After installing Windows 11, the next step will be to configure the language and layouts and connect to the Internet. You also need to log in with a Microsoft account. The fact is that many laptops and PCs have non-standard network adapters that must be downloaded and installed separately. For this reason, during the initial installation of Windows 11, the system cannot install them since they are not in the database.
Since early Windows, this problem has been known when there were no default network drivers in the database for installation, and they needed to be downloaded from the Internet or installed from a disk. If Windows 11 Home does not automatically install network drivers, there will be no internet connection. In addition, there is no way to skip the item “Let’s connect you to a network”, and the “Next” button is inactive. Although, in Windows 10, it was possible to skip the point of connecting to the network.
Here we will tell you what to do when the Next button is greyed out when installing Windows 11 at the “Let’s connect you to a network” step, and also how you can install Windows 11 Home without a Microsoft account.
Bypass Internet connection when installing Windows 11
1. Once you see the “Let’s connect you to a network” window during installation, press the keyboard shortcut Shift + F10 to open the CMD window. Please note it might be Shift + Fn + F10 for some laptops.
2. At the command prompt, enter the following line:
taskmgr
3. You will see the task manager where you need to click on “Details” at the bottom. Then go to the “Details” tab, find and select the OOBENetworkConnectionFlow.exe process (Network Connection Flow) with one click, and then click “End task”. Now the stage of connecting to the network will be automatically skipped along with the inactive button.
Note: If you run the command line: taskkill /F /IM oobenetworkconnectionflow.exe, you do not need to proceed to Step 3. It will bypass the internet connection automatically.
Install Windows 11 Home without a Microsoft account
1. Once you bypass the “Let’s connect you to a network” window using the above method, you will see “Who’s going to use this device? “.
2. You need to enter the username you want to use with Windows 11 Home.
3. Enter a super memorable password (Make sure to pick something you’ll remember).
4. Now, choose three security questions (Make sure your answers are unforgettable).
5. Finally, select privacy settings for your device.
This will create your local Windows 11 account. So you can easily install Windows 11 Home without a Microsoft account.
Thank you this worked beautifully!