A recent preview build of Windows 11 makes an unwelcome change: it mandates a Microsoft account when installing even Windows 11 Professional. But not everyone wants or needs an account.
Dear Microsoft — we need to talk. Recently, you pushed out a new preview version of Windows 11 and snuck in a major change that many of us in IT aren’t happy about. You first made this change in Windows 11 Home, where you required users to install the operating system with an Internet connection and set up the system with a Microsoft account. (At the time, many thought requiring a Microsoft account for Home users was a good idea.) Now, you’ve released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22557 that mandates a Microsoft account when installing even Windows 11 Professional. For many, this is not a mandate we feel is appropriate. First, let’s look at what having a Microsoft account does when you set up your computer. As Microsoft points out, the account gives you an “all-access pass to Microsoft’s premier services. If you use any of these services, you should already have a Microsoft account: Outlook.com, Office, Skype, OneDrive, Xbox Live, Bing, Microsoft Store, Windows, or MSN.” If your machine has Bitlocker enabled, the Bitlocker keys are backed up in Microsoft’s cloud. And users get a OneDrive location to store files and information so they have a backup if they get hit with ransomware. All these advantages sound wonderful, right? But even home users at times want a local-only computer with no internet access.
