4 ms·

> - I can’t log in without a Microsoft account I don't know if there's something special about the Surface for this but during a regular Windows installation,

> - I can’t log in without a Microsoft account I don't know if there's something special about the Surface for this but during a regular Windows installation, if there is no Internet connection it offers you the option to create a local-only account. Not that this excuses the incredibly dark pattern.

robbiep 3y ago
I did read that online when I was doing some research alongside getting it set up however it was not immediately obvious how to achieve this (including by trying to boot it without giving it the option of connecting to a network). It seemed to me at the time of setup that it would only let me proceed once it had a network connection
toasteros 3y ago
This is no longer the case in Windows 11. The "trick" to disconnect from the internet worked in the 10 setup procedure, but not 11. The new method to create a local account at installation is to attempt to login to a known bogus account. Enter "no@thanks.com" as a username and keyboard mash the password. The installer will tell you that account is locked and then offer local account creation. It's a stupid thing. Utterly stupid.
consp 3y ago
> I don't know if there's something special about the Surface for this but during a regular Windows installation, if there is no Internet connection it offers you the option to create a local-only account. A new windows 11 install (non pro, donwloaded from the ms website) will never allow this. You'd have to do command line trickery or physically remove all network cards. I found this out the hard way and got myself a cheap pro key instead, which still requires trickery but less.
Saris 3y ago
This is no longer the case on recent versions of windows 11, if there is no connection it will simply block you from setting up until you connect to the internet. There is a way to bypass it on W11 Pro, you have to boot with ethernet disconnected, then once at the account creation screen hit Shift+F10, enter `oobe\bypassnro`, reboot, and start the setup again and it will allow a local account. At least for now, they'll remove that soon I'm sure.

robbiep 3y ago

I did read that online when I was doing some research alongside getting it set up however it was not immediately obvious how to achieve this (including by trying to boot it without giving it the option of connecting to a network). It seemed to me at the time of setup that it would only let me proceed once it had a network connection

toasteros 3y ago

This is no longer the case in Windows 11. The "trick" to disconnect from the internet worked in the 10 setup procedure, but not 11. The new method to create a local account at installation is to attempt to login to a known bogus account. Enter "no@thanks.com" as a username and keyboard mash the password. The installer will tell you that account is locked and then offer local account creation. It's a stupid thing. Utterly stupid.

consp 3y ago

> I don't know if there's something special about the Surface for this but during a regular Windows installation, if there is no Internet connection it offers you the option to create a local-only account. A new windows 11 install (non pro, donwloaded from the ms website) will never allow this. You'd have to do command line trickery or physically remove all network cards. I found this out the hard way and got myself a cheap pro key instead, which still requires trickery but less.

Saris 3y ago

This is no longer the case on recent versions of windows 11, if there is no connection it will simply block you from setting up until you connect to the internet. There is a way to bypass it on W11 Pro, you have to boot with ethernet disconnected, then once at the account creation screen hit Shift+F10, enter `oobe\bypassnro`, reboot, and start the setup again and it will allow a local account. At least for now, they'll remove that soon I'm sure.