Windows 10 Why I can't sign-in with a local account, into my Windows 10, when offline?

Abhay Bhatt

Active Member
Joined
Dec 26, 2016
Messages
16
I think its the very reason I choose to sign in with a local account instead - that I will not face any problem offline.

Guess what? It says to sign in with my last password used on my PC, because I am offline. The last password is ofcourse of my local account, as thats what I use, but when I enter my local account password, it doesn't accept it! I have to enter the Microsoft password!



Why I can't login into my own machine with my local account and password, when offline?
 
Solution
When offline and you log in you will go directly to your local account (not through your Microsoft account). The only thing is that the password of your local account is equal to the password of your Microsoft account.
So no need to undo that if that is your worry

You can make local accounts independent of Microsoft accounts but there are always independent no matter on- or off-line
Your local password has been changed when you started using the Microsoft account.
The reason is easy to understand. You get connected automatically to your Microsoft account after you signed-in. Hence the off-line password must be in synch with the Microsoft password.
 

How can I undo that? How can I make my local account independent of my Microsoft account so that I don't need to enter through my Microsoft account, when offline?
 
When offline and you log in you will go directly to your local account (not through your Microsoft account). The only thing is that the password of your local account is equal to the password of your Microsoft account.
So no need to undo that if that is your worry

You can make local accounts independent of Microsoft accounts but there are always independent no matter on- or off-line
 
Solution
Henk is right about this, and there is much confusion about the 2 new Account types in W10. We've been answering questions on this for over 2 years now. Probably what you also need to understand is that BOTH the Local Login and the Microsoft Account Logins are almost identical--the main difference is that when you login to your W10 desktop with the Local Login account, you are EXCLUDED from accessing ALL content in the Microsoft Universe of the Things. For example, no access to the Microsoft Apps Store where you can download free or fee-based media and apps. You're also excluded from Xbox gaming sites and apps within the Xbox landscape. And, built-in Cloud storage apps such as Microsoft One-Drive do not sync correctly between multiple W10 PCs on your home network correctly. There are more differences, don't want to bore you to death, but you get the picture.

Back when W10 Preview first came out in 2014 I experimented with these accounts on many computers, to understand how they worked and what their limitations were. One of the articles I read on the Internet mentioned the fact that if you don't wish to access ANY Microsoft features as I mention above, you can simply use the Local Login feature. Which still provides you with full Internet features to all websites on the Internet and even Cloud storage and backup; just not using Microsoft apps; other 3rd party apps still work for the most part. His astute comment sums it up well. Customers of mine when they buy a new W10 computer and have me out to their house to teach them how to use it, this is often misunderstood, and it often takes me 2 or 3 times to explain it to them so they can understand it.

There is also the issue of using identical passwords as Henk alludes to. I have tried both methods, that is using a DIFFERENT password for my Local Login account than my Microsoft Account Login, and that seems to create more problems than using 2 identical passwords for both of your Accounts on your PC. This I determined experimentally by using the 8-W10 machines I am running here along with a dozen or more Customer W10 computers. Of course, it's your computer and you can do whatever you want. I'm simply relaying what I've experienced and learned about how these 2 accounts actually work on a variety of makes/models of computers and mobile devices.

Hope that provides some further insight for you.

Kudos on the explanation, Henk!

Best,
<<<BIGBEARJEDI>>>