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 the media is already booted and it is too late for that, the by-hand routes for this one install are at the end.
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. On a machine installed from that media, OOBE offers "I don't have internet" at the network screen and takes you to local-account creation from there - no keyboard shortcut, no command, and no network needed to get past it. The setting persists in the image, so every install built from it behaves that way. 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.
Already Standing at the Setup Screen
Media that is already booted cannot be changed, so this one install has to be talked through by hand. Which route works depends on the build, and Microsoft has been narrowing them build to build - each runs once, on one machine, which is the reason the image approach above exists.
- 25H2 and updated 24H2: at the network or sign-in screen press
Shift+F10first, even if no Command Prompt appears - setup stays on top of everything otherwise. ThenCtrl+Shift+Escfor Task Manager, File → Run new task, and enterms-cxh:localonlyto get the local-account window. - 23H2 and early 24H2: the old script is still on that media. Press
Shift+F10at "Let's connect you to a network", runoobe\bypassnro, and the machine reboots into an OOBE offering "I don't have internet".
The oobe\bypassnro script was removed starting with build 26200.5516 in March 2025, and returns a not-recognized error on newer media - that is the whole of "bypassnro not working". Use the Task Manager route instead, and if a window you opened never shows up press Alt+Tab before assuming nothing happened - it is likely sitting behind the setup screen.
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.