Windows 10 users fume: Microsoft, where's our 'local account' option gone?

naib

naib

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https://www.zdnet.com/article/windows-10-users-fume-microsoft-wheres-our-local-account-option-gone/

Microsoft has annoyed some of its 900 million Windows 10 device users after apparently removing the 'Use offline account' as part of its effort to herd users towards its cloud-based Microsoft Account.
The offline local account is specific to one device, while the Microsoft Account can be used to log in to multiple devices and comes with the benefit of Microsoft's recent work on passwordless authentication with Windows Hello.

The local account doesn't require an internet connection or an email address – just a username and password that are stored on the PC. ZDNet's Ed Bott argues the local account is inferior from a usability and security standpoint.

But Windows 10 users are annoyed that Microsoft has hidden the local account option when setting up a new PC or reinstalling Windows 10. A user on a popular Reddit thread notes that the local account option is now invisible if the device is connected to the internet.
 
It's still there, I just did 2 w10 1903 builds. You just choose the option "I don't have internet" during setup. I don't connect the internet at all until the install is done, then I hook up to let it do updates/activate etc.

Off topic side note/fun fact, if you also choose the option "I don't have a key" during setup, and it's an old dell/HP/etc oem box, it will pick up and activate under digital license. It helps to know which version, but you have a 50/50 chance between Pro and Home. Most corporate drone boxes are Pro, but some aren't. If it doesn't like it, reinstall and choose the other option. I kind of like the fact that I don't have to get on my hands and knees to read a smudged ripped COA sticker on the bottom of these things.
 
I just setup a brand new dell laptop and following the standard setup, connect to wifi etc, I was able to get a local account. Might not have shipped with the latest microsoft service pack aka virus.
Wonders 10, the gift that keeps on keeping on.
 
You can also just not be online when you do the installation. Can't create a Microsoft account if Windows can't reach their servers.

The one advantage of creating a Microsoft account (and then, as comments in the article mention, go back to using a local account) is that your Windows key is tied to your account, so if you make a hardware change big enough to trip activation, you you can reactivate Windows without having to buy a new copy.
 
1_rick said:
You can also just not be online when you do the installation. Can't create a Microsoft account if Windows can't reach their servers.
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What, until next year? They run on commercial products that never connect to the internet. If it wasn't for those, it would be gone. They'll cripple the local account in some way. Right now this is just 'friction' to discourage the practice until and reduce the number of people left when they finally pull the option.
 
I do not want anything cloud in any way shape or form. The first thing I do when I buy any device is to disable any and all cloud "features".

I want full 100% control at all times over when my device hits the network.

This is a non-negotiable to me. The day I have to sign up for a Microsoft account is the day I delete my windows partition.

My computer should never communicate with the network unless I explicitly tell it to.
 
naib said:
https://www.zdnet.com/article/windows-10-users-fume-microsoft-wheres-our-local-account-option-gone/

Microsoft has annoyed some of its 900 million Windows 10 device users after apparently removing the 'Use offline account' as part of its effort to herd users towards its cloud-based Microsoft Account.
The offline local account is specific to one device, while the Microsoft Account can be used to log in to multiple devices and comes with the benefit of Microsoft's recent work on passwordless authentication with Windows Hello.

The local account doesn't require an internet connection or an email address – just a username and password that are stored on the PC. ZDNet's Ed Bott argues the local account is inferior from a usability and security standpoint.

But Windows 10 users are annoyed that Microsoft has hidden the local account option when setting up a new PC or reinstalling Windows 10. A user on a popular Reddit thread notes that the local account option is now invisible if the device is connected to the internet.
Click to expand...


Either this was misquoted, or the article has been updated.

It now states that the option is "harder to find".​
 
Um... OK... It is still an option on all the new builds I do. And yes they see an internet connection at that point. So not sure what the entire point of the article was. Just because some people don't see the option doesn't mean a blanket Microsoft is hiding it from everyone option has been enacted. They needed to back down the tone of that article.
 
Jagger100 said:
Right now this is just 'friction' to discourage the practice until and reduce the number of people left when they finally pull the option.
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The term is called dark pattern - a user interface that has been carefully and intentionally crafted to trick users into doing something they didn't mean to or didn't realize they were doing.
 
I actually have tested this a while back, when someone, I do not recall who, tried to claim that the local account option during setup is gone. However, I installed the OS multiple times after this claim and the local account option was there and not at all hidden. Unless this is something different, it is not hidden and not gone, whether your computer is connected to the internet or not.
 
ManofGod said:
I actually have tested this a while back, when someone, I do not recall who, tried to claim that the local account option during setup is gone. However, I installed the OS multiple times after this claim and the local account option was there and not at all hidden. Unless this is something different, it is not hidden and not gone, whether your computer is connected to the internet or not.
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You tested an older build, which isn't relevant anymore.

The complaint here is that the Local Account option is becoming increasingly obscured with newer builds.
 
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I noticed this for new Windows 10 Home installs on OEM machines - I literally had to create a dummy MS account to get past the setup screen, there was no way to actually use a local account. I guess it sounds like you'd have to boot without internet to get past it otherwise. Really quite stupid.

Windows 10 Pro doesn't seem to do this. They push for you to use an MS account, but you can choose the "domain join" option and create a local account.
 
snowcrash said:
Will still happily use Windows 10. Although at least now I know to remove the ethernet cable or not set up wifi if local account is desired when installing Windows.
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Although that is good to know, it is also completely unnecessary.
 
