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Microsoft has made it harder to setup and login into a new Windows 11 machine and creating an account becomes even more crucial now.
Microsoft is going to push its users to login using its account on Windows 11 PCs
Microsoft is doubling down on integrating Microsoft accounts into the Windows 11 experience. The tech giant has confirmed it will eliminate a widely used command-line workaround that lets users bypass the mandatory internet connection and Microsoft Account sign-in during setup.
The command ‘bypassnro’ became popular after Windows 11 version 22H2 enforced these requirements for both Home and Pro editions. However, with upcoming updates, this workaround will no longer be available
This command, when entered into a command prompt while in the Windows setup experience, enabled the ability to skip connecting to the internet, therefore bypassing the Microsoft Account requirement.
As noted in the latest Windows 11 preview build, the company stated that the removal is intended to ensure that all users exit setup with internet connectivity and a Microsoft account. This decision is likely to be controversial among Windows users who prefer to avoid using a Microsoft account on their Windows 11 systems.
Moving forward, Microsoft has removed this simple workaround for bypassing the mandatory Microsoft Account sign-in on new Windows 11 PCs. While alternative methods still exist—such as using an unattend.xml installation—these are far more complex and time-consuming, requiring users to create a custom Windows installation image.
As of now, it’s also possible to manually re-add the ‘bypassnro’ command to your system by typing the following into a command prompt:
“reg add HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\OOBE /v BypassNRO /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f shutdown /r /t 0.”
It’s still unclear how long this temporary workaround involving manually re-adding the ‘bypassnro’ command will work. It is expected that Microsoft may soon remove the underlying registry value that enabled the command to work to fully prevent users from using this method to bypass signing in with a Microsoft account.
It’s important to note that this change only affects the Windows 11 installation and setup process, where the OS requires an internet connection and a Microsoft account to progress. Existing Windows 11 PCs set up without a Microsoft account will remain unaffected.
The removal of the command is currently being tested in the latest Windows 11 beta build, meaning it is likely to be implemented in production versions of Windows 11 in the near future.
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