Microsoft really wants Windows users to sign in with a Microsoft account. These days, it’s very difficult to get around this requirement, and Microsoft is now removing its own documentation to help you with this process.

You want to use a Windows 11 computer with a local account instead of a Microsoft account. It’s possible, but it’s not easy. Anyone unboxing a new device today already needs some knowledge to bypass the ubiquitous Microsoft account. Until recently, Microsoft had its own documentation available online to help you convert a Microsoft account to a local account after the fact. However, that information has since disappeared. Tom’s Hardware found out.

The small adjustment on the support page is indicative of Microsoft’s ambitions. This actually means that you can only use Windows with an online account.

Benefits for those who want

Such an account offers benefits for those who subscribe to the Microsoft ecosystem, such as integration with OneDrive and Microsoft 365 (Office). If you don’t care about that, then Microsoft is mostly just giving you a ton of advertising for services you don’t want, on a device you’ve already paid money for.

The change in the support page is a good time to highlight Microsoft’s intrusiveness again. There is no technical reason to require a Microsoft account, but Microsoft actually does.