I went through the typical bypass steps and successfully set up a local account for my new Windows install of Windows 11 Pro (Windows is necessary due to some proprietary software I use). I got everything restored from all my backups, all my software installed and licensed, and things were looking good to go.
Then I restart my computer, and it goes through the typical BS of “What are you using this computer for? Let us help you install programs we think you need. Here’s 3 months of gamepass for free, just give us your credit card info.” And then finally, it comes up with a Microsoft account screen. There is no skip. There is no “I don’t have a Microsoft account.” There is no bypass by disconnecting my ethernet cable.
Even successfully setting up the PC without a Microsoft account isn’t enough to escape. This is a bunch of garbage, and I was wondering if anybody else had found a solution.
With Windows enterprise you can block Microsoft accounts with GPOs under Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Local Policies > Security Options
Might be possible on other Windows versions, too.
In the Pro edition, you can simply choose the “join a domain” option and then skip that step to create a local account. Alternatively, you can use the new OOBE bypass trick by entering “start ms-cxh:localonly” in the command prompt, which will yield the same outcome for both Home and Pro editions. Lastly, if you flash a Windows 11 ISO using Rufus, you can select the option to disable the online account during the setup process.