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Operating Systems Windows Microsoft The Internet

Windows 11 Pro Now Requires Microsoft Account and Internet During Setup (arstechnica.com) 207

Posted by BeauHD from the annoying-changes dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Now that Windows 11's first major post-release update has been issued, Microsoft has started testing a huge collection of new features, UI changes, and redesigned apps in the latest Windows Insider preview for Dev channel users. By and large, the changes are significant and useful -- there's an overhauled Task Manager, folders for pinned apps in the Start menu, the renewed ability to drag items into the Taskbar (as you could in Windows 10), improvements to the Do Not Disturb and Focus modes, new touchscreen gestures, and a long list of other fixes and enhancements.

But tucked away toward the bottom of the changelog is one unwelcome addition: like the Home edition of Windows 11, the Pro version will now require an Internet connection and a Microsoft account during setup. In the current version of Windows 11, you could still create a local user account during setup by not connecting your PC to the Internet -- something that also worked in the Home version of Windows 10 but was removed in 11. That workaround will no longer be available in either edition going forward, barring a change in Microsoft's plans. While most devices do require a sign-in to fully enable app stores, cloud storage, and cross-device sharing and syncing, Windows 11 will soon stand alone as the only major consumer OS that requires account sign-in to enable even basic functionality.
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Windows 11 Pro Now Requires Microsoft Account and Internet During Setup More

Windows 11 Pro Now Requires Microsoft Account and Internet During Setup

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  • Fuck off Microsoft (Score:5, Interesting)

    by UnknownSoldier ( 67820 ) on Thursday February 17, 2022 @07:04PM (#62278221)

    I'm not interested in your "forced" online spying bullshit.

  • Boo (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 17, 2022 @07:05PM (#62278227)
    I don't get bent out of shape in the OS wars but as painful as it has been I've switched to Linux so that I can actually own and use my laptop as I see fit. We need to take that painful step and stop being the product. It will get better if we want it to.

    • Re:Boo (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Rockoon ( 1252108 ) on Thursday February 17, 2022 @07:51PM (#62278381)
      if it werent for microsofts dev tools, and some video games....

      it isnt that it is hard to leave microsoft because of their underhanded stuff
      it is that it is hard to leave microsoft because of the stuff they do right

      even if the stuff they do right is only half-assed and sloppy, like the .net libraries

      • if it werent for microsofts dev tools, and some video games....

        But at that point who cares? Even if you can't have a dedicated Windows machine just dual boot for the Windows-specific things. Create a Microsoft account with bogus details and you're set, for everything else use a different OS.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

        It's hard to switch to Linux for a lot of reasons. First you have to find hardware that is compatible, and that means compromising on a lot of stuff. You will likely end up with outdated hardware and unable to make use of some features. If you want a laptop it's even worse, your choice is very limited and battery life and possibly performance will likely be worse than if it was running Windows.

        Then you have the pain of making the switch, finding that a load of stuff doesn't work, and the community is full o

        • It's hard to switch to Linux for a lot of reasons. First you have to find hardware that is compatible, and that means compromising on a lot of stuff. You will likely end up with outdated hardware and unable to make use of some features.

          This has not been true for quite a while. I can't remember the last time I had to check if a piece of hardware was compatible with linux. My guess would be that maybe some cheap wireless adapters or webcams don't work but I haven't run into that problem for years.

          Video cards, cpu, ethernet, mouse, keyboards, etc.. all just work.

          What hardware compromises have you recently made?

          • Re: (Score:3)

            by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

            As an example, when Linus Tech Tips tried it Linus found that his sound mixer that he uses for streaming was not supported well on Linux. It passed sound through but could not be controlled in any way. The only work-around he found was to boot into Windows, set it how he wanted it, and then go back to Linux and it would remember the settings.

    • I've had family members ask me about switching to Linux.

  • Holy shitballs, M$ (Score:5, Informative)

    by Mal-2 ( 675116 ) on Thursday February 17, 2022 @07:09PM (#62278245) Homepage Journal

    What the fuck, eh? Your Xbox guys are smart enough to know how this one goes, just ask them.

    • The Zune required a credit card number to be entered just to originally set it up.

