Microsoft account questions

Hello, and please bear eith me, I'm a life long local account user with nonpassword so all of this windows 11 home era is new to me. Did a lot of reading and all was lost on me.

I set up windows 11 with microsoft account and also got a local account and both are administrator.
What would happen if I signed out the microsoft account, windows11? What would happen if I unlinked my machine from microsoft account, the microsoft account page on hotmail/ outlook?
Would I lose the license and registeration?
Would I be able to use my unlinked machine while I'm signed out the microsoft account?
What is bitlocker? How to get it? Is my michine locked? Would I stll be able to upgrade ram etc etc, do resert or clean install?
How to remove that lock icon on my SSD hard drive patitions?

Apparently, my microst account email is saved on edge user, I did all the ways available online to get it removed but it's still there and popping up in every inbox needs to be filled with an email. How can I get rid of it? I don't want an edge user account linked to email!

Lastly, What is hello sign-in? I want to remove it but will I be able to use my machine without it?

Many thanks in advance.

Hakeem said:

Hello, and please bear eith me, I'm a life long local account user with nonpassword so all of this windows 11 home era is new to me. Did a lot of reading and all was lost on me.

Click to expand...

Welcome to Eleven Forum

Hakeem said:

I set up windows 11 with microsoft account and also got a local account and both are administrator.
What would happen if I signed out the microsoft account, windows11? What would happen if I unlinked my machine from microsoft account, the microsoft account page on hotmail/ outlook?
Would I lose the license and registeration?

Click to expand...

Your PC is activated with a digital licence, this is linked to the unique hardware ID of your PC and stored on Microsoft's activation servers. This is completely independent of the Microsoft account. You will not lose the digital licence if you switch to a local account.

Hakeem said:

Would I be able to use my unlinked machine while I'm signed out the microsoft account?

Click to expand...

You need to be signed in with your Microsoft account. You can then switch it to being a local account.

Hakeem said:

What is bitlocker? How to get it? Is my michine locked? Would I stll be able to upgrade ram etc etc, do resert or clean install?
How to remove that lock icon on my SSD hard drive patitions?

Click to expand...

Bitlocker encrypts your drive. There are two levels of encryption. On a suitable machine a clean install will use Device Encryption, the drive will be encrypted but left unlocked. In Home that's as far as you can go. In Pro you have the option to lock the drive, it then becomes Bitlocker encrypted with a key that you must keep a record of, else you may never be able to unlock your drive. If you were signed in with a Microsoft account the Bitlocker key will be stored there.

Personally I prefer not to have my drives encrypted, and turn off Device Encryption if it has been enabled in a clean install.

Hakeem said:

Apparently, my microst account email is saved on edge user, I did all the ways available online to get it removed but it's still there and popping up in every inbox needs to be filled with an email. How can I get rid of it? I don't want an edge user account linked to email!

Click to expand...

In your profile in Edge Settings you can sign out.

Hakeem said:

Lastly, What is hello sign-in? I want to remove it but will I be able to use my machine without it?

Click to expand...

Windows Hello is an alternative way to sign in, usually with a PIN or, if your hardware supports it, with fingerprint or facial recognition. When you first set up your Microsoft account on the PC you would have been required to set up Windows Hello.

If you turn off Windows Hello in Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options you will be able to sign in with a password instead. Make sure you know, or have set, your account's password before turning off Windows Hello. If you switch your account from a Microsoft account to a local account you will be asked to set a password.

Nice post, Bree

antspants said:

Nice post, Bree

Click to expand...

Thanks.

For my laptops that never leave the house I like to use a Local account with no password. When you switch from a Microsoft account to a Local account you will be asked to set a password, but you can leave it as a blank password if you like.

For laptops I take out with me I still use a Local account, but it has a password. You can use Windows Hello with a local account as long as it has a password, so they also have a PIN. I find it an easier way to sign in.

@Welcome to the forum. That's a lot of questions for one thread so let's start with several of of them..
Since you have not filled out your system specs my answers are general.

