How to Bypass the Annoying "Microsoft Sign-In" Step in Windows 11

How to Bypass the Annoying "Microsoft Sign-In" Step in Windows 11

Guide Windows

Abdullah Musa

April 14, 2025

Hi all, welcome to my blog, MusaBase! In this article, I'll show you the steps to bypass the annoying Sign-in to Microsoft prompt during Windows 11 installation.
I'll cover two methods for bypassing this requirement so that you can either create a local account or sing in later. Choose any ofthe methods that best suit your needs.

---

Jump to:

• OOBE Method
• Localonly Method

---

OOBE Method

1. Disconnect from the Internet:

• First, unplug your Ethernet cable or disable wifi. In short, disconnect your pc or laptop from the internet.

2. Open Command Prompt:

• On the network setup screen or Let's connect you to a network screen, press Shift + F10 to open Command Prompt (CMD).

3. Run the Bypass Command:

• In the Command Prompt window, type the following command and press Enter:

OOBE\BYPASSNRO

After you run the above command, your PC will restart. You will then see an additional option labeled I don't have internet on the setup screen.

4. Create a Local User Account:

• Click on I don't have internet, This will allow you to proceed with setting up a local user account for Windows 11 without needing to sign in with a Microsoft account.

The commands essentially runs a hidden script in Windows 11's OOBE that bypasses the network requirement normally enforced during setup.

• OOBE: This stands for "Out-of-Box Experience". It refers to the initial setup process that new or reinstalled Windows goes through (choosing language, region, connecting to the internet, etc).
• BYPASSNRO: Although not officially documented, "NRO" is generally interpreted to represent "Network Readiness Operations"or a similar phrase. In practice, this part of the command's name indicates that the script's purpose it to bypass or "bypass network readiness" requirements during the setup process.

---

Localonly Method

This method is faster and more efficent than the OOBE method because your pc does not need to restart. The procedure is very similar to the previous method.

1. Disconnect from the Internet:

• Unplug your Ethernet cable or turn off Wi-Fi.

2. Open Command Prompt:

• At the Sign-in to Microsoft screen or Let's connect you to a network screen, press Shift + F10 to open CMD.

3. Run the Bypass Command:

• In the Command Prompt, type:

start ms-cxh:localonly

After running the above command, an overlay window will appear. From that window, you can create a local user account, bypassing the Microsoft account sign-in requirement, without needing to restart your PC. Once the local account is created you will continue directly into Windows 11.

This command instructs Windows to initiate a mode where you can bypass the default Mircosoft account sign-in requirement and instead create a local user account. This method leverages a custom Microsoft URI scheme (ms-cxh:) to trigger the appropriate interface or workflow for offline account creation.

• start: This is a built-in command used in the Windows CMD that tells Windows to launch an application or process associated with a URI or file.
• ms-cxh:localonly: This part is a URI that Windows recognizes. The ms-cxh: scheme is one of several Micorsoft-specific URI protocols (similar to ms-settings: or ms-drive:) that allows us to invoke particular system functions or interfaces. The "localonly" tells the Windows setup or configuration process to offer a local account creation option instead of requiring an online Microsoft account.

It's never going to stop, Microsoft may continue to complicate things, but we'll keep finding ways to bypass these restrictions.
If you face any issue with the instructions explained in this guide, please let me know in the comments, i am more than happy to help. 1O1 out, I'll see you in the next one.

---

Abdullah Musa April 14, 2025