Windows 11 local account workaround discovered just as Microsoft closes previous loophole in Insider Build

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It is command prompt-based and doesn't require registry hacks.

Windows 11 logo on blue bloom background.
(Image credit: Microsoft)

A new workaround that bypasses the Microsoft account requirement when setting up a Windows 11 PC has been discovered. This comes right after an old workaround was plugged by the company.

The new workaround, discovered by Wither OrNot on X (and was confirmed to work by BleepingComputer) takes advantage of one line of code that is implemented into the command prompt during a Windows 11 install.

The new workaround is even more straightforward than the previous workaround that Microsoft shut down (which required registry tweaks). Only two steps are required: Pressing Shift + F10 to get into the command prompt when the Windows 11 installation wizard appears, then executing the command start ms-cxh:localonly in the CMD.

This bypasses the Microsoft account requirement and opens up a new window where users can input credentials to make a new local account instead. It works on Windows 11 Home and Pro, and apparently works on other editions, such as Windows 11 Enterprise, too.

However, the X poster claimed that killing the internet on non-Home and non-Pro versions of Windows 11 still works to bypass the Microsoft account requirement.

This discovery couldn't have come at a better time. Starting with Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26200.5516, Microsoft killed a previous workaround that also used the command prompt (the OOBE/BYPASSNRO method) to restore access to local account creation during Windows 11 installs. As a result, the only way to get this same workaround working in the a preview build was to implement the same functionality through the Windows Registry, significantly complicating things..

Specifically, the workaround of this workaround required implementing reg add “HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\OOBE” /v BypassNRO /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f to the registry, then rebooting the system. Only then did the OOBE/BYPASSNRO command work in the command prompt.

Regardless, there are other workarounds to bypass the Microsoft account requirement in Windows 11. The Rufus method in our "How to Install and Log In to Windows 11 Without a Microsoft Account" tutorial still works, and it is arguably the easiest method of them all.

Rufus is a bootable USB drive creator that has built-in functionality to disable the Microsoft account requirement right on the drive itself. Rufus also sports a plethora of other Windows 11 bypasses, including RAM, Secure Boot, TPM 2.0, and BitLocker automatic encryption bypasses.

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Aaron Klotz
Aaron Klotz
Contributing Writer

Aaron Klotz is a contributing writer for Tom’s Hardware, covering news related to computer hardware such as CPUs, and graphics cards.

28 Comments Comment from the forums
  • alceryes
    Unfortunately, M$ will eventually patch this out too. It'll probably take them a year or so though.
    Reply
  • JarredWaltonGPU
    alceryes said:
    Unfortunately, M$ will eventually patch this out too. It'll probably take them a year or so though.
    The good news is that the shift+F10 command prompt shortcut is necessary, and if you can get to a command prompt there will almost always be some way to work around the Microsoft account requirement.

    Honestly, what MS needs to do? Keep the MS account requirement and make Windows 11 truly free for all home users. Charge for Professional and Enterprise and turn off all the extra telemetry stuff for those builds. But considering the users are the product these days, the OS itself should just be free.
    Reply
  • JayGau
    Do we know if it also works on pre-installed Windows? I mean, when you get a new laptop for example and Windows asks to sign-in with a Microsoft account when you boot it for the first time, I always use the bypassnro command to set up our admin local account. Does this trick also works there or only when you do a full fresh install?
    Reply
  • alceryes
    JarredWaltonGPU said:
    Honestly, what MS needs to do? Keep the MS account requirement and make Windows 11 truly free for all home users. Charge for Professional and Enterprise and turn off all the extra telemetry stuff for those builds. But considering the users are the product these days, the OS itself should just be free.
    In a dystopian nightmare landscape...? Sure!

    The best option would be to, you know, just make the Microsoft account optional.
    The fact that Microsoft blatantly lies, saying that the forced Microsoft account is for security reasons, just makes it that much worse.
    Reply
  • Heat_Fan89
    JarredWaltonGPU said:
    The good news is that the shift+F10 command prompt shortcut is necessary, and if you can get to a command prompt there will almost always be some way to work around the Microsoft account requirement.

    Honestly, what MS needs to do? Keep the MS account requirement and make Windows 11 truly free for all home users. Charge for Professional and Enterprise and turn off all the extra telemetry stuff for those builds. But considering the users are the product these days, the OS itself should just be free.
    I totally agree. Once we got past Windows 7, Microsoft was beginning to make Windows a service operating system starting with Windows 8.1 and it was easy to tell because your Windows 8.1 keys gave you a free upgrade to Windows 10 and that turned into Windows 11.

    WIndows now makes its money from advertisement and data collection.
    Reply
  • alceryes
    JayGau said:
    Do we know if it also works on pre-installed Windows? I mean, when you get a new laptop for example and Windows asks to sign-in with a Microsoft account when you boot it for the first time, I always use the bypassnro command to set up our admin local account. Does this trick also works there or only when you do a full fresh install?
    Yes the new start ms command should work fine on OEM computers too.
    Laptops can sometimes be tricky to hit the F10 key due to having to hold down the function key (before or after holding down the shift key) to register F10.
    Reply
  • rambo919
    It boggles my mind that anyone would think requiring an internet connection to make your computer usable is a good idea.
    Reply
  • JayGau
    alceryes said:
    Yes the new start ms command should work fine on OEM computers too.
    Laptops can sometimes be tricky to hit the F10 key due to having to hold down the function key (before or after holding down the shift key) to register F10.
    Thank you! And I know very well about the shift-f10 on laptops (I have to do it on a regular basis).
    Reply
  • SomeoneElse23
    To be fair... it IS Microsoft's software. They can require whatever they want of their user base. If the user base doesn't like it, don't use it?

    Of course if enough users complain and/or boycott, Microsoft will be forced to change their ways.

    But as long as they tie their newest and bloatest OS to new PCs, that will never happen.

    So, the minority that we are continue to find ways to use their software we want, not the way they want.

    Or we don't use it at all.

    (I plan to stick with Windows 10...)
    Reply
  • abufrejoval
    JarredWaltonGPU said:
    Honestly, what MS needs to do? Keep the MS account requirement and make Windows 11 truly free for all home users. Charge for Professional and Enterprise and turn off all the extra telemetry stuff for those builds. But considering the users are the product these days, the OS itself should just be free.
    What's the difference between M$ requiring to give you data you don't want in their hands just because you need to operate your computer or your local supermarket requiring to dance naked everytime you need groceries?

    This demand of theirs is quite simply absurd, immoral and if it's not illegal already, that is a regulatory oversight that needs correction.

    Windows has become essential infrastructure on personal computers and that means they have to act and behave with prudence and they can't jerk everyone around any way they see fit.

    If they don't behave, they need to be separated from Windows like Google from Chrome etc.
    Reply