Upcoming Windows 11 builds cannot install without internet and Microsoft Account

Posted by tech234a 3/29/2025

Upcoming Windows 11 builds cannot install without internet and Microsoft Account(infosec.exchange)

268 points | 282 commentspage 4

sys_64738 3/30/2025|

I haven't had Windows on a computer I own since 2009. I only use it on the work computer as it's the garbage they install and lockdown. The best thing you can do for your life is go Microsoft-Free. Don't do drugs, don't do MICROS~1.

3eb7988a1663 3/29/2025||

How does this work for secure environments which are supposed to be air-gapped? Does Microsoft offer a special on-premise licensing server? I cannot image they just throw up their hands for such clients and suggest an alternative OS.

nipperkinfeet 3/30/2025|

Anything above Windows 11 pro can join domains.

miles 3/29/2025||

> "We're removing the bypassnro.cmd script from the build to enhance security and user experience of Windows 11."

.·°՞(˃ ᗜ ˂)՞°·.

isoprophlex 3/29/2025||

Oh daddy MS please enhance my user experience OH YES enhance me uhhnnnnn

I couldn't face my own reflection in the mirror if my job was justifying obviously user hostile crap like this.

avgd 3/29/2025|||

It's quite ironic they call it enhance security to tie their software to their cloud considering their cloud infrastructure is one of the most hacked of the big corpos. Data breaches happen all the damn time.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2019/04/hackers-could-read-n...

https://arstechnica.com/security/2024/01/in-major-gaffe-hack...

Something that doesn't happen much, if at all, with Google or Amazon.

Microsoft is one of the most incompetent and impotent corpo out there and considering how much critical infrastructure relies on their software it would do good for the world if the government intervened like they should have back in the antitrust lawsuit days. Break them up. Separate the cloud, windows and office businesses. Make them stand on their own merits.

mhuffman 3/29/2025|||

>security and user experience

This is corporate speak for advertisements and telemetry

nokeya 3/29/2025|||

Gaslighting at its finest.

yoyohello13 3/29/2025||

“Security”

jimjimwii 3/29/2025||

I'm surprised that they're doing this now, with how strained international relations are. I'm sure their timing will help motivate serious non-us customers to look at linux for desktop use.

jofla_net 3/29/2025|

I really doubt that if it was, say, the early 90s (with millions of people yet unfamiliar to computing) and MS and Linux was in its current state of development, that the masses wouldn't have found it much more frictionless just to use linux. MS is literally running on hot air, hubris, and lock-in the likes of which I don't think many others cant match, devil incarnate not withstanding.

delfinom 3/29/2025||

I keep installing without Microsoft accounts just fine. People keep not realizing there is literally a option for this in the installer still, it's just not named "skip microsoft account". LOL

throwaway48476 3/29/2025|

The existence of work around does not excuse user hostile behavior.

shepherdjerred 3/29/2025||

There's always Windows 11 LTSC

https://massgrave.dev/windows_ltsc_links

janwillemb 3/29/2025||

It is very hard to use Android without a Google account. Most people accept that. They must have learnt from that.

bad_user 3/29/2025||

Android is very usable without a Google account or even Play Services. It's not convenient, you may be missing some functionality, but it's usable and alternative app stores exist.

Huawei famously shipped devices without Google Play and many were fine with it. And Samsung's devices, AFAIK the most popular Androids, can have the Google account removed. Play stops working, but you can still use Samsung's own app store.

That may not last, of course, Android could become closed source, but in the meantime I dare say it's strictly more open than Windows. And I hope Microsoft gets slapped by EU's DMA.

hilbert42 3/29/2025|||

"It is very hard to use Android without a Google account."

It depends on what type of user one is. If one wants to be spoon fed and data-raped by Google then your statement is true.

But there are other options that make an Android smartphone both functional and viable without both a Google account and Google apps.

Except for test accounts on test machines sans anything of any use to Google installed, I've never had a Google account and I manage perfectly well, and I've used Android since version 4.

On rooted devices I hack Google to pieces, all Google apps are removed so is just about any other software that communicates with Google. On devices that aren't rooted, I'll disable all Google apps including Google Play Services and the Play Store, make sure a firewall is installed and that all apps except those with explicit permission are blocked from internet access and rerouted via a VPN to a nonexistent network. And so on, and so on….

Everything I want to use works, Google software is replaced with apps from F-Droid and other sources of non-Google origin. Still, I've no trouble viewing YouTube and I do so without ads, also I've no difficulty using the Play Store and downloading apps without a Google account.

