The most important problem for many people is the confusion between Microsoft’s personal and business accounts. Logging into a PC with a Microsoft account is overrated. It is literally meaningless that Microsoft is syncing our bookmarks and browsing history in the Edge browser, or our search requests with Cortana. Most of the things that Microsoft syncs involve products and services that we don’t use. The difference is that our Apple accounts and especially our Google accounts are becoming more important all the time and tying together services that we use constantly.

Microsoft hopes you will value your Microsoft account as much as your Google or Apple accounts. In principle, it’s similar to what happens when you log into an iPhone with your Apple account, or an Android phone or Chromebook with your Google account. In Microsoft’s dreams, you are then connected to a vast array of Microsoft services, and settings are synced so that they match what you’ve done on other devices logged into the same Microsoft account. You don’t log in with your name, you log in with the email address and password of your Microsoft account. In Windows 10, Microsoft introduced the idea of connecting your individual login to a personal Microsoft account.

Why set up a new PC with a local account? Plan to restart a couple of times to take care of last-minute updates and device setup. You’ll get an inscrutable error message then you’ll be able to set up a local account.Īfter you’re at a desktop, connect to the network or wi-fi. How to set up a new PC without a Microsoft accountĭo not connect a new computer to the network during setup! Don’t plug in the network cable. Most recently, it has either removed it entirely from the setup screens, or it has disguised it with the words “Domain join instead” – a deliberately deceptive use of a dark pattern to confuse and misdirect you. Microsoft has repeatedly changed the wording and location of the option to create a local account during setup. What is Microsoft doing to hide that option? Three reasons you might prefer to use a local account: some people feel that a local account is more secure a local account allows you to bypass the confusion between Microsoft’s personal accounts and “work or school” accounts or maybe you just don’t like Microsoft.

Why set up a new PC with a local account instead of linking it to a personal Microsoft account? The good news is that it’s possible to take control of the process. The bad news is that Microsoft is pushing its own agenda and using deception to hide the option of setting up a local account instead of a Microsoft account. There are good reasons to set up a new Windows 10 PC without a Microsoft account, even if you intend to link it to a Microsoft account eventually.

How to get windows on a new pc