Peace has once again returned to the valley! Earlier this year, Redmond made another extreme move by making internet connectivity and a Microsoft Account mandatory for installing Windows 11 22H2.
Insiders builds thereof, but still.
This was something that the community neither appreciated, nor took lightly. After all, not everyone wants in on a Microsoft Account, or having all their machines connected to them. Luckily, workarounds were quickly discovered that could be used to install version 22H2 via a local account.
Now, Rufus has joined the party, too.
Who, or what, is Rufus, you ask?
Well, if this is the first time you are hearing about this nifty little tool, then a little primer on this amazing piece of software is in order.
Rufus is a small utility that helps with preparing your Windows installation media. It can be used to format and create bootable flash drives and USB memory sticks. Everything that you need is included, you just point to your ISO media of your chosen operating system, and the program does the rest.
Version 3.19 of the app is now in beta, and it comes with a new option to bypass the mandatory requirement for a Microsoft Account on the latest version of the operating system.
This feature comes as part of the new selection dialog for Windows 11 setup customization in Rufus. Along with this bypass for MSA, you also get options for TPM and Secure Boot bypass in the dialog. These were actually added in the previous version.
Of course, this is not a release version of the program. It remains a beta, under testing, until launch.
But if you are in the process of installing Windows 11 version 22H2 on your devices, and could do without the mandatory Microsoft Account requirement that is now in place, then this provides you with the best option to bypass it without the need of loopy workarounds.
You can grab Rufus 3.19 from the official site, and also check out its product page on GitHub.
Download: Rufus