Microsoft 365 advertising, full screen advertising, prevents access to the Windows 10 desktop an indefinite number of users. The screen appears after performing a clean install or installing feature updates and is part of the program Experience with Windows out of the box (OOBE), which is far from the best experience.

The guys from Redmond keep doing what they’re doing… We’re not saying anything new when we say Microsoft uses Windows’ huge market share to promote its own services. We see it in Windows installations themselves, full of bloatware, or in the selection of alternative applications, such as changing the browser in Windows 11. Not to mention the obsession of users to migrate to Windows 11 from Windows 10, whether they want to or not, using “dark patterns” as we saw last week

Microsoft 365 announcement

Let’s face it, many Windows users pay dearly for a Microsoft 365 subscription and consider it the best option in online productivity suites. And of course Microsoft has the right to promote it. But not by harassing Windows users, much less by blocking access to the operating system.

And I hope there will be more. Various variations of these ads have been reported, but there is one particularly problematic one posted by a user on Reddit. Its name “Access granted: We offer you a free trial of Microsoft 365 Family” and as you will see it contains two buttons “Try Free” and “No Thanks”.

It turns out that the function of each of the buttons is quite different from what their name suggests, and if you click “No thanks” (which should dismiss this ad and go straight to the desktop), you’ll be taken to the trial and purchase screen for the subscription kit . You have to leave your credit card here, and although it’s free for a period of time, they charge you $100 if you forget to cancel it. It’s hard to believe that a company like Microsoft accidentally changed the behavior of the buttons…

Solutions to prevent it (or try)

There is a general way to avoid this ad and its problems when you have to do a clean install of Windows 10 or 11. Simple disconnect from the internet during the installation process and select a local account and not a Microsoft ID.

Another recommended option is to manage the options in Settings > System > Notifications and disable them, both from Microsoft and from other senders, especially the “Windows welcome experience”.

All this can be avoided by suspending this type of advertising “welcome” that the company uses in a perverse way to promote its services. Microsoft 365 is a fantastic suite that doesn’t have to bother users, let alone crash the system.