What to do when Windows 11 cannot be set up without internet connection
When installing Windows 11, if you cannot set up the initial settings in a situation where you cannot connect to the Internet, you can deal with it by starting the command prompt directly from the initial setting screen and editing the registry. This page introduces how to set up the initial settings when you cannot connect to the Internet with Windows 11 installed.
Initial setting setup procedure in situations where Windows 11 network cannot be connected
If you install Windows 11 and the Internet is not connected, you can set it up, but you cannot create a Microsoft account . If you need a Microsoft account user, create one after setup is complete.
1. Start Command Prompt with default settings
1-1. After the installation of Windows 11 is completed, when I proceed with the setup of “Region selection” in the initial settings, “Let’s connect to the network ” is displayed and I cannot proceed and setup is not possible.
1-2. Press “Shift” and “F10” on the keyboard to launch the command prompt on any screen in the initial settings.
2. Launch Registry Editor from Command Prompt
2-2. After Registry Editor starts,
- Perform operations that enable setup without an internet connection .
3. Edit registry to enable setup without internet connection
Edit Registry with Registry Editor
3-1. Click the ” > ” icon next to the key name of the registry editor , expand it in the following order, and click ” OOBE ” to select it.
- HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
- SOFTWARE
- Microsoft
- Windows
- CurrentVersion
- OOBE
3-2. Create a new “value”.
Right-click ” OOBE “, move the mouse to “New” in the menu, and click ” DWORD (32-bit) ” in the displayed submenu to create a new “DWORD value”.
3-3. Change the value name. Rename
the newly created DWORD Value to BypassNRO .
You can change the name later, or you can use “Rename” in the value’s right-click menu.
3-4. Double-click the renamed ” BypassNRO ” to open “Edit Value” and change the value data “0” to ” 1 “.
This completes the editing that enables setup without an internet connection. Close the Registry Editor with the “X” button.
Edit registry with command
In the command prompt, enter the following command and press the “Enter” key to execute the above “Edit Registry”.
If “This operation completed successfully” is displayed, automatic editing of the registry is complete.
After the operation is complete, proceed to perform a reboot from the command prompt below .
4. Perform a reboot from command prompt
4-1. After editing the registry, enter the following command in the command prompt and press the “Enter” key to restart the computer.
The installation of Windows 11 itself is completed
The installation of Windows 11 itself is completed when you have advanced to the setup of the initial settings. Even if you reboot, you can start from the initial setup screen.
If you plan to continue setting this up later, a shutdown is fine. Shutdown is possible by changing ” /r ” to ” /s “.
5. Continue initial setup
5-1. After restarting, after waiting for a while, the “Country and Region” setup screen will be displayed, so proceed with the initial settings until ” Connect to the network ” is displayed.
5-2.When “Let’s connect to the network” is displayed, click ” No Internet connection “.
5-3. When you see “Connect now and start using your device right away”, click ” Continue with limited settings “.
5-4. When “Who will use this device?” is displayed, enter the user name and click “Next” to proceed with the initial setup.
This initial setting is an operation to create a “local account user” . As explained at the beginning , you cannot create a “Microsoft account” without an Internet connection. It can be created in an environment where the Internet can be connected after the setup is completed.
How to set up Windows 11 initial settings
For details on the initial settings of Windows 11, see “Initial settings before completing a clean installation of Windows 11” on the following page.
That concludes our introduction on how to complete the initial setup without an internet connection. Also, as a workaround, you can leave the registry values as they are without deleting them.
If the network adapter is not recognized by Windows 11 and cannot connect to the Internet, install the driver from the media attached to the motherboard or PC after completing the installation of Windows 11. If you do not have the driver media, download the driver from the manufacturer’s website on another PC with internet connection and install the driver.