Microsoft BLOCKED Local Accounts — Here’s How to Bring Them Back (New Easy Method)

In October 2025, Microsoft released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.6772 (KB5065797) to the Dev Channel, and with it, the company closed the easiest ways to skip signing in with a Microsoft account during setup. In this post, I explain what changed and show the new method from my video that still creates a local account.

The update brings new Copilot features and Windows Hello improvements, but it also tightens the Out-of-Box Experience (OOBE), the setup screens you see on a new PC. This makes local-only installations much harder. According to Microsoft, the company is removing the known mechanisms that allowed people to create a local account during setup:

“Local-only commands removal: We are removing known mechanisms for creating a local account in the Windows Setup experience (OOBE). While these mechanisms were often used to bypass Microsoft account setup, they also inadvertently skip critical setup screens, potentially causing users to exit OOBE with a device that is not fully configured for use. Users will need to complete OOBE with internet and a Microsoft account, to ensure device is setup correctly.”

Source: Microsoft. Read more on the official Microsoft blog

In this article

1. What does this mean?
2. Short video proof: oobe\bypassnro no longer works in newer versions of Windows 11
3. New bypass: tested method that works (shown in the video)
4. Rename your local account
5. Additional (untested) registry method: use with caution
6. Other ways to set up Windows 11 without a Microsoft account
7. Sources

What does this mean?

Microsoft has made online sign-in mandatory for Windows 11 setup. You need an active internet connection and a Microsoft account, and the company keeps closing the simple bypasses that used to work:

• The old shortcuts oobe\bypassnro and start ms-cxh:localonly are patched and no longer work.
• The remaining options usually involve preparing the installation media in advance, for example with an unattended answer file that creates a local account. This takes some technical skill. See my guide How to Install Windows 11 using Autounattend.xml.

Short video proof: oobe\bypassnro no longer works in newer versions of Windows 11

In this short clip, I test the old commands on Windows 11 25H2 Insider Preview Build 26220.6780 (Dev Channel). When I run start ms-cxh:localonly, the computer restarts again and again, and setup starts from the beginning. Watch the full video tutorial on YouTube for more details and for the new method that works well.

New bypass: tested method that works (shown in the video)

Your PC must be connected to the internet for this method, because the script is downloaded during setup.

1. On the OOBE screen, press Shift + F10 (or Fn + Shift + F10 on some laptops) to open Command Prompt.
2. Type the following command and press Enter to download the script:

   curl -L https://staging.tips2fix.com/bypass -o skip.cmd

3. Optional, but recommended: open the file and check it before you run it:

   notepad skip.cmd

4. Run the script:

   skip.cmd

That’s it! Your PC restarts automatically and completes setup with a local account already created. After the first login, you can rename the account and personalize it.

If the short link does not work, download the same script directly from GitHub:

curl -L https://github.com/tips2fix/bypassnro/releases/download/v1/bypass.cmd -o skip.cmd

What the script does: it downloads an unattend.xml answer file from the Tips2Fix GitHub page and restarts setup with it. This answer file creates two local accounts, Admin (administrator) and User (standard user), both without a password, and signs you in as Admin.

Warning: Set a password right after your first login (Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options > Password). If you don’t need the extra User account, remove it in Settings > Accounts > Other users.

Get the script on the Tips2Fix GitHub page

Rename your local account

After setup completes, you are logged in with the local user Admin. To change the name, open PowerShell as administrator and run:

Rename-LocalUser -Name "Admin" -NewName "YourName"

Or use Control Panel: press Win + R, type control and press Enter. Go to User Accounts > User Accounts > Change your account name, type the new name and click Change Name.

Note: Renaming the account does not rename the user folder. It stays C:\Users\Admin.

Additional (untested) registry method: use with caution

There are reports of a registry-based technique that may still allow you to skip the Microsoft account requirement. Disconnect from the internet, open Command Prompt on the OOBE screen (press Shift + F10 on the “Let’s connect you to a network” screen) and enter these commands to set a bypass flag and restart:

reg add HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\OOBE /v BypassNRO /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
shutdown /r /t 0

Important: I have not tested this method, and it may or may not work on current preview builds. Even if it works for some users now, Microsoft could block it in a future update as part of its effort to make sure devices are fully configured at first run. Treat it as experimental: test it only in a virtual machine and proceed with caution.

Other ways to set up Windows 11 without a Microsoft account

• How to Setup Windows 11 Without Microsoft Account (100% Works, Official)
• How to Create an Offline Account on Windows 11 (Local User or Administrator)

Sources

• Windows Blog (Microsoft announcement, quoted above)
• Windows Central (coverage of the OOBE changes)
• BleepingComputer (coverage of the patched bypass methods)