There are many benefits of signing into Windows 10 with a Microsoft account. A Microsoft account allows you to sync Windows 10 settings across devices, purchase apps, music, movies and games from the Store, link your Windows 10 license to your Microsoft account, access services like OneDrive, and more.
While installing Windows 10, the setup offers you to sign in with a Microsoft account. If you don’t have one, you can install and use Windows 10 without a Microsoft account by creating a local user account.
But if you feel that a Microsoft account offers more benefits than a local user account, you can always create a Microsoft account and then switch your local user account to Microsoft account even after installing Windows 10.
Most users are not sure what is a Microsoft account. A Microsoft account is nothing but an account created to access and use Microsoft services such as Outlook.com, Hotmail, Live, and OneDrive. That is, if you have Live, Hotmail or Outlook.com email address, it’s nothing but a Microsoft account.
If you have ever used one of these services, you likely have a Microsoft account. If you have one, you can use that to sign into Windows 10. And if you don’t have one, you can easily create one.
In addition to that, if you already have a Yahoo! Mail or Gmail account, you can use that to create a Microsoft account as well. Refer to our how to use Gmail and Yahoo! Mail to create a Microsoft account guide for detailed information. When you do so, you will get a Microsoft account without actually signing up for a new account.
Create a Microsoft account for Windows 10
In this guide, we will explain how to create a Microsoft account to sign in to your Windows 10 PC.
Step 1: In a web browser, head over to the official sign-up page.
Step 2: Type in an email address which you want to create, a password for your account, date of birth, country, an alternative email address and your phone number (used to recover password and alert you about suspicious activity on your account), and other details.
In the Enter the characters you see the field, type the characters you see just above the field to confirm that you are not a bot.
Step 3: If you don’t want to receive promotional email from Microsoft, uncheck Send me promotional offers from Microsoft option.
Finally, click Create account button to create your Microsoft account. That’s it! You can now use this Microsoft account to sign into Windows 10 and other services from Microsoft.
To change your local user account to Microsoft account, please refer to the directions in our how to migrate from the local user account to Microsoft account in Windows 10 guide.