File talk:Windows11-21996.1-OOBE-Network.png

Network Setup during Windows 11 Home OOBE

For the Home SKU of Windows 11, the "I don't have internet" button does not appear. In place of the "I don't have internet" button, it says "Having trouble getting connected? For troubleshooting tips, use another device and visit aka.ms/networksetup". 67.70.136.195 19:36, 12 December 2021 (UTC)

Network Setup as of Windows 11 build 22557

For the Pro SKU of Windows 11 build 22557, the "I don't have internet" button no longer appears. In place of the "I don't have internet" button, it says "Having trouble getting connected? For troubleshooting tips, use another device and visit aka.ms/networksetup" similar to the Home SKU of Windows 11. Education and Enterprise SKUs of Windows 11 build 22557 still have the "I don't have internet" button, though. 65.93.83.80 17:42, 17 February 2022 (UTC)

Oh and one more thing, if you try to disconnect from the internet during the "Let's add your Microsoft account" step for Home and Pro editions only, it will result in "Oops, you've lost internet connection - Let's go back and connect to your network again". After this, the "Let's connect you to a network" screen will reappear. The only difference is that it will say "Looks like you've lost your internet connection which you'll need to continue setting up your device. With a connected device, you'll get the latest features and security updates." 65.93.83.80 02:55, 22 February 2022 (UTC)

Found a way to bypass Internet and MSA requirements!

I was surfing on the Internet today and I came across this page on Elevenforum where its lists the EXACT steps to bypass the Internet and Microsoft Account requirements during an clean install of Windows 11.

Here is the link to it: https://www.elevenforum.com/t/how-to-bypass-network-connection-during-clean-install-of-windows-11.2647/

I have no idea why Microsoft thought it was a good idea to force users to connect to an network to setup Windows 11 Home. I think it is because they REALLY want you to use an Microsoft Account so that Microsoft can sell you products and services like Microsoft 365, OneDrive, Bing, Xbox Game Pass etc.

However in the latest Windows Insider Dev build, Microsoft has made changes to extend the Internet and MSA requirement to Windows 11 Pro. The Local Account vs MSA game that Microsoft has kept playing on its consumers just tends to get worse these days.

But, many people don't realize that there is an workaround that allows you to bypass the requirements on Windows 11 Home and Pro installations using the Task Manager. Here are the steps to perform this workaround.

1. Once you get to the step where it asks you to connect to a network, press the Shift + F10 keys on your keyboard to open an command prompt window.

2. On the command prompt window, type "taskmgr" and press the enter key to execute the command.

3. The Task Manager window will open.

4. Click the "More Details" button at the bottom of the window to expand the processes list.

5. Scroll down until you see a process named "Network Connection Flow".

6. Select the aforementioned process and click the "End Task" button.

7. The OOBE will now go straight to the Local Account setup screen. Close the Task Manager and command prompt windows.

8. Go through the setup screen as usual.

9. TADA! Now you can use Windows 11 without an Microsoft Account.

Note: This does not apply to upgrade installations of Windows 11. (I don't think...)

WindowsGuy2021, 1:41, 17 February 2022

Unfortunately, these steps mentioned above no longer work as of Windows 11, build 22557. But, there are two workarounds: For Home and Pro Users: https://imgur.com/a/bKC0cAA

For Pro Users:

1. When you see "How would you like to set up this device?", select "Set up for work or school". Do not select "Set up for personal use" as setting up for personal use will not let you bypass the Microsoft account requirement.

2. When you see "Let's set things up for your work or school", select "Sign in options", and then "Domain join instead".

3. The OOBE will now go straight to the Local Account setup screen.

4. Go through the setup screen as usual.

5. Well done! Now you can use Windows 11 Pro without an Microsoft Account.

WindowsGuy2021, to answer to your question, this doesn't apply to upgrade installations of Windows 11. In fact, if I make a new Local Account with Admin rights on Windows 10 Pro, and then upgrade to Windows 11, I'm not forced to use a Microsoft account. 65.93.83.80 03:12, 22 February 2022 (UTC)

For Home & Pro Users:

1. Press Shift+F10 to open a Command Prompt window when you see either "Oops, you've lost internet connection" or "Let's connect you to a network"

2. Type "OOBE\BYPASSNRO" (without quotes), and then press Enter.

3. The system will reboot, and then return you to "Let's connect you to a network", but this time instead of "Having trouble getting connected? For troubleshooting tips, use another device and visit aka.ms/networksetup", you will see "I don't have internet".

4. Click on "I don't have internet", and then "Continue with limited setup".

5. The OOBE will now go straight to the Local Account setup screen.

6. Go through the setup screen as usual.

7. Well done! Now you can use Windows 11 Home or Pro without an Microsoft Account.

I don't know that the above steps will be patched by Microsoft in future builds of Windows 11, but on Pro, I'm sure that the "Domain join instead" trick after selecting "Set up for work or school" will still work. 65.93.83.80 02:29, 25 February 2022 (UTC)

When I got my new Alienware PC on 3 August 2022, I used these steps above to completely bypass the MSA requirement by entering "OOBE\BYPASSNRO into the command prompt window and upon rebooting, I went back to the same network setup screen prompt and the "I don't have internet" link showed up. I clicked on that and created a local account and after that, setup was done in just a few minutes! However, I did this on Windows 11 21H2 which I have currently installed on my PC. Does this workaround still work on Windows 11 22H2 and the lastest Insider Dev builds of Windows 11?

As I stated in my original February 2022 posting, it is very frustrating and ridiculous why Microsoft decided to impose these requirements on general consumers using the Home and Pro editions of Windows 11. Again, it is very clear that Microsoft wants people to use their products and services. This was a ploy to increase MSA sign-ups and discourage general use of local accounts. The network requirement alone is very frustrating because not everyone has access to the internet espically in rural areas which is ridiculous given that older versions of Windows easily allowed offline setup with no extra steps involved. This makes setting up Windows 11 way more complicated then it needs to be to the average user especially if they want to create a local account. However, I am afraid that Microsoft may one day close off this workaround like they did with the other workaround that involved ending a process in the Task Manager.

WindowsGuy2021, 11:13, 5 January 2023