

The only way to create a local user account on windows 11 now without fuckery is pretending you are going to domain join. No other method exists without under the hood tweaks. A similar workaround would work.
Depending on your definition of “under the hood”, this isn’t really accurate. You can invoke CMD to create an account or enter Audit mode to do the same. Neither of these methods require preparation of separate installation media.














I was mostly stuck on the “the only way” part of your comment. In terms of accessibility, I don’t know that the domain method would really be any better - not to mention that it’s limited to Pro/Enterprise Windows editions that most consumers aren’t getting.
The audit mode path is more GUI friendly but, similar to the Domain option, still requires pre-existing knowledge or web search.
Here’s hoping Microsoft actually follows through on loosening this restriction, even though I largely hold the position that basic users’ security benefits from the MS Account setup.