Microsoft may have quietly enforced internet requirement for Windows 10 installs, new evidence suggests – Journal Global Online

Microsoft recently re-opened the Beta branch for Windows 10 to test new features for version 22H2 with Insiders before rolling them out to everyone. While new features coming to Windows 10 22H2 is good news for lots of people who are still using it instead of switching to Windows 11, it will likely be challenging to clean install the OS without connecting to the internet.

Microsoft has quietly started forcing internet connections during Windows 10 installations

Image credit: Microsoft

In 2021, Microsoft made a controversial decision by discouraging people from installing Windows 11 without connecting to the internet. Microsoft still hasn’t got rid of that limitation, even though there was a lot of hue and cry about it. If anything, the software giant seems to be upping the ante on the internet connection requirement by expanding it to the Windows 10 setup.

As first spotted by u/wokeaspie on Reddit, the Windows 10 22H2 setup no longer includes the “I don’t have internet” button at the bottom of the network page. The Redditor downloaded the Windows 22H2 ISO a month ago and used Rufus to flash it on a USB stick. The issue surfaced only when the user incorporated the latest June security update to the ISO using NTLite software before starting the installation.

The user claimed to have clean installed Windows 10 using the same process before but never faced any issues. This is enough evidence to assume that Microsoft quietly enforced the internet requirement in the June cumulative update. If this is intentional and isn’t a bug, Windows 10 22H2 ISO with the June security patch makes it difficult to complete the setup without the internet and a Microsoft account. However, being difficult doesn’t mean it’s impossible.

You can bypass the internet connection requirement

Luckily, there is a workaround available. You can bring back the “I don’t have internet” option simply by pressing Shift + F10 on your keyboard and then typing “oobe/bypassnro” (without quotes) in the Command Prompt and hitting Enter. This will reboot the system and allow you to proceed with the setup without requiring internet and a Microsoft account.

Related

Can I run Windows 11 without a Microsoft account?

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