If you set up with a MS account Windows automatically sets Documents, Desktop, Pictures, and Videos folders to use OneDrive as their default storage location. These files are not located on your system drive. If you want to unlink your PC from Onedrive and store your personal files and folders on your system drive, you do not do that in your MS account online. You do it within your computer settings
There is a special procedure to do this correctly. If that is your aim, please advise so we can furnish it to you. And no, unsyncing from Onedriive has no bearing on what you see in your MS account online. The machine would remain linked to your online account, just not to onedrive.

IF this computer came with 11 installed, you can reinstall or reset windows at any time without a license key. Your license key is permanently stored in its UEFI bios. Clean install will automatically install whatever version of Windows that license key is for.

If the computer was upgraded from Windows 10 to 11 it has been assigned a digital license associated with your hardware and stored on MS server. It should also be associated with your MS account online.

Hakeem said:

What is bitlocker? How to get it? Is my michine locked?

Click to expand...

Hakeem said:

How to remove that lock icon on my SSD hard drive patitions?

Click to expand...

The lock icon indicates your drive(s) is encrypted.

BitLocker is a full-disk encryption feature in Windows Pro that protects data by encrypting the entire volume, including operating system drives, fixed drives, and removable drives. Bitlocker is OFF by default until the user chooses which drives he wants to encrypt.
You will need a BitLocker recovery key, a 48-digit code, to access your data if the drive can't be unlocked automatically. The user shoud keep record of this key but for emergencies, the key is stored in your MS account online.

If you have Windows Home, it uses an version of Bitlocker encryption called "device encryption". By default device encryption is turned on and ALL drives are encrypted. The user can not choose what drives he wants to encrypt as with full Bitlocker. It also requires a 48 digit code recovery key.
If you turn off device encryption, the lock icon will disappear.

Hakeem said:

account email is saved on edge user, I did all the ways available online to get it removed but it's still there and popping up in every inbox needs to be filled with an email. How can I get rid of it? I don't want an edge user account linked to email!

Click to expand...

If you mean you do not want to sync Edge settings, favorites, and history between your other computers, I do not know what "all" ways you tried.
Open Edge settings(3 dots),
under Profile Settings click on SYNC and click on it. Toggle OFF all the stuff that you are syncing. Then sign out if it didn't sign you out automatically..

Hakeem said:

What is hello sign-in? I want to remove it but will I be able to use my machine without it?

Click to expand...

Hello allows you to sign in to your device using a fingerprint, facial recognition, or a PIN, providing a more secure and personalized way to authenticate than traditional passwords.Yes you can disable it reverting to using only password.

Disable passwordless sigin using this tutorial Enable or Disable Passwordless Sign-in for Microsoft Accounts in Windows 11

FYI you might also want to to disable having to enter a password if you have been away (IE: when the computer has been asleep)

I suggest you become familiar with this forums tutorial section. You will find most any solution for setting issues. It is searchable and can be viewed alphabetically. Tutorial Index

Hope that gives you some answers.

Bree said:

Welcome to Eleven Forum

Click to expand...

Thank you and sorry if I didn't make /am not making myself clear.

Bree said:

You need to be signed in with your Microsoft account. You can then switch it to being a local account.

Switch to Local Account from Microsoft Account in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to switch to a local account from a Microsoft account to sign in to Windows 11 with instead. You can sign in to Windows 11 with a local account or a Microsoft account. However, you can easily switch between using a local account or a Microsoft account to sign in...

www.elevenforum.com

Click to expand...

So if I signed out from microsoft account on windows11 I can't switch to the other local.acount I already have.?It will ask me to sign into my microsoft account again to be able to log into windows and sign into the other local account?

I do understand that switching microsoft account "the initial one" to a local account is different from the the local account I've created and granted it administrator rights.

Bree said:

Bitlocker encrypts your drive. There are two levels of encryption. On a suitable machine a clean install will use Device Encryption, the drive will be encrypted but left unlocked. In Home that's as far as you can go. In Pro you have the option to lock the drive, it then becomes Bitlocker encrypted with a key that you must keep a record of, else you may never be able to unlock your drive. If you were signed in with a Microsoft account the Bitlocker key will be stored there.