There's really nothing that Google can offer me in addition to the third party apps and services that I already use. This phone has 215 apps installed and a second phone has 307—these apps are sourced from both F-Droid and the Play Store. Most apps however are open source/from F-Droid, etc.

For those who don't want to go to the extremes that I have there are many halfway measures one can take to minimize Google's impact.

BTW, in the past I've uploaded stuff to YouTube which I've done with 'dummy' test accounts.

aboringusername 3/29/2025|||

This isn't true at all. Getting a Pixel and GrapheneOS running requires no Google account (but does require the internet initially to enable OEM unlocking).

Once GrapheneOS is installed, no further interaction with Google is required. You can happily and easily use a main profile without play services/Gapps (and Graphene allows you to block 'network' at the socket layer if you do need to use apps).

You could then have a 'work' profile or use private space which is isolated from your main profile that uses play services/app store but it is absolutely not required.

It _is_ a learning curve for sure, but I do not feel Google is going out of its way like Microsoft is here to make it burdensome. (In fact, Google is quite welcoming to OEM unlocking unlike some other phone manufacturers)

theandrewbailey 3/29/2025||

I've been running LineageOS without MindTheGapps for about 2 months. (I was using LineageOS + MindTheGapps for several years on the same phone, but recently reflashed it.) My "app stores" are Fdroid and Aptoide. Not only what I have is usable, it feels faster and doesn't slow down after a week without rebooting.

My brother is stunned that I'm still using such an old phone (8 year old Moto). Unfortunately, no recent model Moto phones can run Lineage. My next phone will probably be a Pixel with Graphene or Lineage.

qrobit 3/29/2025||

Is it? I use Android without Google account (with services though). No app forces account on me, there's always option to sign in through other platform or directly via email.

bakugo 3/29/2025||

> No app forces account on me

What apps? You can't use Google Play to download apps without an account.

jakeogh 3/29/2025||

No google acct here, I use fdroid and the Aurora store. I have no doubt though that google is working on killing the Aurora store.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41773781

potemkinhr 3/29/2025||

Do banking apps work normally if downloaded from the aurora store? I'd very much like to fully degoogle my next phone when I get to replacing it, and it's the last stumbling stone

Cyphase 3/29/2025|||

I believe there are reasons this isn't a solution for everybody, but I just use the mobile website. Works for me, and probably a lot of people. I'd rather not have the app on my phone anyway.

nosioptar 3/29/2025||

I'm the same. If my bank ever requires me to install an app, I'll change banks.

aboringusername 3/29/2025|||

Absolutely. You should check out the list [1] to see what banking apps are verified working with GrapheneOS. It's worth noting if your banking app isn't on this list it does not mean it will not work.

[1]: https://privsec.dev/posts/android/banking-applications-compa...

magicalhippo 3/29/2025||

I checked a couple of reports relevant to me[1][2], and both explicitly mentions Play was installed and links to the Play store for the app.

Can one still assume one can install and operate those apps without Google Play?

[1]: https://github.com/PrivSec-dev/banking-apps-compat-report/is...

[2]: https://github.com/PrivSec-dev/banking-apps-compat-report/is...

mindslight 3/29/2025||

I assume that any version one might actually use will have this patched out by the torrent packager.

DeathArrow 3/29/2025||

All the computers are connected to the Internet? Can you still buy something without having to register and without that software always be communicating to home servers? Can you still buy a software product and do whatever you wish with it, for as long as you want and without having to pay subscriptions or be forced to upgrade?

hulitu 3/29/2025|

> All the computers are connected to the Internet?

> Can you still buy something without having to register and without that software always be communicating to home servers?

yes

Can you still buy a software product and do whatever you wish with it, for as long as you want and without having to pay subscriptions or be forced to upgrade?

yes

sarcasmatwork 3/29/2025|

Could you create a slipstream ISO using nlite, create a user and then it's bypassed?

tharos47 3/29/2025||

The simplest way imho would be to use Windows configuration designer. It generates a file that automate windows oobe when put on a USB key connected to the pc during setup.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/configuration/prov...

defrost 3/29/2025|||

Easy way to create custom Win11 iso is using microwin from the Chris Titus win util suite

https://christitustech.github.io/winutil/userguide/

https://github.com/ChrisTitusTech/winutil

https://christitus.com/windows-utility-improved/

It's an open source textGUI powershell suite with hyperlinks to all the toggle tweaks, maintained by one talented MS engineer and contributed to and eyeballed by a hundred odd contibuters.

chneu 3/29/2025||

There are builds of win11 like Ghost Spectre that strip a lot of this crap out.

throwaway48476 3/29/2025||

Why not IoT?

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