Setting up a new Windows 11 PC? Use a local admin account from the start
The Shift and F10 trick that gets a new Windows 11 machine set up with a local admin account: no Microsoft login, no forced Wi-Fi connection, full control from the first boot.
The follow-on from a local-account setup: how to connect Microsoft 365 or any work or school account to Windows 11 through Settings, step by step with screenshots.

If you followed our guide to setting up Windows 11 with a local admin account, your machine is yours, with nothing linked. When the time comes to use Microsoft 365 or connect to your workplace, you add the account afterwards, on your terms. Here is the whole thing.



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