Microsoft closes known gap in Windows installation without Microsoft account

A new preview version of Windows 11 makes it clear that Microsoft will only allow the operating system to be installed with a Microsoft account. Until now, Windows 11 can be installed without logging in to the company if the user knows how to call up a specific script. However, this will be ruled out in future, as Microsoft explained in a beta version of the operating system released a few days ago as part of the Windows Insider program. However, there is already a countermeasure, albeit a somewhat complex one, to continue using this workaround.

In order to force the use of cloud services and accounts, Microsoft had already blocked Windows installation with a local account in June 2024. The previously popular and frequently used method of entering a non-existent name such as "Windows" or "Microsoft" and any (invalid) password as the account name when installing Windows has no longer been usable since then.

Users who only want to install Windows 11 with a local account and without cloud services must therefore circumvent the Microsoft requirements in another way. This involves cutting the network connections during installation. Windows will then indicate that there is no internet connection. In the Windows command prompt, execute the command oobe\bypassnro to restart the Windows setup. The installation program then shows the option "I have no internet", which allows you to create a local account.

Microsoft removes popular bypass script

However, this bypass option will also soon be history, as Microsoft writes about the recently released "Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26200.5516" (KB5054687). Amidst the description of numerous new features and fixes , it says: "We are removing the bypassnro.cmd script from the build to improve the security and user experience of Windows 11. This change ensures that all users finish the setup with an internet connection and a Microsoft account."

So far, the bypass script continues to work in all current Windows 11 versions, it has only been removed from the beta version of the operating system mentioned above. However, it can be assumed that Microsoft will integrate this change in one of the upcoming updates of Windows 11 if the beta testers do not experience any problems with it. Anyone who still wants to install the operating system using the bypass script should therefore not use the latest version of Windows 11 in future.

Offline installation via registry command

However, there is another alternative to installing Windows 11 without a Microsoft account, as can be found at X. The bypass script can be reactivated by changing the registry of the operating system. To do this, open the Windows command prompt during Windows setup by pressing Shift (Shift) and F10 at the same time and then execute this command: reg add HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\OOBE /v BypassNRO /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f shutdown /r /t 0.

However, Microsoft could also block this bypass variant for installing Windows 11 without a Microsoft account in future by removing the entry from the registry. After all, official Windows versions are not currently affected by this and can still be installed offline using a bypass script. Existing Windows installations will also not be affected by the planned changes.

(fds)