News

Microsoft Blocks Popular Windows 11 Hack: Here’s What You Can Do

By Brian Burgess

Updated June 7, 2024

Microsoft has blocked a popular trick for signing in with a local account. But, it’s now blocked. Here’s what you can do now.

Many Windows 11 users use a workaround of creating a local account to bypass creating or using a Microsoft account to sign in. Unfortunately, this option no longer works.

It was a popular trick of avoiding the creation of a Microsft account to set up your PC. For instance, you might enter a random email address and password that doesn’t exist.

Once the link fails, you can create a local account and avoid creating a Microsoft account. However, a local account loses some functionality, like account backup and access to Copilot or data sync.

Unfortunately, this trick no longer works. Instead, you will encounter a refusal loop with no option to create a local account. Windows enthusiast Zac Bowden from Windows Central discovered this news.

It looks like Microsoft has blocked the bypass that allowed you to create a local account during Windows 11 setup by typing in a blocked email address. Now it just loops you back to typing in a different account :( pic.twitter.com/mKnHToLLQV

— Zac Bowden (@zacbowden) June 3, 2024

It was also a workaround to install Windows 11 without an Internet connectivity. The company removed this workaround in a recent Windows 11 update.

So, those who have previously used these tricks to create a Windows 11 account sans a Microsoft account no longer can. If you have already created a local user account, it isn’t going to be deleted, and you can continue to use the local account like normal.

For first setup, though, you must sign in using a Microsoft account first to set everything up, then create a local account via your primary Microsoft account email profile. Still, you can bypass a Microsoft account by using the steps in the following section.

So What Can I Do?

It is still possible to bypass the account lockdown issue by using the following trick:

Unplug the Ethernet cord or disconnect from any Wi-Fi you may have connected to. While setting up your PC during the “Out of Box Experience” at the Network screen, press Shift + F10 and type OOBE\BYPASSNRO in the command prompt.

However, it remains to be seen how long this workaround will last. Microsoft wants users to set up an account to use their Windows 11 PCs, which is quite irksome.

Forcing Another Windows 11 Thing We Don’t Want

So, Microsoft has sneakily blocked two of the easiest bypass methods to create an account without an actual Microsoft account. You are returned to the account linking page if you try the email trick. You can’t set up your PC without creating a Microsoft account. It is forced on you now.

This news is another example of Microsoft forcing things on customers they may not like. For instance, it’s like Copilot being forced on your system or ads being injected into your PC’s Start menu. If you don’t want Microsoft’s AI, you can disable Copilot on Windows 11. However, I doubt that’s an option on Microsoft Copilot+ PCs since Copilot is deeply integrated into the system. Also, if you’re an Edge user, it’s possible to eliminate the annoying Copilot rewrite feature in Microsoft’s browser.

For now, use the command line option if you don’t want to set up your system without a Microsoft account. But, like the two methods to bypass a Microsoft account described above, the company could also sneak another patch that blocks that option. Good luck, folks!