Not everyone wants an “always online” account on their computer. In the past, Windows accounts were local by default and you handled things like backups yourself. In Windows 11 that option seems to have disappeared during setup, but luckily there is still a simple way to create a local account.
The steps
- Insert the USB stick with the Windows 11 installation into your computer
- Boot your computer from the USB stick
- Continue the installation until you reach the screen where you choose your country/region
- Press Shift + F10
- A black window will open (Command Prompt)
- Type: OOBE\BYPASSNRO
- Press Enter, your computer will now restart
- Go through the installation again, you will now get the option to create a local account
The command OOBE\BYPASSNRO instructs the setup process to bypass "Network Requirement Operations". This effectively removes the Microsoft account requirement, allows the setup to display an "I don't have internet" option, and makes it possible to create a local account.
Note: disable the internet connection
If your system is still connected to the internet after the restart, you need to disable it first:
- Press Shift + F10 again in the setup screen
- Type: ipconfig /release
- Press Enter and close the window
This will temporarily disable all network connections, both wired and Wi-Fi.
Tip: If you had not set up Wi-Fi yet and there was no network cable connected to your computer, you do not need to perform the extra steps to disable the internet.
With this method you can easily use a local account in Windows 11, without depending on a Microsoft account. There can be different reasons for this, such as extra privacy. In addition, not everything is automatically stored in the cloud.