Disagreeable laptop

[Acey]

Bought a new laptop ,turn it on and then find you can't finish setting it up without internet connection ,what if you DON'T want it for online use ? it's as annoying as the general assumption by various organisations that everyone has a smartphone and can use apps !

 

[birchesgreen]

Its because pretty much everyone does want to use it for online use. Same as with smartphones, the number of people who don't is too small for these companies to care about/cater for.

 

[Darandio]

Windows 11 i presume? It can be bypassed but anyone trying to find out how would need the internet!

 

[Bletchleyite]

Bought a new laptop ,turn it on and then find you can't finish setting it up without internet connection ,what if you DON'T want it for online use ? it's as annoying as the general assumption by various organisations that everyone has a smartphone and can use apps !

Because just about nobody wants to use a laptop without ever connecting it to the Internet. This must be incredibly, incredibly niche, e.g. perhaps researchers at very high security labs and the likes, but they'll have a locally set up Professional or UNIX based build anyway.

Connect it once, set it up and don't connect it again is probably the easiest fix, unless this is a point of principle rather than practicality like insisting on cash payment when you have a card on you and funds in its account, in which case I'll let people who are willing to waste their time in that way assist instead.

 

[gmaguire]

What make and model is it?

 

[Bletchleyite]

What make and model is it?

Won't have any effect other than if it's a Mac. Windows does this as standard other than for corporate builds. It makes sense for the vast, vast majority of users, and for the others just connecting it once, at a public wifi location if you don't have home wifi, is no great issue.

If buying from a small dealer rather than online, I'm sure they'd happily do it for you before handing it over.

 

[Snow1964]

Easiest is to let windows use internet to update itself, but carefully watch any questions that come up, as some will be about letting partners access it, or making certain Microsoft options default (you don’t have to agree to the extras)

If you don’t want to use it with internet then don’t try activating anything with free trial period, it will just interrupt and nag you when the trial expires.

Generally laptops don’t have cd-dvd drive anymore so can’t load and run programs that way either. Inevitably have to get and download from internet even to get relevant drivers to talk to older printers etc.

 

[gmaguire]

Won't have any effect other than if it's a Mac. Windows does this as standard other than for corporate builds. It makes sense for the vast, vast majority of users, and for the others just connecting it once, at a public wifi location if you don't have home wifi, is no great issue.

If buying from a small dealer rather than online, I'm sure they'd happily do it for you before handing it over.

There are a few tricks to skip the requirement for a Microsoft account on home versions of Windows.

 

[Bletchleyite]

There are a few tricks to skip the requirement for a Microsoft account on home versions of Windows.

There are, but I'm fairly sure you still need to connect online to do the activation, unless they still offer a telephone option.

 

[Acey]

What make and model is it?

Lenovo ,I'll probably use the internet and set it up and then leave at that,thanks for all your advice

 

[gmaguire]

Lenovo ,I'll probably use the internet and set it up and then leave at that,thanks for all your advice

So you don’t want it connected to the internet at all? Do you mind if I ask what it will be used for?

 

[Gloster]

How common is it to have a laptop that must be connected to the internet to bring it into use?

I have had a laptop for twelve years that has never been connected to the Internet (for the last two years I have used an iPad for the Internet, but before that I used my library’s facilities). My laptop is beginning to get a bit crotchety and I am considering replacing it, but this seems to be another reason not to bother.

 

[Bletchleyite]

How common is it to have a laptop that must be connected to the internet to bring it into use?

Every Windows 11 laptop ever sold. It's the OS, not the device.

It's an anti piracy feature.

 

[Gloster]

Every Windows 11 laptop ever sold. It's the OS, not the device.

It's an anti piracy feature.

How common is Windows 11? Is it one of a number of options or is it pretty well universal? (And what, in very simple language, is OS?)

 

[Bletchleyite]

How common is Windows 11? Is it one of a number of options or is it pretty well universal? (And what, in very simple language, is OS?)

