There are two words that most Windows users really don’t want to hear: bypass and hack. Given that hackers have just discovered a Windows Defender security bypass with potentially devastating implications, while other hackers are offering a $500,000 payload Windows attack for rent, and session cookie theft continues as a primary way to bypass 2FA protections, I can’t say I blame them. On this occasion, however, I am prepared to go out on a limb and suggest that “bypass hack” is something that many Windows 11 users will see as a very good thing indeed. Here’s why this Microsoft Account hack is a good thing, along with a step-by-step guide to exploiting it.
The Latest Windows 11 Microsoft Account Hack Explained
There are plenty of people, for plenty of reasons, who really don’t want to sign into their copy of Windows 11 using a Microsoft Account, no matter how seamless an experience this brings to the Windows party. Some of these reasons may include privacy concerns, rightly or wrongly, and even fear concerning password recovery issues down the road. The truth of the matter is that people like choice, and that includes the choice not to trust Microsoft. Which is why there have been crafty hacks that allow you to bypass this Microsoft Account requirement when setting up a new Windows 11 computer if you know where to look for them. Hint: Google and Reddit. By far the most popular, I would say, was the use of a command line prompt entry of “OOBEBYPASSNRO” during the setup process.
In a March 28 posting, Brandon LeBlanc, a senior program manager on the Windows Insider program team, and Amanda Langowski, a Windows Insider program lead announced that with the launch of Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26200.5516, Microsoft is “removing the bypassnro.cmd script from the build to enhance security and user experience of Windows 11.” This is all part of a plan by Microsoft to force users into having an internet connected Microsoft Account. Indeed, the posting said as much: “This change ensures that all users exit setup with internet connectivity and a Microsoft Account.”
So, what can you do if you still want to bypass the Microsoft Account requirement when setting up a new Windows 11 device after this option has been removed for all? Don’t panic, there’s a new hack for that.
How To Bypass Windows 11 Microsoft Account Requirement Step-By-Step
There are ways to bypass the out of box experience, as it is known when setting up a new Windows 11 device without using the bypassnro hack. But none of them have been anywhere near as simple to execute for the average user. Take the use of unattend.xml, for example, which requires a hideously complex process that includes opening an installation image from Microsoft’s ISO file and creating a response file, and, well, if you are a Windows masochist, you can find all the details here. For everyone else, thankfully, a new and simpler bypass hack was quickly posted to the social media platform X following the announcement by Microsoft.
In a March 29 posting to X, a user called Wither OrNot revealed that the new bypass requires just two steps:
- Hit Shift-F10
- Type start ms-cxh:localonly
Although using the same underlying command as employed in a more complex bypass some months earlier by X user @thepineappl3, which involved the use of the Windows developer console, Wither OrNot explained that the new bypass hack was “found independently by examining “C:WindowsSystemAppshttp://Microsoft.Windows.CloudExperienceHost_cw5n1h2txyewydataprodnavigation.json” which led to the extremely easy to execute two-step hack.
Whatever, I recommend acting quickly if you want to take advantage of the new Windows 11 account bypass hack, as it likely won’t be long before Microsoft blocks this one as well.
