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Install Windows 11 Without a Microsoft Account

Set up Windows 11 with a local account using BypassNRO - manual OOBE workarounds plus how to bake it into the image with NTLite.

Windows 11 setup (OOBE) pushes you to connect to the internet and sign in with a Microsoft account, hiding the local-account option. BypassNRO is the switch that brings the local account back. Microsoft removed the built-in script in 24H2 and keeps changing the behavior each build, so the reliable fix is to bake it into the image once with NTLite and have every install offer a local account.

The NTLite Way: Bake It Into the Image

Setting this in the image means every machine you deploy offers a local account, with no per-install commands and nothing that a future OOBE change can hide. 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

  1. Load your Windows 11 image in NTLite
  2. Open the Settings page
  3. Under the System category, enable "Local user account setup support (BypassNRO)"

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.

Unattended Page: Pre-create the Local Account (optional)

The setting above is enough on its own. Optionally, if you also want to skip the account screen entirely, the Unattended page is a convenient way to pre-create 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).

When you define a local account this way, NTLite automatically applies the BypassNRO unlock for you - so OOBE no longer forces a Microsoft account, and your account is already created before first boot.

Tip: combine this with the other Unattended options (regional settings, OOBE prompts) to fully automate setup. Autofill from the host system can pre-populate these fields, though that specific autofill is a premium feature.

Manual Workarounds (One-Off Install)

If you only need a single machine and would rather not edit an image, you can do it by hand at the target PC. These run once per install, and Microsoft has been steadily disabling them build to build - which is why the image approach above is the durable fix.

Direct Local-Account Command

On current builds the most reliable manual route opens local-account creation directly. At the network screen press Shift+F10 and run start ms-cxh:localonly, then fill in the account. This skips the network and Microsoft-account gate without a reboot.

Registry Method (Shift+F10)

  1. At the "Let's connect you to a network" screen, press Shift+F10 to open Command Prompt
  2. Run: reg add HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\OOBE /v BypassNRO /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
  3. Run shutdown /r /t 0 to reboot. After restart, OOBE shows an "I don't have internet" option leading to local-account creation

Microsoft has disabled this registry key in some recent 24H2/25H2 builds, which is the source of the "oobe bypassnro not working" reports. On those builds, use the direct command above instead.

BypassNRO Script (removed in 24H2)

Older Windows 11 builds shipped C:\Windows\System32\OOBE\BypassNRO.cmd. Running it set the registry value above and rebooted into an OOBE that offered a local account. Microsoft deleted this script in the 24H2 update, so it no longer exists on current media.

Verify After Deployment

  • Boot the image - OOBE should offer a local account, or skip straight past it if you pre-created the user
  • Confirm the profile folder under C:\Users\ matches the username you set

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.

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