How to Install Windows 11 with Local Account

Here's how you can install Windows 11 with a Local Account and omit the Microsoft Account requirement. It forces the latter by default if you have connected your device to the Internet. However, if it is not your plan, you can bypass the enforcement and set up Windows 11 with a traditional account type.

Before proceeding, let's figure how one account type is different from another one.

Modern Windows versions allow the user to work with two different types of accounts. By default the operating system offers using a Microsoft Account. It is an online account which connects to Microsoft's own services and apps, and brings extra features like OneDrive, Office 365, and setting synchronization to users' hands. Microsoft Account debuted in Windows 8/

The local account is pretty limited. It is a classic account type, which have been available for ages in older releases of the OS. It can't be used to work with built-in online service, but it can use an empty password, it doesn't require PIN. However, many users still prefer this traditional way to sign in.

This post will show you different methods to install Window 11 with a Local Account.

Install Windows 11 with a Local Account

1. Start installing Windows 11 until you see the Region settings screen (OOBE), then  press Shift + F10.
2. This will open a command prompt. In the console, type the following command: start ms-cxh:localonly.
3. The command will immediately open a dialog for a local account. Fill in your username and password.
4. Proceed to finish the setup. There will be no difference from the regular one.

The reviewed trick does not require you to have an internet connection. Also, it works without restarting your PC or the Windows setup program, which is pretty convenient.

However, this is not the only way you can use. There's a couple more.

One more method is even more tricky than the reviewed above, as it involves editing the Registry right in the OOBE. But it is officially supported by Microsoft. Let's dive into the details.

Setup Windows 11 with a Local Account with a Registry Tweak

1. Once you see the Select Region screen of OOBE, press Shift + F10 to open the command prompt.
2. Type regedit.exe in the Command Prompt window, and press Enter to run the Registry Editor.
3. Navigate to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\OOBE key.
4. Right-click the OOBE key in the left pane, and select New > DWORD (32-bit) value.
5. Name the new value HideOnlineAccountScreens, and set its value data to 1.
6. Create one more DWORD (32-bit) value named HideWirelessSetupInOOBE. Again, set it to 1.
7. Close the Registry editor and Command Prompt windows. Continue setting up Windows 11 as usual. You will now be able to create a local account right from the setup program.

That's it. As said, Microsoft is officially supporting the two mentioned values.

Finally, one more method is to create a special answer file, autounattend.xml.

Install Windows 11 without a Microsoft Account using an answer file

The answer file, autounattend.xml,  allows installing Windows 11 without Internet and with a Local Account.

It will do for you the following tasks.

• Will allow to select a Windows edition
• Perform the disk management
• Specify the desired password for a local account (but you can omit that)
• Set the time zone.
• It will skip connection Wireless network connection.
• It will skip privacy options (those Express settings).

The sample configuration file autounattend.xml that you can use looks as follows.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<unattend xmlns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:unattend">
    <settings pass="oobeSystem">
        <component name="Microsoft-Windows-International-Core" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
            <InputLocale>0409:00000409/InputLocale>
            <SystemLocale>EN-US</SystemLocale>
            <UILanguage>EN-US</UILanguage>
            <UILanguageFallback>EN-US</UILanguageFallback>
            <UserLocale>EN-US</UserLocale>
        </component>
        <component name="Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup" processorArchitecture="amd64" publicKeyToken="31bf3856ad364e35" language="neutral" versionScope="nonSxS" xmlns:wcm="http://schemas.microsoft.com/WMIConfig/2002/State" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
            <OOBE>
                <HideOnlineAccountScreens>true</HideOnlineAccountScreens>
                <ProtectYourPC>3</ProtectYourPC>
                <HideWirelessSetupInOOBE>true</HideWirelessSetupInOOBE>
            </OOBE>
            <UserAccounts>
                <LocalAccounts>
                    <LocalAccount wcm:action="add">
                        <Description>Local user with admin privileges</Description>
                        <DisplayName>User</DisplayName>
                        <Group>Administrators</Group>
                        <Name>User</Name>
                    </LocalAccount>
                </LocalAccounts>
            </UserAccounts>
            <RegisteredOwner>User</RegisteredOwner>
        </component>
    </settings>
</unattend>

This file is for English version of Windows 11, and it will install the English (US) locale.

The best thing about it is that it will automatically install Windows 11 with a local account named User. It will have administrative privileges, and by default won't have a password.

You will be prompted to specify it during the install, but you can just click Next or hit the Enter key and proceed without it.

You can download the above file using this link. Extract it to any folder and put it as follows.

