Setting up a local acct during Win 11 installation vs after installation - what's the difference?

I plan to buy a second Win 11 machine. I've read all kinds of work-around suggestions online as far as setting up a clean install of Win 11 with a local acct instead of Microsoft acct. I have read how, over time, Microsoft has worked to eliminate ways to do this, but that some workarounds still perhaps exist. Maybe I'm missing something, but can't you just buy a new machine with Win 11 already on it and then just switch to a local account? What would be lost in doing this versus doing a clean install of Win 11 and doing the workarounds?

(On my first Win 11 machine, I upgraded from Win 10 to Win 11, with a local acct already in place and didn't have to deal with the whole "local acct vs MS acct" issue.)

In this guide, I’ll outline the methods that still work to bypass the online account and connection requirements for setting up Windows 11.

11Dude said:

I've read all kinds of work-around suggestions online

Click to expand...

I suggest you rely on forum tutorials.
Clean Install Windows 11 - ElevenForumTutorials

11Dude said:

What would be lost in doing this

Click to expand...

Nothing.


Denis

It’s very simple to create a local account rather than a MS account during windows setup of a new computer. Here’s how.

Do not connect to internet until afterward.

During setup, when you reach the second keyboard layout screen DO NOT SELECT SKIP.

Hit Shift+F10 keyboard combination to open a Windows command prompt. If you have a laptop you may have to use Shift + Fn + F10 to get to command prompt
At this prompt, type start ms-cxh:localonly
and press Enter on your keyboard to open a 'create user account' window where you can create a new local user.

After filling in the information and clicking the Next button, the Windows 11 setup will continue.

During a clean install it’s step 15 here. Clean Install Windows 11

11Dude said:

Maybe I'm missing something, but can't you just buy a new machine with Win 11 already on it and then just switch to a local account? What would be lost in doing this versus doing a clean install of Win 11 and doing the workarounds?

Click to expand...

Yes, you can set up for the first time with a Microsoft account, then switch to a local account. The main difference between doing it this way and setting up with a local account from the start is that when you switch to a local account your MS account will be retained and still be available for use by MS apps, such as OneDrive and the Store. After the switch you'll find it in Settings > Accounts > Your accounts.

You may, or may not, want that. If not, then you can easily remove it. I actually find it useful, and have added it to my account that was a local account from the start.

New laptops with Windows 11 come with a pre-installed, OEM version of the OS, ready for final user customization. When first turned on, they launch the Out-of-Box Experience (OOBE), requiring you to select a region, connect to Wi-Fi, and sign in with a Microsoft account to complete the final installation steps.

In other words when you first power up the new laptop there is no user account at all. You either continue the setup with your existing Microsoft account or create a new one. However, if you bypass this you can start with a local account.

Starting with a local account does not stop you from using the MS Store, MS apps or OneDrive. You just have to use your Microsoft account for that particular task. For example, I use the Windows Sticky Notes. If I log into it with Microsoft account I can synchronize all the notes with my other computers. This is totally separate from the Windows login which is still using a local account. I am not sure how this works since none of my other computers show up as Devices if I log into the Microsoft support site using my Microsoft account.

Bree said:

Yes, you can set up for the first time with a Microsoft account, then switch to a local account. The main difference between doing it this way and setting up with a local account from the start is that when you switch to a local account your MS account will be retained and still be available for use by MS apps, such as OneDrive and the Store. After the switch you'll find it in Settings > Accounts > Your accounts.

You may, or may not, want that. If not, then you can easily remove it. I actually find it useful, and have added it to my account that was a local account from the start.

View attachment 171203

Click to expand...

Thanks! That's basically the info I was looking for. My concern was that I would lose a privacy advantage by initially setting up a MS acct and then logging out and setting up a local acct. I was concerned that somehow, I would inadvertently connect to OneDrive in some way (merely by having a MS acct) or open some sort of data flow from my computer to MS that would compromise my privacy. But if there really isn't any issue like that, then it might just be more straight forward to start with a MS acct and then log out and set up a local acct.