Users need an MSA to continue running Windows 10 preview

Jun 22, 2015 09:15 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft is expected to release a new Windows 10 preview build sometime this week, so the company announced an important change that will affect the way new releases are being delivered to registered users.

Starting with this next Windows 10 build, the company is making Microsoft accounts mandatory, so when you update, you need to provide the Microsoft account you used to register for the Windows Insider program.

Basically, local user accounts will thus be removed from the next preview build, but Microsoft says that they will be added back in the final version of Windows 10 launching on July 29.

“If you don’t have your Microsoft Account (MSA) connected to your PC, starting in the next build you’ll start seeing notifications asking you to do so. You’ll need to connect the MSA that you registered for the Windows Insider Program with (and accepted the “Microsoft Windows Insider Program Agreement”) in order to continue receiving new Windows 10 Insider Preview builds (both Fast and Slow rings) from Windows Update,” Microsoft explained.

Accounts used to ship full Windows 10?

While the company doesn't mention this specifically, one of the reasons it makes Microsoft accounts mandatory is to determine the computers that will get the genuine Windows 10 RTM version on July 29.

There's a new craze online these days, as Microsoft suggested that Windows 10 RTM could be offered for free to all preview users too. All these copies would be activated, so they would get the chance to run Windows 10 genuine on their PCs.

The Microsoft account used for registering to the Windows Insider program would be required to activate Windows 10 RTM, so this is why the software giant might be making this change in the next build.

Obviously, Microsoft doesn't say it clearly, but it explains that this change helps it “ensure that we’re flighting builds to people who have registered and opted in to the program.”

If you're already using the Microsoft account you registered with for the program, you're good to go and no change is required.