Windows Help & Advice - UK (2020-04)

1
Adda Microsoftaccountduringinstallation
WhenyoufirstinstallWindows 10 you’regiventhe
opportunitytosignintoyourMicrosoftaccountandstartsaving
andsynchronisingdata.InmorerecentversionsofWindows10,it
hasbecomealmostimpossibletoavoidusinga Microsoftaccount
ratherthana localone,butit is stillworthkeepinganeyeopen
duringinstallationmakesureyoudon’tmissyouropportunity.

2

SwitchfromlocaltoMicrosoftaccount

If youhavebeenusingWindows 10 fora while,youmay

wellhavecreateda localaccountduringtheinitialsetupprocess

• butyoucaneasilyconvertit toa Microsoftaccount.Open
  Settings> Accounts,andclicktheSigninwitha Microsoft
  accountinsteadlinkunderYourInfo.You’llthenbetakenthrough
  theprocessofcreatingorswitchingtoa MicrosoftAccount.

3 Enablesettingsynchronisation
OnceyouaresignedintoyourMicrosoftaccount,youcan
configuresynchronisationoptions.WithinSettings> Accounts,
clicktheSyncyoursettingslinktotheleft,thenmakesurethe
Syncsettingstoggleis intheOnposition.Bydefault,Windows
willsynchroniseyourdesktoptheme,passwords,language
preference,EaseofAccesssettings,andsomeotheroptions.

4 Selectively disable synchronisation

You may use your Microsoft account to log into a home

computer and a work machine, and might not want to sync

everything between the two. For example, you might want to use

a different desktop theme on your work computer to look a little

more professional! In Sync your settings, just toggle any of the

switches to the Off position to stop them from syncing.

Sign in to multiple PCs

“Ifyouusetwoormorecomputers,a Microsoft account can make

yourlifea greatdealeasier– here’swhatyouneedtoknow”

here are many benefits to signing
into Windows 10 with a Microsoft
account rather than a local one.
Thesebenefits are felt all the more if you
usemore than one PC or other Windows
10 device, as it makes it possible to
synchronisesettingsbetweendevices.

If you have been using Windows 10 for

some time, it’s possible that you’re not

currently using a Microsoft account. But if

you’ve installed the operating system

recently, you may well have noticed that

you were not able to avoid signing in with

one.Here,wearegoing to take a look at

what it means to use a Microsoft account,

and how to switch to one if you’re not

already doing so. You’ll find that it can be

used to not only get much more from

Windows itself, but to gain access to other

Microsoft services, and the ability to

manage everything from one place.

Step-by-step Microsoft accounts in Windows 10

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Use a Microsoft account across multiple PCs

April 2020 | |^39