    • What the fuck, eh? Your Xbox guys are smart enough to know how this one goes, just ask them.

      Nobody who is actually still using Windows for anything meaningful is going to care about this. They're either using it for a tiny set of windows-specific things, using it on their work computers or don't really care about the need to create a Microsoft account. I could be wrong but don't think there are people out there who put up with all the Windows crap all the way up through Windows 10 and have then decided that this is the thing that tips them over the edge.

  • In a "professional" setting, your account belongs to your employer, not your personal self. Your employment at one company is not the same entity as your employment at another.
    • In a professional setting, you're not getting updates directly from Microsoft.
    • In the enterprise environment this won't be required. This is Pro users at home. Plenty of machines are fold with Pro to home users. My last couple Dell machines at home had Windows Pro on them.

      • Re: (Score:3)

        by schwit1 ( 797399 )

        On a related note, why does the Enterprise edition install gaming and Xbox components?

        • "Because fuck you, that's why. It's our PC, not yours." -- Microsoft

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Wolfrider ( 856 )

            All you need to do is keep an older ISO around to install from, then upgrade in-place. But this is just more abusive behavior from a well-known abusive company that doesn't care about their user base.

        • Not just install them, Xbox services run on startup by default. But at least you can simply disable the service without MS deciding it's their computer and no, you can't have ownership and change that registry key, like with Windows Defender. Newer versions are so fucked with that you have to do extreme shit like edit the registry offline from the recovery console to prevent the service from running.

        • Not in my experience, I just got a brand new thinkpad that I enrolled through the azure 360 whatever the fuck account and it didn't have any xbos stuff. I had to install the game bar from the store to get some FPS numbers when testing the GPU.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by splutty ( 43475 )

      I am my employer. And I'm using Pro because I don't want all this fucking nonsense to begin with.

      And now Microsoft is slowly but surely polluting Pro so much that you might as well just use Home.

      I mean, just putting a Bing Weather widget and search on the taskbar with an update. On a Pro license....

      Pro is now what Home was in Windows 7, and Home is now. I don't know what the hell Home is now in Windows 11.. Some sort of mobile walled garden?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by suss ( 158993 )

      Unless this is some kind of ruse to get employees that have yet escaped their sticky Linkedin web to identify themselves as working for X employer, and automatically (without asking, you clicked "i agree" somewhere, didn't you?) add them.

  • Is there another? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by paul_friedman ( 741288 ) on Thursday February 17, 2022 @07:13PM (#62278267)
    "Windows 11 will soon stand alone as the only major consumer OS that requires account sign-in to enable even basic functionality" - is there any other "major consumer OS" out there? Has there ever been one since OS/2?

    • "Windows 11 will soon stand alone as the only major consumer OS that requires account sign-in to enable even basic functionality" - is there any other "major consumer OS" out there?

      I think the author meant "desktop OS", because iOS has required online activation for as long as I can recall. Doesn't make the practice any less consumer-hostile, though.

    • A Chromebook needs a google account to log into it. I've always thought this to be a bit shit - it means that my kids need to have an overly complex password to log on to the laptop itself (which only 4 people on the planet can access), just because the same username/password is used for their gmail accounts (which just about anyone can access). Getting to gmail is via a password manager, so having a long and complex password isn't an issue there. Try typing it in to log on to the laptop every time you want

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      Android and iOS are both major consumer operating systems. Neither require an online account to use.

  • Aaand that's illegal in plenty of countries. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by splutty ( 43475 ) on Thursday February 17, 2022 @07:14PM (#62278269)

    In all European countries I've worked in, there are a lot of places (banking, government, schools) where this is 100% illegal.

    So I wonder what they're going to 'offer' those to 'help' them switch to Windows 11. Otherwise Windows 11 is going to have some serious issues.

    For me personally, Windows 11 was already a no, but is now an absolute, hard, no.

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Alain Williams ( 2972 )

      The GDPR has several things to say about this.

      * Right to be informed [ico.org.uk] Does MS say what it does with the personal info, how long it keeps it, etc, and be concise, transparent, intelligible, easily accessible, and it must use clear and plain language ?

