Did you end up with a Microsoft account after upgrading to Windows 10? Struggle to revert your Windows login from Microsoft account to local account but you forgot the password? This beginner’s step-by-step guide will help you switch a Microsoft account to a local account in Windows 10, even if you forgot your Microsoft account password.

Method 1: Switch to Local Account with Logging in

Log into your Windows 10 computer with either a local admin account or your Microsoft account, then follow these steps to switch from a Microsoft account to local account easily:

1. Press the Windows + I keys to open the Settings charm, or click on the Windows Start button and choose Settings.

   

2. Click on Accounts.

   

3. In the Your account section, click on the “Sign in with a local account instead” link.

   

4. Verify your Microsoft account by entering your current email password. Click Next.

   

5. Once your password is successfully verified, then the system will prompt you to create a new local account. Enter the account name and password, then click Next.

   

6. Click Sign out and finish at the bottom of the screen. You will have created a new local account that you can log into instead of your Microsoft account.

   

Method 2: Switch to Local Account without Logging in

If you’re locked out of your Windows 10 PC or couldn’t remember your Microsoft account password, you need to use a recovery boot CD like PCUnlocker. Just boot your PC from the CD and it allows you to offline switch your Microsoft account to a local account.

1. Use a working PC to download the ISO image of PCUnlocker Enterprise. The downloaded file is in .zip format. To extract the pcunlocker.iso file from it, simply right-click on the zip file and choose “Extract All” from the pop-up menu.

   

2. Burn the ISO file to a blank CD using the free USB burning program – ISO2Disc. If your PC doesn’t have a CD drive, you can choose to make a bootable USB drive (Remember to select GPT partition style which is required for Windows 10/8 UEFI boot).

   

3. Boot your Windows 10 PC from the CD you burned. You might have to access your computer’s BIOS and change the boot sequence for booting from a CD/DVD. Once booting from the CD, it will launch the PCUnlocker program within one or two minutes.
4. From the PCUnlocker program, you can see a list of local accounts available in your PC. Your Microsoft email address should be displayed under the Description column of the linked local account.

   

5. Highlight the linked local account and click on Reset Password button. The program will revert your associated Microsoft account back to local account and remove the local password.
6. Reboot your computer without the CD. Now Windows 10 login screen will display a local account instead of Microsoft account, and you can login without typing a password! That’s it!