Install Windows 11 using autounattend.xml Answer File

1. Prepare a bootable USB with your Windows 11 setup.
2. Put your autounattend.xml file to the root of your bootable USB drive.
3. Boot from the USB drive.
4. Windows 11 will automatically use that file. It will not prompt you for a Microsoft Account and Internet connection.
5. After setting up the OS, use the "User" account to sign in. It will be a classic local account.

Alternatively, you can use the autounattend.xml file "on demand". This may be a more flexible way for you, as one time you may use it, say on your own PC, and omit it on a friend's device.

How to apply the autounattend.xml file on demand

1. Copy your answer to the root of the setup USB drive under a different name, say setup.xml.
2. On the very first OOBE screen, which is Select Region, press Shift + F10 to open the command prompt.
3. Now, in the command prompt window, enter the command:
   C:\Windows\System32\Sysprep\sysprep.exe /reboot /oobe /unattend:D:\setup.xml, where D: is the letter of the setup drive (see the Note).
4. The setup program will restart and will use your file to take the parameters and settings from it.

Note: You can quickly find the drive letter with your setup.xml file by iterating through drive letters in the dir command in the Command Prompt. I.E. enter dir c:\ and check if you see the setup.xml file in the output. If not, try dir d:\. Repeat this until you see your answer file.

That's it.

Using the OOBE\BYPASSNRO Command

Note: This method is not effective in Windows 11 25H2 and onward 

1. Once prompted to connect to the Internet to complete the initial setup, press Shift + F10 to launch Command Prompt.
2. Enter the OOBE\BYPASSNRO command and press Enter.
3. Your computer will restart after executing the command. Windows 11 will boot back to the same window asking you to connect to the Internet. This time, you will see a button that allows bypassing the limitation.
4. Click the "I don’t have Internet" link.
5. Finally, click "Continue with limited setup."
6. Follow the on-screen instructions to set up Windows 11 without an active Internet connection.

Sadly, Microsoft has removed the BYPASSNRO batch file from Insider Preview versions of Windows 11 in Spring 2025. Those builds represent the base for Windows 11 25H2.

The Developer Console method

Note: This method is not effective in Windows 11 24H2 and onward 

1. Start installing Windows 11 as usual until you see the Secondary Keyboard Layout screen. It appears after two other screens, Select Region, and Select Keyboard Layout.
2. Don't click Skip on the Secondary Keyboard Layout screen. Instead, press Ctrl + Shift + J. This will open a Developer Console with a > prompt blinking in the top left corner.
3. Type the following command and hit Enter. WinJS.Application.restart("ms-cxh://LOCALONLY").
4. Press Esc to close the Developer Console. Windows setup program will open the screen where you will be able to create a local account.

That's it.

Prior to the Windows 11 24H2 release you could also fool the installer by providing non-existing Microsoft Account credentials in the user name and password fields in OOBE. Version 24H2 closes this bypass, but if you are installing an older version of Windows 11, check the below solution.

Non-existing Email Method

Note: This method is not effective in Windows 11 24H2 and onward 

1. Run the setup from a bootable media like USB stick.
2. Follow the prompts on the screen until you reach the Account page.
3. In the email, phone or Skype box, type any non-existing address. I advise you to enter 1@1.com as the shortest suitable sequence.
4. Click Next, and specify any password. Again, you can simply type 1 and hit Enter.
5. Windows 11 will show you the "Oops, something went wrong page". Click on Next here.
6. Voila, you are now prompted to install Windows 11 with a local account!

That's the easiest and the fastest way to set up the OS without creating a Microsoft Account.

Install Windows 11 without Internet

Windows 11 requires the Internet connection to finish the setup. Initially, this requirement was only mandatory for Windows 11 Home edition. However, starting in build 22557, this also applicable to the Pro edition. If the above reviewed trick didn't help you, and the OS doesn't finish the setup without an Internet connection, try the solution below.

To install Windows 11 offline, do the following.

1. Once you see the "Lets connect you to a network" screen, press the Shift + F10 shortcut keys.

   

2. This will open the Command prompt window, where you need to type:
   taskkill /F /IM oobenetworkconnectionflow.exe.
3. Now hit the Enter key and close the Command prompt window.
4. Return to the setup program. You should be able to create a local account.

Disconnect the Internet connection

That's obvious that if you can simply disconnect the Internet and prevent Windows 11 from creating a Microsoft account. However, keep in mind that this should be done before the OOBE starts. Otherwise, the OS will remember that the connection was available. It will keep asking you to reconnect to the internet and proceed with a Microsoft Account.

That's it!

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