      * necessary [ico.org.uk] Why is this data necessary for the PC to work? It has not until now, so what has changed >

      The EU might take MS to court - but until then MS will refuse to let your PC work.

    • This requirement most likely won't be in the Enterprise version which is pretty much what all major businesses run. Same with a lot of the telemetry being turned off. Microsoft knows where majority of their revenue comes from. Consumers are just along for the ride because the businesses keep Microsoft going.

      • There's still quite a bit of telemetry and phoning home in Enterprise that you have to go through quite some lengths to stop; even the 'Security' level of telemetry isn't equal to 'Off', because other system services are still phoning home for various reasons. Windows update still does forced reboots unless you use unsupported hacks, which should have been a complete non-starter for Enterprise. It might take them another version or two, but eventually you'll need an online sign in for that too.
        Their guida

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by stikves ( 127823 )

      Technically you can still set up Windows with your own domain.

      They only disable local accounts. It is possible to get a Raspberry PI, setup SAMBA, and act as a Windows Domain Controller: https://gist.github.com/esumme... [github.com]

      All that requires a lot of technical know how. And, Microsoft is definitely banking on people avoiding the hassle: "Just give us permission to host your data on our cloud, we will be nice".

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      Microsoft offers Windows 11 N for Europe, which removes some features such as Media Player. It's possible that the N edition will continue to allow you to install without creating an account, given that it's a clear GDPR issue.

    • You should probably tell this to Apple and Google.

  • Enterprise customers? (Score:3)

    by kalieaire ( 586092 ) on Thursday February 17, 2022 @07:17PM (#62278285)

    I'm really curious how this will affect enterprise customers.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      Enterprise edition seems to be excluded. The ones who will be really screwed are small businesses who buy Pro, often on pre-configured laptops. Not big enough to warrant Enterprise licences and wanting the option to just buy pre-configured laptops that they can load the company VPN and apps onto.

  • Moved away to Linux last year and am never going back. The shitfest of stupidity like this coupled with their insistence on hiding anything useful put me over the edge. For what I do Linux is far superior in every regard except for software installation. That still takes time to figure out since documentation is sketchy at best.

    However, the blind masses will diligently fall over the cliff because they've never known a time when you could install and use an OS and not be harassed six ways til Tuesday whil

  • If we can beat the IRS [marketplace.org], Microsoft should be a cakewalk, just gotta step up

    • You'll need to find people who care in order to build up a resistance. You can find a few Slashdot users, but that's hardly any form of critical mass.

  • just a really Fat, Messy Security Risky Client. That is dysfunctional without the cloud log in/subscription single point of failure?

    • Is it required after installation though? One could just create a fake email, install, then delete the email account. Will that break things? I was looking forward to W11 for work for the updated WSL and fixes to dumb multi monitor support, but that's enterprise and requires a login anyway. But I'll hold off W11 at home as it has nothing I need or want yet. Of course eventually a DirectX 13 designed to entice gamers to upgrade because it'll make a few pixels look different.

      I don't even know what the Mi

  • Most likely this will not get to stable release.

    Is done just to mine even more data/info from the guys in the "outter rings" (previe, developer, et al)

  • I recently discovered that there's a version of Windows 10 called Enterprise IoT (or something like that) that is, as you might expect, designed for connected appliances. It reputedly has some features that make it useful for industrial applications where, for example, the indefinite interruption of normal operations to download an install an update, or automatically triggered restarts would be, ah, unacceptable. From what I've read, it's the sort of version that might appeal to the same demographic that L

    • It was originally identical to Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC, starting with version 1903 it's a separate version. I'm not sure what the differences are, they say it's just usable on smaller storage devices, but it's probably similar to LTSC. Which still has forced reboots btw, unless you're running your own updates server and don't push them, or take undocumented measures like deleting files from system32\tasks.

      LTSC is a far superior edition. Provided you don't want the Store; as I understand it, it's very

  • Now Microsoft is turning...pro, err professional that is. :-)

    JoshK.

