Want Windows 11 installed with a local account - and no fuss? That wish could come true this year

Microsoft appears to be turning over several new leaves with Windows 11 - or indeed rewriting the entire book to an extent - with plans to improve and fix the OS, and we might even see the return of the ability to install the operating system with a local account.

Windows Latest spotted a post on X (via TechRadar) from Scott Hanselman, who is a VP, Member of Technical Staff, at Microsoft, and one of the execs behind the big project to fix everything about Windows 11 which is apparently now in full swing for 2026.

As we saw at the weekend, this campaign includes bolstering performance - and reducing the overheads Windows 11 places on the system, including the RAM consumed - as well as cutting away elements of AI, and providing more control over Windows Updates.

Hanselman posted about all this happening, and a denizen of X chimed in to express disappointment that there was "nothing about removing the requirement to log in to an MS online account".

The Microsoft exec responded to say that he too hates this facet of Windows 11, and that the team is "working on it" - so that sounds hopeful.

Of course, a somewhat off-the-cuff comment on a social media site is one thing, and the ability to create a Windows 11 installation with a local account returning in preview is another.

We shall keep watching this space with keen interest, as this is one area Microsoft has refused to back down on previously. Indeed, in the past year (or two), Microsoft has been clamping down on some of the more obscure workarounds to set up Windows 11 without a Microsoft account - it felt like this was a practice it wanted to eradicate completely.

Times are very much changing with the software giant, though, and if you have a Windows 11 wish-list, now seems like the time to start flinging feedback at Microsoft.