Microsoft once again tightens grip on Windows setup freedom

Microsoft's new update addresses several loopholes in the Windows setup process, which were previously used to bypass the Microsoft account requirement.

Microsoft once again tightens grip on Windows setup freedom
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Tech and Science Editor
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1-minute read time
TL;DR: Microsoft's latest Windows 11 preview build enforces mandatory Microsoft account sign-in during setup, removing previous local account bypasses. This change targets power users and privacy-conscious individuals, ensuring full device configuration and online account use, reflecting Microsoft's ongoing effort to centralize Windows access through cloud-based authentication.

Microsoft has been progressively tightening its grip on the Windows setup process for quite some time now, and in a recent Windows update, Microsoft has further made things more difficult for some users.

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In the latest Windows 11 preview build rolled out to beta testers within the Windows Insider Program, numerous changes have been made to the Windows Out Of Box Experience (OOBE), several of which were the removal of methods of bypassing the requirement to sign in to a Microsoft account throughout the setup process. The now-removed methods involved creating local user accounts.

According to Microsoft, this improvement addresses the setup process, as the company believes that many machines weren't fully configured. This is a roundabout way of Microsoft acknowledging that these loopholes in the setup process were being exploited to create local accounts that are separate from a Microsoft account. Now, Microsoft requires a user to fully complete the OOBE and sign in with a Microsoft account with an active internet connection to 100% complete the Windows setup process.

If you are wondering who is affected by this change, it is mostly Windows power users, system administrators, and people who want to keep their data as private as possible from tech companies. Microsoft has been attempting to funnel Windows customers to using an online account for quite some time now, and this recent change is Microsoft simply plugging a few different holes in the setup process that allowed users to bypass the required Microsoft account for access to Windows.