turns out it was a simple matter of just ensuring there's no network access for the bypassnro to work.

If I have to put effort into hacking to install Windows I'd rather put that effort into learning Linux. Over the years Linux is getting easier to live with and once a PC is customized how you like I tend to just use it and the operating system falls away into the background, If I upgraded to Win 11 now some tasks will probably have to be looked up on how to do it, so I might as well just switch and pull the plug on Windows.

I can confirm from setting up two Windows 11 VM's on a server project I just did today that you are correct Brian. If there is any hint of internet access, OOBE\BYPASSNRO will loop you back around just like your video. However, if you disable wireless or, in my case, remove the NIC from my VM and do Shift+F10 and OOBE\bypassnro at that sign in screen, the system will reboot and you can get to to the classic 'I don't have internet' screen. It's a shame we have to continue to find workarounds for this. As a tech who sets up domains and connects them to systems, having a local account is still essential in the little world I live in. Hopefully, Microsoft will see that businesses still have legitimate reasons for having local accounts. Thank you for the video. Be well.

I'm seriously considering jumping ship to Linux because of Microsoft's antics, forcing people to do things they don't want to is a sure fire way of losing customers.

Several years ago I read in Software Development Times magazine that Microsoft is ultimately wanting people to only have enough of an OS that will boot their computer to the Internet and then the person will have to log into a virtual machine on a Microsoft server. Basically, your computer will be just like the old "dumb terminals" for mainframes -- you will do everything on Microsoft's servers and it will be by subscription as they -- like many other companies are already doing -- are wanting to follow the SaaS (Software as a Service) business model. I suspect that one will be required to pay a recurring fee for a "license" to use one's own computer...kind of like the British have to pay for a "license" just to turn on their television sets (with gov't vans roaming around to detect who has their TV turned on and whether they have a current "license" or not). "We willingly buy the screens that are used against us."

You have to wonder what is going on at Microsoft management, because they are just driving their customers right into the competitions arms. If I were made CEO, I would liquidate Windows 11, roll all the developers back into Windows 10, and get busy fixing all the problems in Windows 10 and actually finishing... one... operating... system... for a change. It's been like 40 years now and Microsoft has yet to ever finish one single OS and fix all the bugs in it.