All the new 1903 builds I do have to be disconnected from the network in order to install a fresh copy without an online account. The start up process literally does not give you an option if you have a WAN connection.
 
MavericK said:
Untrue, read the replies above. You are not given an option in some cases - for me it was only with Home machines, not Pro. But I assure you, the option was not given if a network was connected.
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If this is exactly the same thing as a couple of months ago, I tried installed Windows Multiple times, Home and Pro, VM and bare metal, Gateway computer and custom built, and ended up with the local account creation selection every time. Oh well, guess I must just be lucky or something.
 
Zarathustra[H] said:
Apple probably requires it as well.

Apple should not be the standard on any of this though.
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Yeah trying using an apple product with out registering it to iCloud or iTunes and see how far that gets you...... F'ing PITA it is unless you are using a good MDM solution.
 
KazeoHin said:
All the new 1903 builds I do have to be disconnected from the network in order to install a fresh copy without an online account. The start up process literally does not give you an option if you have a WAN connection.
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I'm sorry but your objective reality has an anti-Microsoft bias. How very dare you!
 
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meh. I haven't done a local user account since the option for the alternative microsoft account was created.

What's the use case for creating a local user account? Would be kind of odd to decide to install and run their os but not want to make a single-use outlook account.
 
ManofGod said:
If this is exactly the same thing as a couple of months ago, I tried installed Windows Multiple times, Home and Pro, VM and bare metal, Gateway computer and custom built, and ended up with the local account creation selection every time. Oh well, guess I must just be lucky or something.
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Yeah that was a shit show.
 
Darth Ender said:
meh. I haven't done a local user account since the option for the alternative microsoft account was created.

What's the use case for creating a local user account? Would be kind of odd to decide to install and run their os but not want to make a single-use outlook account.
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On the other hand, I've NEVER used the MS account when setting up a Win10 install EVER. I don't want to log into my old hotmail account every time I use my computer.
 
Lakados said:
Yeah trying using an apple product with out registering it to iCloud or iTunes and see how far that gets you...... F'ing PITA it is unless you are using a good MDM solution.
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None of these discussions could ever hope to be complete without the obligatory "What about Apple/Google" post :)

And of course the whole reason most of us here have spent decades tolerating Windows - even in it's latest consumer-gaslighting incarnations - is because it's *not* OSX.
 
ManofGod said:
If this is exactly the same thing as a couple of months ago, I tried installed Windows Multiple times, Home and Pro, VM and bare metal, Gateway computer and custom built, and ended up with the local account creation selection every time. Oh well, guess I must just be lucky or something.
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I don't know what to tell you other than that I can corroborate other reports here of it not being possible to create a local account while connected to the internet.
 
odditory said:
None of these discussions could ever hope to be complete without the obligatory "What about Apple/Google" post :)

And of course the whole reason most of us here have spent decades tolerating Windows - even in it's latest consumer-gaslighting incarnations - is because it's *not* OSX.
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I know right, they might all be screwing us but at least MS offers lube, I mean you have to pay extra for it and navigate their licensing options to find it but it is there after 3 or 4 ToS agreements. Say what you will but MS is all about concent.
 
I'm getting tired of companies pushing the cloud down our throats.

I mean, I do like certain online services, but I want to pick and choose what I use, not have it happen automatically without my knowledge.

Really just want to switch to Linux at this point, but every time I try I find some reason to go back to Windows. You can't win.
 
MavericK said:
I noticed this for new Windows 10 Home installs on OEM machines - I literally had to create a dummy MS account to get past the setup screen, there was no way to actually use a local account. I guess it sounds like you'd have to boot without internet to get past it otherwise. Really quite stupid.

Windows 10 Pro doesn't seem to do this. They push for you to use an MS account, but you can choose the "domain join" option and create a local account.
Click to expand...
Well that explains it, the laptop i setup was running Pro.
 
waderunner said:
Just as a point of comparison, do recent versions of OSX allow local accounts? Or, is an account tied to an Apple ID required for OSX? (I'm not a Mac guy, so I don't know the answer to that one.)
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Yes you can but running a Macbook without iCloud is pretty much defeating the purpose and appeal of MacOS.
 
Sounds like we need a poll of which flavor (Home or Pro) people are noticing this issue with. I have done dozens of Pro installs this month and every single one saw an internet connection and allowed me to create an offline account without having to resort to drastic measures. I have not installed Home on a machine in a month or two. So it is sounding to me like this issue is coming up more on Home than Pro.
 
ir0nw0lf said:
Sounds like we need a poll of which flavor (Home or Pro) people are noticing this issue with. I have done dozens of Pro installs this month and every single one saw an internet connection and allowed me to create an offline account without having to resort to drastic measures. I have not installed Home on a machine in a month or two. So it is sounding to me like this issue is coming up more on Home than Pro.
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Yea all my pro activations didn't have this problem. Even the one I just formatted a week or two ago (and I downloaded that installer strait off the internet that day).
 
KazeoHin said:
All the new 1903 builds I do have to be disconnected from the network in order to install a fresh copy without an online account. The start up process literally does not give you an option if you have a WAN connection.
Click to expand...

Come to think of it, I installed 1903 on my moms laptop not too long ago, and it DID give me the local account option. That said I don't think I was connected to the network.
 
It was still there last night when I was setting up Windows.
 
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