Microsoft accidentally lists the benefits of not using a Microsoft account on Windows 11
windowscentral.com
- Microsoft inadvertently highlighted the benefits of using a local account over a Microsoft account on Windows 11 in a recent support page update.
- Using a local account allows for offline sign-in, is independent of cloud services, and limits settings, files, and applications to a single device, enhancing privacy.
- Despite these benefits, Microsoft requires internet access or workarounds for the initial setup of Windows 11, making it challenging to use a local account from the start.
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The summary is slightly misleading, you can log in offline on a computer with a MS account. In fairness, the language on the article around this is pretty confusing, but you're not locked out of your PC if your Internet is down, which is what the bullet point summary implies.
That's technically impossible because you must create an account... online. Also it's a Microsoft account which is worse.
Well, yeah, but that's the clarification I'm making. By default you DO need a connection to create or sign in to an account to complete the install process as it's currently presented, but once an account is set up you can log in to that machine whether it's connected to the Internet or not. The summary makes it sound like you need to be online for every login, which is not the case.
You don't "need" it, they lie to you and imply it's a requirement, but it isn't needed. It'll download updates, and finish the install just fine with local account.
Sure, and you can go back to a local account from a MS account after the fact, I believe. But I'm going with the supported, default flows that MS surfaces to users without any workarounds here. I'm not even trying to nitpick.
If it’s been more than 30 or 60 days (can’t remember which) you will be unable to sign in if you don’t have an active internet connection. I found that out in 2022 when I had to travel for work (90 days in a fairly remote area) and the only internet connection I had was at the worksite on a company computer.
Was that a work computer? I know on a work laptop I did have some time restrictions set by IT because they had some authentication policies, but my understanding is that on a Windows Home account you control there should be no time limit, although it may complain about your MS apps or treat it as a not-activated install after a while, I'm not sure. I admit that I have never put that to the test on a Win 11 PC. I definitely did on MS-account enabled Win 10, since I've stashed older PCs and then turned them back on offline later, but I don't think I've had an idle Win11 machine more than three months yet.