Microsoft plans to change the requirements for using Windows 11 Pro, which is to have an internet connection and a Microsoft account.
Previously, similar rules were also applied by Microsoft for Windows 10 Home users, where users could not go through the Microsoft account login process during the installation process.
Microsoft has indeed been trying to increase the use of Microsoft accounts on Windows users since Windows 10, and is now continuing to Windows 11. Previously, many Windows users may have chosen not to create a Microsoft account to avoid data collection and telemetry by Microsoft.
"Just like Windows 11 Home, Windows 11 Pro now requires an internet connection during the initial process. If you choose for personal use, an MSA (Microsoft Service Account) is also required during the setup process," Microsoft wrote in a Windows Insider blog post.
Microsoft is currently testing changes in Windows 11 builds, and is likely to start deploying the Windows 11 Pro update in the next few months. For now, Windows 11 Pro users can circumvent the obligation to use this Microsoft account.
That is by turning off the internet connection to the PC during the installation process, and users can choose to use a local account, as quoted from The Verge, Saturday (19/2/2022).
Since it was first released, in addition to having a new look and features, Windows 11 has also been colored with various problems. Including Microsoft's trick to force users to use the Edge browser instead of Google Chrome.
In Windows 11, the trick is to pop up messages asking Windows 10 and 11 users to keep using Edge. The message appears when the user opens the page to download Chrome.
Interestingly, this message is not a pop up like an ad that usually appears when opening certain sites. The message is part of Edge, and doesn't appear when opening other sites.
Microsoft's latest action comes after about three years ago they started trying to raise a warning for Windows 10 users not to install Chrome and Firefox.