  • TFA did not say whether you would be able to simply swithch to a local account after installation. Currently, this is trivially easy to do in Settings. I don't see where it says you will have to log in with a MS acct for basic functionality, just for installation. I mean, that sucks bad enough, but if you can switch to a local acct afterwards, not as bad as it's being made out to be.

    • That's an idea, an admin account just for installing, then create a local admin account for actual use...

  • And if you lose your account... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Jiro ( 131519 ) on Thursday February 17, 2022 @07:52PM (#62278387)

    We've seen what happens with Google where Google abruptly cancels someone's account because of some automated process and they lose access to everything else including things they pay for.

    Now if Microsoft's automatic processes decide that you're a spammer or someone else who's a problem, you'll lose access to your own PC as well.

    • That means I'll be even less interested in upgrading to Windows 11 than I was in upgrading to Windows 8, which I managed to entirely skip. Hell, I even held off upgrading to Windows 9!

      • That means I'll be even less interested in upgrading to Windows 11 than I was in upgrading to Windows 8, which I managed to entirely skip. Hell, I even held off upgrading to Windows 9!

        I never upgraded to Windows XP. I stopped at Windows 2000, then switched to Debian Linux.

  • I'm not much of an apple fan, but I did by an M1 mac just for kicks. I set it up with an appleid, but now I wonder if I had a choice not to.

    • You could have skipped that step. They just make the skip button really small.

      • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

        by Anonymous Coward
        and then create horrible situation where just about every apple piece of software prompts you for an apple id. the reality is Apple practically forces it due to how their ecosystem operates. My Wife got an M1 macbook pro, we tried initially without he appleid, it was unusuable.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by dstwins ( 167742 )
          YEs, it may bug you about the apple ID.. but if you don't want to use Apple's Connected ecosystem.. you don't have to or need an apple ID.. The main issue is not if you want to use Microsoft's crap connected ecosystem.. its that you can't even get past the damned installer without signing up..

          That's the issue...

  • More telemetrical garbage (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Reiyuki ( 5800436 ) on Thursday February 17, 2022 @08:44PM (#62278511)

    The goal seems to link machine telemetrics to a specific identity. The mothership must be kept in-the-loop.

    I'd upgrade to Windows XP in a heartbeat if someone could back-port the new video card drivers.

    • Re:More telemetrical garbage (Score:5, Insightful)

      by 24-bit Voxel ( 672674 ) on Thursday February 17, 2022 @11:48PM (#62278923) Journal

      The end goal is undoubtedly a subscription model, they've admitted that's the plan years ago. This is one of the final steps.

      Sad times.

      • I wonder how many people will be willing to pay a subscription just for the OS. I know I will not.

        Am sure I know many others who will not either.

        This may just be the final push to get more people looking into Linux. Especially since there are more and more games working in Linux nowadays (a benefit of steam's handheld device).

    • Don't forget to backport support for the newer CPUs too, unless you planning to stick to a 10 year old (or older) system on your windows XP.

  • Can you install and then never log onto the internet again?

    Did that with Windows 7 and amazingly ... NOTHING has ever burped, crashed or corrupted.

  • Workaround (Score:5, Interesting)

    by XxDZTNxX ( 1889350 ) on Thursday February 17, 2022 @09:42PM (#62278653)
    This works last I knew although its possible some very new update nullifies it - let me know if anyone tests it: Start the OOBE and make sure you have an Internet connection (I haven’t found a way around this part yet). Go through the first few screens for language options and such. When you get to the Microsoft Account screen, hit Shift-F10 to open a command prompt. If you’re on wireless, use this command: netsh wlan disconnect Type exit and hit . Hit the back arrow at the top. You should now be prompted with a basic local user account creation screen. If you’re on a wired connection, use this command first: netsh interface show interface Find the name of the Ethernet adapter and substitute it in the command below where it says Ethernet. Keep the quotes – it’s used for parsing spaces in case it has a long name. netsh interface set interface name=”Ethernet” admin=DISABLED

    • Thanks, boiling frog. (Score:5, Insightful)

      by tiqui ( 1024021 ) on Friday February 18, 2022 @12:19AM (#62278991)

      First, thanks for the info. Your post is in the grand tradition of small computer users sharing useful info with other users.

