How to set up Windows 11 without a Microsoft account

Local account or Microsoft account?

Neither is wrong. It depends on who's using the PC.

A local account is a good fit for a PC that mostly runs a browser, a shared family computer, a PC you're refurbishing to give away, or anyone who'd rather keep things simple. If you use OneDrive and want your files on every device, the Microsoft account is less hassle.

The reliable way: Rufus

Rufus is a free tool for making bootable USB sticks. It can set up the Windows installer to skip the Microsoft account screen and create your local account for you. Because the change is built into the install media, it doesn't depend on a trick Microsoft might remove next month. It's the same tool I recommend for installing Windows 11 on an unsupported PC, and both options can be checked at once.

This is a clean install, so it erases the PC's drive. Back up your files first.

1. Download the Windows 11 ISO from Microsoft's Download Windows 11 page (the "Download Windows 11 Disk Image" section), and Rufus from rufus.ie.
2. Plug in a USB stick of 8 GB or more. Everything on it gets erased.
3. Open Rufus, pick the USB stick, click Select, choose the ISO, and click Start.
4. In the Windows User Experience box, check Remove requirement for an online Microsoft account and Create a local account with username, and type the name you want. Click OK.
5. Boot the PC from the USB stick. The boot menu key is usually F12 on Dell and Lenovo, F9 on HP, or Esc.
6. Install as normal. Setup skips the Microsoft account screen and signs you in to the local account.
7. Set a password right away. The account Rufus creates has no password. Go to Settings, Accounts, Sign-in options, Password, and add one.

Without Rufus: OOBE\BYPASSNRO

If you're setting up a new or refurbished PC that's already at the Windows setup screens, you can try this first. Whether it works depends on which Windows 11 version is installed.

1. Don't connect to the internet. Unplug the network cable, and don't pick a Wi-Fi network.
2. At the "Let's connect you to a network" screen, press Shift+F10 to open a Command Prompt. On some laptops it's Shift+Fn+F10.
3. Type the command exactly as shown, with the backslash and capital letters, and press Enter:

   OOBE\BYPASSNRO

4. The PC restarts and comes back to setup. At the network screen, click I don't have internet, then Continue with limited setup, and create your local account.

If the PC restarts but there's no "I don't have internet" option, this trick has been removed from your version. Use the Rufus method instead.

Other tricks, and what no longer works

• start ms-cxh:localonly: typed into the same Shift+F10 Command Prompt, this opened a box to create a local account on some 2025 Windows 11 install media. In October 2025, Microsoft said it was removing these shortcuts, and Insider test builds no longer have it. Worth a try, but don't count on it.
• Windows 11 Pro only: choose Set up for work or school, then Sign-in options, then Domain join instead. That creates a local account. Windows 11 Home doesn't have this option.
• The fake email trick (signing in with a made-up address so setup gives up and offers a local account) has been blocked.

Because these keep changing, Rufus is the method I'd plan on. The setup screens are a moving target, and the install media is the part you control.

Switch an existing PC to a local account

If Windows is already set up with a Microsoft account, you don't need to reinstall.

• Switch your own account: open Settings, Accounts, Your info, and choose Sign in with a local account instead. Windows asks for your current PIN or password, then a new local username and password. Your files and programs stay put.
• Add a second, local account: Settings, Accounts, Other users, Add account. Choose I don't have this person's sign-in information, then Add a user without a Microsoft account.

Before you switch, check whether the drive is encrypted. Open Settings, Privacy & security, Device encryption (or search for Manage BitLocker). If encryption is on, sign in at aka.ms/myrecoverykey and write down the recovery key first. It's saved to your Microsoft account now, and once you switch you'll want your own copy.

After setup

• Give the account a password, and set up a PIN under Sign-in options if you prefer something shorter.
• Write down the BitLocker recovery key if you turn on encryption later. Without a Microsoft account, nobody else has a copy.
• Sign in to apps one at a time where you want them. The Microsoft Store, Outlook, and OneDrive each let you sign in without changing your Windows login.
• Keep Windows Update on. A local account gets exactly the same security updates. With Secure Boot certificates changing in 2026, staying current matters on older PCs.

Still on Windows 10? You can keep a local account there, but enrolling in Extended Security Updates requires signing in with a Microsoft account.