[Tip] How to Complete Windows 11 Setup Without Internet Connection

If you want to install Windows 11 Home or Pro edition in your computer without Internet connection, this article will help you.

When you try to install Windows 11 operating system in your computer and the setup wizard displays OOBE (Out-Of-Box-Experience) window to complete the setup process, Windows 11 requires a working Internet connection to finish the installation.

Following screenshot shows Windows 11 setup asking to connect to a network to continue setting up the device and download latest features and security updates:

You can see in the above screenshot, the device doesn’t have a working Internet connection, hence the “Next” button is disabled or grayed out. So if we don’t have an Internet connection, we can’t complete Windows 11 setup.

There are many people who don’t have access to Internet while installing Windows 11 in their machines. Similarly many people don’t want to connect to Internet during Windows 11 setup due to privacy reasons.

There might be many reasons behind people not willing to connect to Internet at Windows 11 installation time such as the user has a Wi-Fi connection but Windows 11 setup didn’t detect or install required drivers for the Wi-Fi hardware. The user wants to use a local user account to install Windows 11 but if he connects to Internet, Windows 11 will require user to sign in using Microsoft Account.

In Windows 10, if the setup detected no Internet connection available, it completed the installation without installing required updates and allowed users to create a local user account. But Windows 11 just stops at “Let’s connect you to a network” screen when there is no Internet connectivity in the device.

PS: I noticed that Windows 11 Pro edition provides an option “I don’t have Internet” to skip Internet connection and Microsoft Account setup. But Windows 11 Home doesn’t allow users to complete the setup without Internet connection.

Fortunately, there are some ways to solve this irritating issue and complete Windows 11 installation without Internet connection.

In this article, we are going to share some workarounds which will allow you to install Windows 11 without Internet connection in your computer.

So if you also have no Internet or Wi-Fi connection and want to bypass this annoying Internet connection requirement by Windows 11 setup, following methods will help you in completing Windows 11 setup without Internet:

NEW WORKING METHOD 1: Using OOBE\BYPASSNRO Command

1. At “Let’s connect you to a network” screen, press SHIFT+F10 keys together. It’ll launch Command Prompt window on the top of setup wizard window.

2. Now type OOBE\BYPASSNRO in Command Prompt window and press Enter.

3. The setup will restart your computer and after reboot, you’ll get a new option “I don’t have Internet” to skip the Internet connection requirement.

Click on the option and you’ll be see next step to create and setup a local user account to complete the installation process.

METHOD 2: End Task OOBE Network Connection Flow EXE

The “Let’s connect you to a network” screen is shown by an executable process called “oobenetworkconnectionflow.exe”. It’s a modern UWP app which is automatically installed by Windows 10 and Windows 11 operating systems. You can consider it as a modern interface or UI for classic network connection.

When Windows 11 setup shows “Let’s connect you to a network” screen and you can’t or don’t want to connect to Internet, you can follow below steps to skip or bypass Internet connection page and continue Windows 11 setup without Internet connection:

1. At “Let’s connect you to a network” screen, press SHIFT+F10 keys together. It’ll launch Command Prompt window on the top of setup wizard window.

PS: You can press SHIFT+F10 hotkey any time inside Windows setup. It’s a hidden secret method to launch Command Prompt as Administrator during Windows installation. This method exists for recovery and troubleshooting purposes for advanced and expert users. If you remember, we have used this trick many times in past such as this tutorial.

2. Now type taskmgr in Command Prompt window and press Enter. It’ll open Task Manager window in mini compact mode.

3. Click on “More details” button given in Task Manager to launch it in full view.

4. Now look for “Network Connection Flow” process in “Processes” tab.

5. Click on “Network Connection Flow” process to select it and click on “End Task” button to immediately terminate the process.

You can also end task it using “Details” tab in Task Manager. It’ll be listed with full name i.e. “oobenetworkconnectionflow.exe” in Details tab.

6. Now close Task Manager and Command Prompt window and the Windows 11 setup wizard will show some progress with the circle animation.

That’s it. Windows 11 setup will skip Internet connection step and you’ll be see next step to create and setup a local user account to complete the installation process.

METHOD 3: Using Ipconfig /Release Command

This method was shared by our reader “Tyler”. I haven’t tested the method as above mentioned method always worked for me. I’m sharing this new method for people who can’t use above mentioned method or for some reasons, the above mentioned method doesn’t work for them.

1. At “Let’s connect you to a network” screen, press SHIFT+F10 keys together. It’ll launch Command Prompt window on the top of setup wizard window.

2. Now type ipconfig /release in Command Prompt window and press Enter.

3. Close Command Prompt window and the Windows 11 setup wizard will show some progress with the circle animation.

That’s it. Windows 11 setup will skip Internet connection step and you’ll be see next step to create and setup a local user account to complete the installation process.

PS: Ipconfig command stands for Internet Protocol Configuration. We have used this command many times in past such as here. It is used to display all current TCP/IP network configuration values and refresh DHCP and DNS settings. We are using Ipconfig command with “Release” parameter to send a DHCPRELEASE message to the DHCP server to release the current DHCP configuration and discard the IP address configuration for all adapters. You can learn more about this command at official Microsoft Docs website.

METHOD 4: Press ALT+F4 Keys to Close Internet Connection Page

This method used to work in previous Windows 11 builds but it seems it no longer works in newer builds. You can try this method as well:

When Windows 11 setup shows “Let’s connect you to a network” screen, press ALT+F4 keys together to close the window.

If this method works for you, it’ll close the Connection window and Windows 11 will move to the next step which will allow you to create a local user account.

PS: ALT+F4 hotkey is used to close program windows. You can use it anywhere while working in Windows to close running program windows. If you click on Desktop or Taskbar and press ALT+F4 keys together, you’ll see classic Shutdown dialog box to access power options.

METHOD 5: Restart Device When You See “Let’s connect you to a network” screen

This is an interesting workaround. One AskVG reader “Patrick” shared this trick.

When you see “Let’s connect you to a network” screen, restart your device. After restart, Windows 11 setup will skip Internet connection step and will move to next step i.e. creating local user account.

How to Install Windows 11 With Local User Account?

Following article contains some more methods to help you in creating a local user account while installing Windows 11 in your computer system:

[Tip] How to Install Windows 11 With Local User Account

Also Check:

[Tip] How to Download Windows 11 Offline ISO Files

How to Create Bootable USB Drive to Install Windows 11

[Tip] Create Bootable USB Drive from Windows 11 ISO and Disable Hardware Requirements Check

[Tip] Bypass Windows 11 TPM and Secure Boot Requirements Check to Install on Unsupported Hardware