Install Windows 11 Without a Microsoft Account
Set the local-account option into a Windows 11 image with NTLite so every install offers it, plus the manual OOBE workarounds that still work when BypassNRO is not working on 24H2 or 25H2.
Windows 11 setup (OOBE) asks you to connect to a network and sign in with a Microsoft account, and hides the local-account option behind that screen. BypassNRO is the switch that brings it back. Microsoft deleted the built-in script in a 2025 update, and the surviving manual routes keep shifting from one build to the next, which is why the old instructions stopped working and the reports of "bypassnro not working" keep coming. Set it once in the image with NTLite and every install offers a local account, no matter what the next build changes. If you are already standing at the setup screen, the manual routes are further down, split by which Windows version still accepts them.
Set It in the Image With NTLite
The local-account path becomes part of the media, so it applies on every machine you deploy from it, with nothing typed at setup time and nothing a future OOBE change can hide again. The Settings toggle is all you need; pre-creating the user on the Unattended page is an optional convenience that turns the setting on for you.
Settings Page: Enable BypassNRO
- Load your Windows 11 image in NTLite
- Open the Settings page
- Under the System category, enable "Local user account setup support (BypassNRO)"
- Go to Apply → Process
Available on Windows 11 21H2 and newer. The setting persists in the image, so the local-account path is offered on every install built from it. Save it as a preset and the same applies to next month's rebuild.
Unattended Page: Pre-create the Local Account
The setting above is enough on its own. If you also want to skip the account screen entirely, the Unattended page pre-creates the user: enable the page, then use Add local account to define the username and password, optionally enabling the built-in Administrator or auto-logon.
Defining a local account this way applies the BypassNRO unlock for you, so OOBE no longer forces a Microsoft account and the account exists before first boot.
Tip: combine this with the other Unattended options (regional settings, OOBE prompts) to fully automate setup. Autofill Premium can pre-populate these fields from the host system.
Manual Methods by Windows Version
If the media is already booted, you can still get there by hand - but which route works depends on the build, and Microsoft has been narrowing them build to build. Match your version below. Every one of these runs once per install, on one machine, which is the reason the image approach above exists.
Windows 11 25H2 and Updated 24H2
Task Manager is the reliable entry point on current builds, and it does not depend on Command Prompt opening at all:
- At the network or sign-in screen, press
Ctrl+Shift+Escto open Task Manager - Choose File → Run new task and enter
ms-cxh:localonly - Fill in the local account details in the window that appears
If Shift+F10 does open a Command Prompt on your build, run start ms-cxh:localonly there instead. And if a window you launched never appears, press Alt+Tab before assuming nothing happened - setup sits on top, so anything started behind it stays out of sight.
Older Builds: The BypassNRO Command
Legacy fallback, for 23H2 and early 24H2 media where the script is still present. At the "Let's connect you to a network" screen press Shift+F10, run oobe\bypassnro, and the machine reboots into an OOBE that offers "I don't have internet" and local-account creation.
The script was removed starting with build 26200.5516 in March 2025. On newer media the command returns a not-recognized error - use the Task Manager method above instead.
Next Steps
Save the change as a preset and reuse it on every build. Download NTLite to get started, and see the Unattended and Settings reference pages for the full option set. Building a leaner image at the same time? The Windows Lite ISO guide covers component removal on the same media.