Dear Microsoft, we need to talk.
Recently, you released a new preview build of Windows 11 and snuck in a major change that many of us in IT aren’t happy about. You first made this change in Windows 11 Home, where you required users to install the operating system with an internet connection and set up the system with a Microsoft account. (At the time, many thought requiring a Microsoft account for home users was a good idea.)
Now you have released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22557 which requires a Microsoft account while installing Windows 11 Professional itself. For many, this is not a mandate that seems appropriate to us.
Let’s first see what having a Microsoft account does when you set up your computer. As Microsoft points out, the account gives you a “full-access pass to core Microsoft services. If you use any of these services, you must already have a Microsoft account: Outlook.com, Office, Skype, OneDrive, Xbox Live, Bing, Microsoft Store, Windows, or MSN. » If Bitlocker is enabled on your computer, Bitlocker keys are stored in the Microsoft cloud. And users get a OneDrive location to store files and information so they have a backup if they’re hit by ransomware.
All of these benefits sound wonderful, right? But even home users sometimes want a local computer only with no internet access. Or want to configure a virtual machine. Or want a peer-to-peer network without connecting to cloud services. You had the idea. Users want choices. They want privacy. There are many reasons why someone might not want a Microsoft account. And for those who claim that an iPhone or Android phone requires you to use an account to sign in, keep in mind that you’re comparing desktop operating systems to phones. Instead, you should compare Windows to Apple’s macOS, where you can still set up a computer without needing an account tied to cloud services.
In addition to the account requirement, Preview Build 22557 also provides the ability to group pinned apps into folders in the Start menu; a Do Not Disturb feature; and the Focus function, among other changes. But it’s the mandate of the account when deploying Windows 11 Professional that bothers users a bit. Many set up virtual machines for testing and don’t want to have to set up a computer with a Microsoft account. I have personally set up so many virtual machines with a Microsoft account that when logging into the Microsoft Store to use or test some software, I had to log into the device list to delete old virtual machines. Although you can have more than 10 machines linked to a Microsoft account, the Microsoft Store still has what appears to be an arbitrary limit of 10 devices.
As the Microsoft Store notes: “You can use up to 10 devices with the Microsoft Store. If you can’t download apps and games, you’ve reached your Microsoft Store’s device limit. Unlink a device, then go to the Microsoft Store and try again. I then have to log in and remove a computer from the list.
While most companies will probably join their PCs to Microsoft 365 accounts anyway, or use deployment mechanisms that avoid the out-of-the-box experience, I know that when I’m testing various systems, I’m often setting them up without an account. . (The out-of-the-box experience process ensures that a user deals with various questions and issues during setup.) I’ve also often setup VMs without an internet connection – another new mandate with this preview build .
Despite the account requirement, there already seem to be step-by-step workarounds although they seem a bit complex. Bottom line: There are clearly ways around this problem for those still deploying Windows PCs and VMs individually. But Microsoft should recognize that users sometimes need to set up machines without mandatory account settings.
Of course, for many Windows deployments, you need to use tools like Autopilot. With it, you can bypass the initial setup of a local account and go straight to entering domain information. And when you get to the account question on the screen (assuming you have Azure Active Directory or Microsoft 365) you can fill in Microsoft 365 credentials and skip setting up a local account or a Microsoft account. Or you can try autounattend.xml and use a process to preload the configuration on Windows 11.
Finally, don’t forget to provide feedback to Microsoft about this issue. Open a new bug in the Windows Feedback app or vote for an existing bug. Microsoft said items that appear in these preview builds may – or maybe not – appear in the final version of Windows 11. If you care about this, be sure to let Microsoft know.
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