New Windows 11 trick lets you bypass Microsoft Account requirement
38 comments
·April 3, 2025ziddoap
I think Microsoft gets a bit more hate than they deserve here, but the whole Microsoft account thing is actually absurd, to the point it's almost offensive.
Please Microsoft, just let me use a local account on my PC. Either leave this workaround in place, or better yet, just let people make a local account without a workaround. It's pretty clear the demand is there, considering how many posts there are asking/telling about the workarounds.
I can't help but think of the common n-gate phrase: "Microsoft continues the war against it's own users".
init2null
The intent of the consumer is clear, and Microsoft not only doesn't care but is actively removing our alternatives. If nothing else, this should be an option in "Pro," especially given that Enterprise is unobtainable for individuals.
Until they remedy this, Microsoft deserves some disdain. Even Apple gives us the choice with macOS.
alyandon
It is absurd but I also got tired of fighting it. I use a Microsoft account associated with an outlook.com address I never use for anything important to collect the local PC entitlements. After that, I create a local account and never touch the online one again.
kyriakos
Why not just continue use the Microsoft account?
ToucanLoucan
FYI you can make your own installation media with a USB drive and the Rufus utility that can do several things for you:
- Skip the microsoft account step entirely
- Skip stupid "compatibility checks" (I have a garbage tower PC from 2012 that runs 11 just fine on my workbench)
- Automatically create a local account with full privileges
- Skip the long and drawn out setup procedure
And none of this is using any injected or cracked software as far as I know. It's just using group policy stuff in the installer that's normally used in corporate environments.
5555624
I did the same thing. I don't need to check my email from my phone; so, I did the same with Google for my phone.
Svip
I recall in the late 00s, how configuring Linux to run properly on a laptop was a fraught experience. And I won't deny there was a particularly broken installation that made me revert to Windows. But that amount of time spent configuring and fiddling with tutorials found random places online weren't caused by a malicious developer, so I was more than willing to put in the effort.
soupfordummies
And now we're almost coming full circle if you want to run Windows without connecting it to an online account :)
luke-stanley
Why would tricks be needed? What about consumer rights, or such?
ReptileMan
Does anyone has any good explanation why MS top brass is so thick headed on the topic?
jarito
Because the writing has been on the wall that people are no longer going to pay for operating systems. That means that MS has to replace all that Windows revenue with services revenue. Apple has already done this in that their services revenue now account for $100B annually (https://www.statista.com/chart/14629/apple-services-revenue/) and MS doesn't have a hardware business to rely on as Apple does.
I'm sure MS sees a future where Windows is free and if you don't have an account, they can't monetize you at all. At that point, you are no longer a customer so there isn't much point in them continuing to support you.
init2null
They could at least learn from the tier model on planes. Pick the cheap and miserable experience where you'll get ignored the whole flight or the luxury seating with great attention and decent dining.
As it is now, Microsoft gives everyone below Enterprise the same bad ad-cluttered, zero-privacy experience. There's no motivation for an individual to spend more.
ToucanLoucan
> Because the writing has been on the wall that people are no longer going to pay for operating systems.
I don't mean to be rude, but when has that writing not been on the wall? You can find scripts to activate Windows on fucking github. Like maybe people would be less apt to steal it if it wasn't so insanely simple to do that you could automate the process in a bat file?!
Add to it, I'd bet money the VAST majority of the time, people are using those things to install Windows to devices that already had Windows installed legally from the factory, with a legal license purchased by the OEM, that Microsoft refuses to, and has refused to permit users to reinstall with since I was a young bab in 1999, despite the fact that my GRANDMOTHER knows that the longer you run an install of Windows, the worse it performs, because it's poorly engineered.
Personally, I'd be fine paying for Windows if I could buy perpetual, permanent licenses for it that I could install with repeatedly, and that the OS wasn't constantly shoving ads in my face, haranguing me about using a stupid Microsoft account, and using enough telemetry to enable identity theft. But Windows licensing has always, always been exclusively the domain of PC manufacturers and corporations. Microsoft refuses to make it even slightly better to use for users, which is why users by and large just crack it and get on with their lives. $200 for a key you can use three times is fucking absurd.
jarito
~70% of desktop computing today is performed on MS devices (https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/desktop/worldwide). Virtually all of that 70% is done on a paid operating system (mostly OEMs as you noted). While I think that it has been clear that we are moving to a free OS model since the Apple revival (iPhone driven, not desktop) the speed of this change is slow. There is no point in MS trying to rush it as they would just cannibalize what is still a ~$24B business for them.
How easy it is to steal something isn't really a good measure here. First, the vast majority of MS customers can not find a script on GitHub and run it and most don't have a desire too. MS is likely willing to live with some level of piracy as stamping it out would cause larger revenue loses than accepting it. That doesn't tell us anything about their strategy or the market.
