Setting up a new Windows 11 PC? Use a local admin account from the start

A new Windows 11 machine arrives and the out-of-box setup does its best to march you onto Wi-Fi and into a Microsoft account before you get anywhere near a desktop. If you want the machine set up simply, with a local admin account you control from the start, there is a quicker way. It takes about two minutes and you do not need a network connection at all.

The method

When setup reaches the screen that says "Let's connect you to a network", do this:

• Press Shift + F10 to open a command prompt
• Type the command below and press Enter
• Let the machine restart itself
• When setup loads again, select "I don't have internet"
• Click "Continue with limited setup"
• Create your user

OOBE\BYPASSNRO

Why bother?

A local admin account keeps the machine yours: sign-in works with no internet, nothing is tied to a cloud identity you may not want on this PC, and you decide what gets linked and when. For a family machine, a workshop PC or anything you manage yourself, it is the simple, controllable starting point.

One honest note: Microsoft adjusts the Windows 11 setup flow between builds and does not love this door being open, so the exact screens can vary. On the machines coming through our workshop it works as described above.

Need Microsoft 365 or a work sign-in on the machine? Do it after setup, on your terms: connecting a work or school account in Windows 11 takes two minutes.