I just deployed three new Windows 11 Pro machines yesterday (two HP, one Dell) with local accounts. The HP OEM image was pre-24H2 so it doesn't count, but the Dell machine was 24H2.

I booted to the OOBE, hit <SHIFT>-<F10>, ran:

   REG ADD HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\OOBE /v BypassNRO /t REG_DWORD /d 1

   shutdown -r -t 1 -f

Waited for the machine to reboot and ran thru the OOBE w/o connecting to a network. Once I got logged-on w/ my local account connected to the Wi-Fi and joined the Active Directory domain.

▲ easton 7 months ago | parent | next [-]

Does pro not have the “domain join instead” option in OOBE anymore? It definitely used to, and Enterprise does.

I don’t understand how you’d domain join otherwise.

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EvanAnderson 7 months ago | parent | next [-]

Pro doesn't have an option to join a domain in the default OOBE. I think that went away in some iteration of 10.

Pro definitely doesn't because the above procedure is what I always have to do to get joined to a domain without creating or using a Microsoft Account. (And then I've got a local account to clean up.)

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smileybarry 7 months ago | parent [-]

It does, I just made a Windows 11 Pro 24H2 VM for testing (with the stock ISO) and used the "domain join" option to make a local account.

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EvanAnderson 7 months ago | parent [-]

With an unattended install, sure. The OOBE doesn't give you that option by default.

	▲	smileybarry 7 months ago \| parent [-]
		I got that option via OOBE, not automated install.

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thesuitonym 7 months ago | parent | prev [-]

I don't think this is the way it should be, but just to answer your question, you'd go through the normal setup for a single user PC, then join AD in the Settings app.

	▲	EvanAnderson 7 months ago \| parent [-]
		Older versions of Windows allowed domain join in the OOBE. It was handy.

▲ preciousoo 7 months ago | parent | prev | next [-]

you can also do ipconfig /release in some contexts (works in hyperv but never in the real world for some reason sigh)

▲ bayindirh 7 months ago | parent | prev [-]

Sorry to be blunt, but if this is not a workaround, then I don't know what is.

	▲	EvanAnderson 7 months ago \| parent [-]
		Yes-- that particular procedure is a workaround. My first post was asking why unattended installation, arguably a feature, is some kind of "workaround".