As to the OEMs, MS is essentially doing what you suggest and offering a tiered model. If you buy Windows yourself at full price, then you can re-install it, change hardware, etc. If you get it through an OEM (where MS is selling that license at a massive discount) you don't have those rights. I'm not saying I love these choices - especially the BS about limited installs and hidden licenses - just that the choice does exist. (We can have a reasonable argument about the Windows tax - less important now, but still a thing).
If we're right about the future, MS has to replace that $24B somehow. Their current plan is services so they need to tie MS users to MS services and monetize those. In this case, it seems that MS doesn't believe that there are enough folks like you who are willing to pay > $100 for a license so they are pursuing this path.
Good news is - unlike the 1990's, we have multiple, credible alternatives so you can pick non-Windows systems.
ReptileMan
I am fine with that. If they provide any kind of valuable services I will make account with them and pay them money. So why not start with that small part of the project - make anything people want.
theandrewbailey
Because they're thick headed on everything. Remember when Windows 8 came out and Microsoft thought every computer should look and behave like a tablet?
thinkingtoilet
Have you considered your not their target demographic?
ReptileMan
And who is their target demographic?
soraminazuki
Consumers who want nothing more than to be exploited by trillion dollar corporations.
soupfordummies
organizations spending 8+ figures yearly, I guess
phkahler
Linux will let you use your computer without a Microsoft account. No tricks required.
LinuxBender
I hope this remains true for all distributions. Playing around with Fedora's beta suggested to me they will implement a store (this may already be a thing) and I can see that one day requiring an account to use the store at least but that could slowly and eventually boil the frogs depending if IBM stays hands off. If Redhat eventually goes that direction I could see a few other corporate supported distributions following. I was only testing Fedora as it appeared to be one of the easiest to optimize for gaming at the time. My daily drivers are Void and MX and those should remain safe for now.
ziddoap
Can't wait until Linux supports QuickBooks, SolidWorks, and the other software I need.
(Maybe I need to clarify that this isn't sarcasm? If I could run QuickBooks and SolidWorks on Linux, I would be switching several dozen PCs to Linux)
ivanmontillam
I say the same thing about Zoom meetings.
My job used to be (not anymore) Tech Support Specialist, and I needed to use Zoom most of the time to take control of the device and make the changes. We also used heavily the voice call feature so I was able to give instructions. Other software like TeamViewer had pricing that did not make sense to us, and other tech support software did not have voice call support, so it made assistance less straightforward.
Well, back then (2016-2018), I tried Ubuntu, and the Zoom client was not as polished as it was on Windows. It got in the way by confusing my keystrokes with meeting controls, and it was just very quirky in general.
Maybe today is different, but I'm not a Tech Support Specialist anymore. However, I feel very comfortable using Windows. I don't feel compelled to make the change to Linux, where other software I use could be a quirky experience again.
phkahler
>> Can't wait until Linux supports QuickBooks, SolidWorks, and the other software I need.
Well QuickBooks is moving everything online and their backend stuff looks like it can run on Linux. For CAD it looks like OnShape and not much else - FreeCAD just IMHO isn't up to par for commercial use yet.
I feel like Redhat or some other distro should have a small business variant that comes with some options for the common business stuff. Someone needs to flesh out finance, CRM, HR, inventory, purchasing, and payroll software or do a decent integration of FLOSS options. Maybe include some online services as options where the free stuff isn't there yet.
pathartl
QuickBooks online is a completely different beast compared to QuickBooks. Then there are people who are still operating on stuff like Sage... And that's just accounting software.
ziddoap
As the sibling commenter mentions, QuickBooks Enterprise is completely distinct from QuickBooks Online, with very different feature sets. QuickBooks Enterprise is not going anywhere, at least any time soon.
minebreaker
I agree. If Cubase and Dorico work on Linux, I'll immediately switch to Linux.
theandrewbailey
I agree, that's the ultimate Microsoft account bypass.
rchaud
Sure, no tricks required, other than:
- selecting 1 out 100 possible Linux variants, an effortless task for the average computer user
- creating a hard drive partition, mere child's play
- creating a USB image, booting from that USB, installing to the blank partition
- and then loading the desktop environment, where immediately the audio drivers, wireless cards/NICs don't work and battery life is cut in half.
zen928
Surely 2025 is the year of the linux desktop, this is the one guys!!!
RicoElectrico
I'm sure Canonical hasn't said their last word yet.
null
null
> When installing Windows 11 and you reach the screen asking, "Let's connect you to a network," you can use the Shift+F10 keyboard combination to open a Windows command prompt.
> At this prompt, type start ms-cxh:localonly and press Enter