Last year, Microsoft made it mandatory to sign in with a Microsoft account on all consumer editions of Windows 11 during setup. However, users quickly discovered a workaround by launching Command Prompt during setup and running the “oobe\bypassnro” command, they could skip the online account requirement.
Now, Microsoft has officially announced on its Windows Insider blog that it is removing the bypassnro.cmd script, effectively blocking this workaround. This means users will no longer be able to set up Windows 11 without signing into a Microsoft account.
Microsoft stated, “We’re removing the bypassnro.cmd script from the build to enhance security and the user experience of Windows 11. This change ensures that all users exit setup with internet connectivity and a Microsoft Account.”
Currently, this update is rolling out with Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26200.5516 in the Dev Channel. However, it’s likely that Microsoft will extend this change to all builds, including the stable release. This means that in the future, bypassing the Microsoft account requirement during Windows 11 setup will no longer be possible.
That said, there’s still a way to bypass the Microsoft account requirement using bypassnro. According to Windows watcher @phantomofearth, only the script has been removed not the underlying functionality. Users can still open Regedit and manually add the BypassNRO DWORD to skip the online account requirement, just like before.
Additionally, if you’re looking to bypass Windows 11’s hardware requirements including the Microsoft account requirement you can do so using Rufus. Let us know in the comment!
