Even Windows 11 Pro users will be required to sign in during the installation process in the near future.
In the near future, Microsoft will no longer allow Windows 11 Pro customers to install the operating system without checking in to a Microsoft account, according to reports.
Windows 11 users who don’t wish to connect to the internet or provide Microsoft their personal information should take note of this. In order to complete the installation of Windows 11 Home, users had to establish or log into a Microsoft account. Those of us who disliked this condition may upgrade to Windows 11 Pro, which does not have this prerequisite.
Windows 11 Pro customers will have to adhere to the same Microsoft Account restrictions as the rest of us who use Windows 11 Home, according to Microsoft’s latest preview release for Windows Insiders on the Dev Channel (Build 22557).
During the initial device setup (OOBE), Windows 11 Pro edition now needs internet access, similar to Windows 11 Home edition, says an extract from the Windows Insider blog article that Microsoft released with this Dev Channel update. Windows Insider Program (WIP) flights will need a Microsoft account in the future.
Customers of Windows 11 are likely to be annoyed by this little but unwanted change. Even if you don’t care about privacy and anonymity in your personal computing, it’s a real pain to have to check in with your Microsoft account every time you install or reinstall Windows 11 Home for business.
Worse, it may impede the process of reinstalling Windows 11 on a malfunctioning computer. Trying to install Windows 11 on a computer without an Ethernet port or Wi-Fi drivers will make it difficult to log in to Windows and install the essential software. Windows 11’s Pro users will have to put up with these kinds of Windows 11 difficulties, which is something I strongly discourage.
It’s not all doom and gloom with this Windows 11 Insider preview. As a bonus for Windows 11 beta users, the Start menu now allows you to add folders to the area for “pinned apps,” saving you time. New gesture controls for touchscreen users are also included in the Task Manager’s sleek additional design, which adds some new features (including a much-needed dark option).
There is a risk that Microsoft might change course on this contentious choice if features appearing in Dev Channel releases do not make it into the final version of Windows 11. As far as I know, anybody may install Windows 11 with a local account, removing the need to have an Internet connection to utilise the operating system for the first time.