Solved Does win 11 Pro still allow you to setup with a local account?

If I buy a new computer today before the 22H2 update comes out, will Windows Pro still have the official option to install with a local account?

Based on my test installs of both 21H2 and 22H2, as long as you load 21H2 and then update to 22H2 you should be good to go. There are also ways to restore the Local Account Creation for a clean 22H2 install (see Rufus v3.20; several autounattended.xml scripts).

How do you install with a rufus iso if you're setting up for the new computer?

With Rufus (a portable version is available) you'll need an 8 or 16GB thumb drive and the Windows 11 22H2 ISO. Rufus will partition the drive for you based on the criteria you give it. There's a walk through on their site. Works like a charm as it also bypasses the need for all the TPM requirements which are a pain even with supported hardware. Once the thumb drive is created use it to boot your machine and do a fresh install. You might have to turn off "secure boot" in the BIOS.

Just courious, what are people going to do once 22H2 comes out and they don't have internet and can't afford satellite internet? I just don't see Microsoft forcing those people to move to another platform and losing the money.

I have a client with just that problem. It's not that she can't afford internet access it's that it's just not available. We setup her machine in my office using a local account and stripped out anything from MS that required an online account. Loaded up the latest freeware options (LibreOffice, VLC, Thunderbird, etc.) and outside of the OS itself she has a MS free machine. She uses her phone for a hot spot for simple web surfing and e-mail (nothing heavy). She has an office in town for anything really internet intensive. It's a little inconvenient but that's what we get for living in rural areas where we don't have to put up with the big city problems.

fdhealy4 said:

Just courious, what are people going to do once 22H2 comes out and they don't have internet and can't afford satellite internet? I just don't see Microsoft forcing those people to move to another platform and losing the money.

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Just what they do now. 22H2 will make no difference to the need for internet access for anyone that wants to obtain software, keep systems up to date, communicate with others or use online media. And the same applies to all other current operating systems.

You can still clean install Windows 11 with a local account using a workaround below.

I did a reinstall Sat. on a Notebook that will go out tomorrow for factory warranty repair and was able to do a Local Account with no password. Only thing I saw new is the Widgets didn't work without a login, kind of a bummer as nearly all pages linked to carry advertisement.

Yes, you can still install Windows 11 Pro using the currently available ISO of 21H2 and you can use a local account. I just did it yesterday. Just keep a copy of that ISO, install it, and then use Windows update to get onto later versions.

There are other ways too to work around the prompt too that apparently work with the Insider releases that should continue to work after the 22H2 release.

fdhealy4 said:

I just don't see Microsoft forcing those people to move to another platform and losing the money.

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I seriously doubt that MS cares. Windows isn't their biggest money maker.

Internet access has become a needed utility just like water and electricity and needs to be regulated as such. The cable companies have taken over much of the distribution and have made access insanely expensive when it doesn't cost almost anything once the initial installation is complete. In my area we have two "reasonable" options for internet. Big phone company or big cable company. The city attempted to start their own ISP to provide a third, more affordable, option and the two incumbents sued the city to maintain their monopoly and the city backed down due to the expense of the lawsuit. Ain't America great?

Ghost1959 said:

Internet access has become a needed utility just like water and electricity and needs to be regulated as such. The cable companies have taken over much of the distribution and have made access insanely expensive when it doesn't cost almost anything once the initial installation is complete. In my area we have two "reasonable" options for internet. Big phone company or big cable company. The city attempted to start their own ISP to provide a third, more affordable, option and the two incumbents sued the city to maintain their monopoly and the city backed down due to the expense of the lawsuit. Ain't America great?

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Typical with utility companies getting a franchise to provide service in a town, goes back a whole bunch of years. We have one power company in town and another within 10 miles that can't come into town/compete because of that.

Berton said:

was able to do a Local Account with no password. Only thing I saw new is the Widgets didn't work without a login

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All my machines that live at home have local accounts without passwords. The one I take out and about with me has a password, but still just a local account.

You can sign in just for the Widgets app, if you like. But be very careful not to click the big friendly 'Next' button. when you do so. Unless you really want to switch to an MS account you must click the small print 'Microsoft apps only'.



Then Widgets will work, but you'll still have your local account without a password.

Can you still setup windows 11 Home, local account, by disconnecting the internet during setup?

Disconnecting the internet is not enough any more during a normal setup. See Brink's post #8 for what to do during the setup process..
Also for anyone wanting to do a clean install with a local account, @Ghost1959 is correct. Download the iso and use Rufus to make a bootable usb drive with the option of bypassing the Microsoft account stipulation. It works like a charm. I have not found a need to disable secure boot. In this case, I would disconnect the internet during setup, though.

I had to install with a MS Account, and when everything was done, I went into Settings and chose "Local Account". I couldn't bypass it any other way. It's a pain in the rear, and MS can kiss off.

As of yesterday, the old Shift+F10 bypass during installation worked a treat. Love the thrill of telling MS to mind their own business, you don't need my email !!

fdhealy4 said:

Just courious, what are people going to do once 22H2 comes out and they don't have internet and can't afford satellite internet? I just don't see Microsoft forcing those people to move to another platform and losing the money.

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I don't think that's a real issue --if you can afford to buy a computer that is Windows 11 capable how could you not afford Internet -- In any case I suspect anybodywho has a computer also has a moble phone so just set up temporarily an access point. Even on the most rapacious tariff's the amount of time you'd need to be connected to the internet is minimal -- and if you don't have Internet how would you get Windows legitimately activated. Even if using a genuine product key from W7 for example you'd still need to connect to Ms's activation servers at least once !!.

Plenty of other complaints such as the more aggressive insistence on using Ms accounts -- but that's totally a separate issue.

Cheers
jimbo

JMedlock83 said:

I had to install with a MS Account, and when everything was done, I went into Settings and chose "Local Account". I couldn't bypass it any other way.

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What methods did you try ?