Personally I prefer not to have my drives encrypted, and turn off Device Encryption if it has been enabled in a clean install.

Check BitLocker Drive Encryption Status of Drive in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to check the current status if BitLocker Drive Encryption for a drive in Windows 10 and Windows 11. BitLocker Drive Encryption is a data protection feature that integrates with the operating system and addresses the threats of data theft or exposure from lost...

www.elevenforum.com

Click to expand...

Yes I signed in with microsoft account and it was turned on by default, wanted to turn it off, toggle off, it says it will take a long time and my data eon't be safe etc.
It's windows11 home so there is no bitlocker problem, locking my data?!

Bree said:

In your profile in Edge Settings you can sign out.

View attachment 144192

Click to expand...

I did sign out. but there is another app I registered into that keeps showing my email in the inter email box once I place the cursor in there and my email is showing in a dmall window saying it's auto fill and saved in edge. I signed into edge again toggled off all autofill password settings in the wallet I think; clicked on setting gear there as well as everywhere in settings that has to do with saving passwords and autofill into.Yet, it's still showing on the aformentioned app.
No clue!!

Also I want to delete my user on edge. Is it ok to do so since it's using the windows11 microsoft account email?

Bree said:

Windows Hello is an alternative way to sign in, usually with a PIN or, if your hardware supports it, with fingerprint or facial recognition. When you first set up your Microsoft account on the PC you would have been required to set up Windows Hello.

Click to expand...

Bree said:

If you turn off Windows Hello in Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options you will be able to sign in with a password instead. Make sure you know, or have set, your account's password before turning off Windows Hello. If you switch your account from a Microsoft account to a local account you will be asked to set a password.

Click to expand...

Bree said:

Thanks.

For my laptops that never leave the house I like to use a Local account with no password. When you switch from a Microsoft account to a Local account you will be asked to set a password, but you can leave it as a blank password if you like.

For laptops I take out with me I still use a Local account, but it has a password. You can use Windows Hello with a local account as long as it has a password, so they also have a PIN. I find it an easier way to sign in.

Click to expand...

Is it true what people have been saying for years now that it'd kinda fangerous to use microsoft account to sign into windows ad their servers may go down and one won't be able to use windows at all while things are down?!

glasskuter said:

@Welcome to the forum. That's a lot of questions for one thread so let's start with several of of them..
Since you have not filled out your system specs my answers are general.

Click to expand...

Thank you and I'm sorry for cramming all questions up into one thread.
It's windows11 home.

glasskuter said:

If you set up with a MS account Windows automatically sets Documents, Desktop, Pictures, and Videos folders to use OneDrive as their default storage location. These files are not located on your system drive. If you want to unlink your PC from Onedrive and store your personal files and folders on your system drive, you do not do that in your MS account online. You do it within your computer settings
There is a special procedure to do this correctly. If that is your aim, please advise so we can furnish it to you. And no, unsyncing from Onedriive has no bearing on what you see in your MS account online. The machine would remain linked to your online account, just not to onedrive.

Click to expand...

I've come to know about the misbehaviour of onedrive a few days ago. Followed a tutorial on youtube, found an edge web page and sent it to the recycle bin on onedrive interface. and then empty it by siging into microsoft account / outlook page/ website.
Then, i deleted the desktop folder from onedrive file on my machine. Unlinked ondrive from the onedrive interface settings. Then the whole one drive file disappeared from my machine. There was a short cut of edge too on my machine desktop, I don't know it was created by onedrive or windows as a shortcut for edge.Deleted it anyway.

glasskuter said:

IF this computer came with 11 installed, you can reinstall or reset windows at any time without a license key. Your license key is permanently stored in its UEFI bios. Clean install will automatically install whatever version of Windows that license key is for.

Click to expand...

glasskuter said:

If the computer was upgraded from Windows 10 to 11 it has been assigned a digital license associated with your hardware and stored on MS server. It should also be associated with your MS account online.

