With Windows 8, Microsoft added its own app store. Now, in Windows 10, it doesn’t totally suck. The one downside is that installing apps will try to force your Windows account into a Microsoft account. If you’d prefer to use a local account, but still download apps from the Store, follow these steps.
As you may already know, Windows 10 (as well as Windows 8) allow you to log in with a valid Microsoft account, instead of creating a local account that only works on your machine. However, you may prefer to keep a local account for privacy reasons. If you do, though, some Windows 10 features — like Cortana — may not work. Despite the default behaviour, the Windows 10 Store is not one of them. You can still log in to your Microsoft account for just the Store without switching to a full Microsoft account. The process, however, is not terribly obvious. To do so, follow these steps:
- Launch the Store from your Start menu.
- Click the user icon next to the search box.
- Click “Sign-in” from the menu that appears.
- Choose “Microsoft account” and log in like normal.
- When the “Make it yours” box appears, do not enter your password. Instead, click “Sign in to just this app instead.”
You may miss this option entirely if you attempt to install apps directly without signing in first. While it can be prevented by reading carefully, it’s also easy to miss. If you’re using a Microsoft account tied directly to Windows, this obviously wouldn’t be a problem anyway. However, installing Store apps requires a Microsoft login. This way, you don’t have to tie that login to your entire machine.
How To Install Store Apps Without Switching To Microsoft Account In Windows 10 [Into Windows]
Comments
2 responses to “Install Windows 10 Store Apps Without Switching To A Microsoft Account”
Sign in like normal? What with my local account? Doesn’t work, username must be an email address. You still need an @hotmail @live etc account to login to the store. I refuse to get one. This article is misleading.
it is actually quite clear. if you choose the Microsoft Account option and login like normal, then clearly you login in with your Microsoft Account. What did you expect from the Microsoft Account option? I’m not sure how you could be confused by that…
It’s actually quite clear. You just sign in like normal using your microsoft account email address (live, hotmail, outlook), I signed in using my hotmail address, but when the “Make it yours” section shows up that asks for your local account password, don’t “make it yours…” click on the “Sign in to this app only” instead. You need to read instructions better. The article is great, it showed up top result when I googled how to keep local account login even after using microsoft account for windows 10.
Thanks, this is the information I was looking for as I’m coming from Vista. I agree with the poster though that thought it was not quite clear. I would say it’s clear if you read it carefully, but a few more words would have made it a bit clearer, and the fact you still needed a Microsoft account, but you don’t need to use it for your Windows 10 login. I have a Microsoft account, but I’m not sure I want to use it for the store, so I might make a new one to associate with the store. I just want to download the upgrade from Home to Pro, but Microsoft is making it more difficult than I would like. If they want my money they should make it much easier.