      Second, that's a bunch of stuff to have to hop through to get around the problem, and Microsoft seems determined to make the problem worse with each passing year, They keep dialing UP the temperature on your hot tub, and you keep trying to stay comfortable ... apparently missing the point that it's actually a cooking pot on the stove...

  • Don't pay your subscription fee? You can't log into your computer. What's next, Microsoft? Force users to store all their personal data and files in 'the cloud', so you can extort money out of them while simultaneously sifting through all of it for data you can sell to your 'marketing partners'?
    I now have never been happier I started using a Linux distro.
    • They're already on that track. These online accounts come with OneDrive, and people are frequently finding their personal files copied to OneDrive without asking or taking any further steps besides signing on. Office will also save to OneDrive if available by default.
    • With enough personal info, I'm sure MS can find some credit card you have to get their subscription money from you!

  • Can it be taken though? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by AcidFnTonic ( 791034 ) on Thursday February 17, 2022 @10:40PM (#62278777) Homepage

    My complaint with this is can that online account be taken or disabled if I'm not politically correct enough?

    You guys are not seeing the full picture here. The next step is to start prohibiting who can do this registration or retroactively expire them which now means you can literally be banned from your computer.

    If they get to force an online account, I get to force them to not be able to ban it. Otherwise it's not an equivalent change. So where is the language around getting my Microsoft account banned because I almost want to sign up and do this to be the first to sue.

    (linux since 99ish but still enjoy watching the dumpster fire)

  • You can create a "Microsoft Account Problem" (Score:5, Interesting)

    by localroger ( 258128 ) on Thursday February 17, 2022 @10:47PM (#62278787) Homepage
    Use a burner MS account to set the machine up, then change the password to the account. The machine will occasionally nag you with a notification bubble that there is a "Microsoft Account Problem" but as I always purr in response, "No, honey, YOU have a Microsoft Account Problem, I'm fine." As with the monthly "Let's improve your Windows experience" nag that appears instead of the computer booting you can't get rid of it, but it does disable the telemetry because it can't phone home.
    • I think one of the potential problems is that this MS account is required if certain changes are made. For example Win 10 (even Pro) now requires a MS account if hardware is changed. I swapped out a motherboard in December and my Win 10 Pro installation was invalid until it was attached to a logged in and valid MS account. Using a throwaway burner account would not work as you have to validate the MS account and remember the credentials.

  • All I care about is... (Score:3)

    by TwistedGreen ( 80055 ) on Thursday February 17, 2022 @11:04PM (#62278817)
    Did they add seconds back to the clock?
  • Yes Sir! Having to log on now means diplomats and troublemakers broadcast their credentials and location, and are subject to takeover. Once they have you account credentials - continuous real time feeds / full access. Now if only the military can be tricked into 'upgrading'.

  • bitlocker from new (Score:5, Informative)

    by throwaway18 ( 521472 ) on Friday February 18, 2022 @08:46AM (#62279807) Journal

    It is now common for laptops to be shipped with the harddrive/ssd encrypted with bitlocker. Many people are unaware of it.

    If you don't create a Microsoft account then later if the laptop goes wrong and won't boot you can't access your files by connecting the harddrive or ssd to another machine. Without a Microsoft account you can't get the bitlocker key.

    If a laptop with bitlocker boots to a login screen then the bitlocker key has to be stored in the laptop, in which case it can be obtained by soldering wires to the I2C bus and using a logic analyzer. It is way beyond the technical ability of the average person but can be done.

    To mitigate that, some corporate laptops are set up to erase the TPM if the laptop case is opened. You opened such a laptop to add more RAM and can't access the email that was used for the Microsoft account?, any files you didn't back up separately are gone forever.

  • What is this "eleven" you speak of? (Score:3)

    by null etc. ( 524767 ) on Friday February 18, 2022 @09:05AM (#62279853)

    Wait, I thought that Windows 10 was supposed to be the last version of Windows that Microsoft ever released. What, did their marketing guys finally have enough time to realize how incredibly stupid that decision was?

  • This is so Bill Gates can link the microchip we were all forced to get from the covid vax to the MS database. The better to keep track of us.

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