Click to expand...

It was preinstalled as I didn't use flash memory or anything. Just followed the instructions, updates, creating the initial microsoft account using an email.

glasskuter said:

The lock icon indicates your drive(s) is encrypted.

BitLocker is a full-disk encryption feature in Windows Pro that protects data by encrypting the entire volume, including operating system drives, fixed drives, and removable drives. Bitlocker is OFF by default until the user chooses which drives he wants to encrypt.
You will need a BitLocker recovery key, a 48-digit code, to access your data if the drive can't be unlocked automatically. The user shoud keep record of this key but for emergencies, the key is stored in your MS account online.

If you have Windows Home, it uses an version of Bitlocker encryption called "device encryption". By default device encryption is turned on and ALL drives are encrypted. The user can not choose what drives he wants to encrypt as with full Bitlocker. It also requires a 48 digit code recovery key.
If you turn off device encryption, the lock icon will disappear.

Turn On or Off Device Encryption in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to turn on or off device encryption on a Windows 11 PC. Device encryption is a Windows feature that enables BitLocker encryption automatically for the Operating System drive and fixed drives. It’s particularly beneficial for everyday users who want to ensure...

www.elevenforum.com

Click to expand...

Home version, so I still have to get the 48 digit code anyway?!

glasskuter said:

If you mean you do not want to sync Edge settings, favorites, and history between your other computers, I do not know what "all" ways you tried.
Open Edge settings(3 dots),
under Profile Settings click on SYNC and click on it. Toggle OFF all the stuff that you are syncing. Then sign out if it didn't sign you out automatically..

Click to expand...

I did that. Here's what I'm trying to say.

I did sign out. but there is another app I registered into that keeps showing my email in the inter email box once I place the cursor in there and my email is showing in a dmall window saying it's auto fill and saved in edge. I signed into edge again toggled off all autofill password settings in the wallet I think; clicked on setting gear there as well as everywhere in settings that has to do with saving passwords and autofill into.Yet, it's still showing on the aformentioned app.
No clue!!

Also I want to delete my user on edge. Is it ok to do so since it's using the windows11 microsoft account email?

glasskuter said:

Hello allows you to sign in to your device using a fingerprint, facial recognition, or a PIN, providing a more secure and personalized way to authenticate than traditional passwords.Yes you can disable it reverting to using only password.

Disable passwordless sigin using this tutorial Enable or Disable Passwordless Sign-in for Microsoft Accounts in Windows 11

FYI you might also want to to disable having to enter a password if you have been away (IE: when the computer has been asleep)

Enable or Disable Require Sign-in on Wakeup in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable to require sign-in on wakeup from sleep, hibernate, or Modern Standby for all users in Windows 11. To help secure your PC, Windows requires users to sign in on wakeup from sleep, hibernate, or resuming from Modern Standby (if supported) by...

www.elevenforum.com

I suggest you become familiar with this forums tutorial section. You will find most any solution for setting issues. It is searchable and can be viewed alphabetically. Tutorial Index

Hope that gives you some answers.

Click to expand...

I've been checking out all tutorials provided by you and Bree and still feeling lost.

Again, thank you both very much.

You're either signed in with a Microsoft Account or a local account, you can switch between them. I think the only real reason to use a Microsoft account is if you want syncing, IE if you want to use OneDrive or sync between different computers. I like to keep it simple and have each computer separate, I am actually using a Microsoft Account but only after I installed with a local account and unlinked and uninstalled Onedrive first. Because I didn't want it syncing everything. Once you get the syncing stuff out of the way, it's just a computer really and you just use it and it's not much different from Windows 10, there are even some bits of Windows 7 still in there.

As for sign in, Windows Hello is just alternative ways of signing in instead of having to type a password every time. I think the term Windows Hello is really just intended for people with touch screens who can log in with face recognition. I would suggest opting for the PIN (Windows hello) option as it's easier to remember than a password. This is just if you're using a Microsoft Account. If you're on a local account I think you just have a password or you can just have no password set at all.

