Microsofthas been pushing hard for its users to sign into Windows with a Microsoft Account. The newestWindows 11installerremoved the easy bypass to the requirementthat you make an account or login with your existing account. If you didn’tinstall Windows 11 without a Microsoft Accountand now want to stop sending the company your data, you may still switch to a local account after the fact. Microsoft even had instructions on how to do this on its official support website - or at least it used to…
Microsoft’s’Change from a local account to a Microsoft Account' guideshows users how they can change their Windows 11 PC login credentials to use their Microsoft Account. The company also supplied instructions on how to ‘Change from a Microsoft account to a local account’ on the same page. However, when we checked the page usingthe Wayback Machine, the instructions on how to do the latter appeared on July 07, 2025, thendisappearedon Jun 30, 2025. The ‘Change from a Microsoft account to a local account’ instructions yet haven’t returned.
Converting your Windows 11 PC’s login from a Microsoft Account to a local account is a pretty simple process. All you have to do is go to the Settings app, proceed to Accounts > Your info, and select “Sign in with a local account instead.” Follow the instructions on the screen, and you should be good to go.
When Microsoft had these instructions on its support page, it sandwiched them between warnings saying, “Using a Microsoft account in Windows allows for seamless integration of Microsoft services, enhancedsecurity, and sync across devices, unlike a local account,” and “when using a local account, it’s a good idea to create a password reset disk. If you don’t do this and then forget your password, you won’t be able to recover it.”
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Jowi Morales is a tech enthusiast with years of experience working in the industry. He’s been writing with several tech publications since 2021, where he’s been interested in tech hardware and consumer electronics.