If you're on Windows 11 Home you won't have BitLocker. although I think confusingly Bitlocker is mentioned even if you don't have it. What you will have as all Windows 11 computers have now, is device encryption. If this is automatically turned on you can just turn it off again It's quite slow to turn off but it doesn't take that long. The only real issue with leaving it turned on is if you want to make a system image and restore that image later. I had a few issues there so I just turned encryption off. Then you can make system images and restore them without worrying about them being encrypted and not restoring because they're encrypted.

To turn off device encryption just open settings and type encryption in the search box and select Device encryption settings and toggle it off.

I think the reason you're signed into so many things like Edge and Outlook email is because you're signed in with a Microsoft Account. If you wanted to start from scratch and not be signed into anything, you could do a reset, although if you already have files put on the computer you'd want to back those up first because they would get removed when you do a reset. The reset just instals it again from scratch - like restoring to factory settings, and during the setup out of box experience there is a way to bypass signing in with a Microsoft Account and just sign in with a local account. To my mind you're then in control at initial installation. You can unlink and uninstall Onedrive if you don't want to use syncing or use OneDrive. You're not signed into anything automatically and you can sign into a Microsoft account later if you want to. However once you're signed into a Microsoft Account, if you do use Outlook email and you open that app it will automatically sign you in because it's just taking email sign in from your Microsoft Account. I don't know about Edge whether it would sign you into that automatically or not but as mentioned above you can sign out again.

If you do a reset you'll need turn off device encryption again because it will be turned on automatically as it's a new instal.

What are you using for office? I think it's when people are using Office 365 they start having a few issues sometimes with things automatically being linked and synced and signed in.

Hakeem said:

Home version, so I still have to get the 48 digit code anyway?!

Click to expand...

In Home you only have Device Encryption. This is always unlocked, so there's no key to remember. You would only get a key if you locked the drive with Bitlocker, but that's only available in Pro.

Hakeem said:

Yes I signed in with microsoft account and it was turned on by default, wanted to turn it off, toggle off, it says it will take a long time and my data eon't be safe etc.

Click to expand...

It is safe to turn off Device Encryption. It can take some time though, and you must not turn off the PC until it is fully decrypted. So set aside some time, and if it's a laptop keep its power supply plugged in.

See Option Two in this tutorial: Turn On or Off Device Encryption in Windows 11

Hazel123 said:

You're either signed in with a Microsoft Account or a local account, you can switch between them. I think the only real reason to use a Microsoft account is if you want syncing, IE if you want to use OneDrive or sync between different computers. I like to keep it simple and have each computer separate, I am actually using a Microsoft Account but only after I installed with a local account and unlinked and uninstalled Onedrive first. Because I didn't want it syncing everything. Once you get the syncing stuff out of the way, it's just a computer really and you just use it and it's not much different from Windows 10, there are even some bits of Windows 7 still in there.

Click to expand...

Thank you very much.

Hazel123 said:

What are you using for office? I think it's when people are using Office 365 they start having a few issues sometimes with things automatically being linked and synced and signed in.

Click to expand...

I don't use office at all but the excel app accidentally opened and I closed it.

Bree said:

In Home you only have Device Encryption. This is always unlocked, so there's no key to remember. You would only get a key if you locked the drive with Bitlocker, but that's only available in Pro.


It is safe to turn off Device Encryption. It can take some time though, and you must not turn off the PC until it is fully decrypted. So set aside some time, and if it's a laptop keep its power supply plugged in.

See Option Two in this tutorial: Turn On or Off Device Encryption in Windows 11

Click to expand...

All is clear now. Thank you very much.

Hakeem said:

Thank you very much.


I don't use office at all but the excel app accidentally opened and I closed it.

Click to expand...

Those office apps can just be uninstalled - they're just apps to get you to sign up to Office (advertising) - they're not actually office themselves. I think! Maybe they're also a way of using free office online but I just uninstall them and add my standalone copy of office instead.