Windows 11 is the main operating system (OS) for a laptop, unless you buy a Mac or Chromebook or are very technical so use Linux. You can still get ones with Windows 10 (but I thought that had the same requirement).

It's the underlying software that makes it work.

 

[Acey]

So you don’t want it connected to the internet at all? Do you mind if I ask what it will be used for?

I wanted a stand alone portable pc for music recording and photo manipulation ,it stated that I need my router password thingy which I couldn't locate .after several attempts I gave up as I was a bitt worried about screwing up my normal broadband !

 

[Bletchleyite]

I wanted a stand alone portable pc for music recording and photo manipulation ,it stated that I need my router password thingy which I couldn't locate .after several attempts I gave up as I was a bitt worried about screwing up my normal broadband !

Connecting another device won't screw your broadband up.

The password is, in the vast majority of cases, on the label on the back of the router.

 

[dosxuk]

Every Windows 11 laptop ever sold. It's the OS, not the device.

It's an anti piracy feature.

The need to be online during the initial out-of-box-experience is for marketing purposes, not anti-piracy. A non-activated copy of Windows will make regular attempts to activate in the background, only starting to nag after a period of time, it's not required to be done during setup. The requirement for internet access is coupled to the "requirement" to have a Microsoft account to log in the first time.

 

[Acey]

Connecting another device won't screw your broadband up.

The password is, in the vast majority of cases, on the label on the back of the router.

There are several lines with letters/numbers none of which seemed to work ,I'll keep trying though,thanks for your help !

 

[Bletchleyite]

There are several lines with letters/numbers none of which seemed to work ,I'll keep trying though,thanks for your help !

What brand is your router, and who supplies your service? Someone here might be able to find a picture showing where it is (rather than posting a pic of yours which you probably prefer not to do).

 

[nlogax]

How common is it to have a laptop that must be connected to the internet to bring it into use?

For Windows 11 22H2 it's almost a necessity. Rightly or wrongly Microsoft now consider the base of offline users to be so small that they're not worth catering to.

It's a good idea to have the laptop intermittently connected to download patches and app updates at least every month or two. I've noticed plenty of additional functionality that finds its way into apps delivered via Microsoft Store over the years.

 

[Baxenden Bank]

Because just about nobody wants to use a laptop without ever connecting it to the Internet. This must be incredibly, incredibly niche, e.g. perhaps researchers at very high security labs and the likes, but they'll have a locally set up Professional or UNIX based build anyway.

Connect it once, set it up and don't connect it again is probably the easiest fix, unless this is a point of principle rather than practicality like insisting on cash payment when you have a card on you and funds in its account, in which case I'll let people who are willing to waste their time in that way assist instead.

A person may be in an area with intermittent or slow connection. They may have limited data paid for. They may not have time for all the updates etc but need to use a new machine urgently. When I have bought a new machine the number and file size of downloads required to bring a 'new' machine 'up-to-date' has been considerable. Best to set at least half a day to one side for it.

 

[Gloster]

For Windows 11 22H2 it's almost a necessity. Rightly or wrongly Microsoft now consider the base of offline users to be so small that they're not worth catering to.

It's a good idea to have the laptop intermittently connected to download patches and app updates at least every month or two. I've noticed plenty of additional functionality that finds its way into apps delivered via Microsoft Store over the years.

Why would I need all these patches (I don’t know what they are but please don’t bother to explain) and updates? It can’t get infected by the Internet because it is not connected and I am careful about what I download in the library or what DVDs I insert.

 

[Bletchleyite]

A person may be in an area with intermittent or slow connection. They may have limited data paid for. They may not have time for all the updates etc but need to use a new machine urgently. When I have bought a new machine the number and file size of downloads required to bring a 'new' machine 'up-to-date' has been considerable. Best to set at least half a day to one side for it.

I would agree it's best to set a day, or a few evenings, aside to set up a new PC to your tastes and install your preferred software. It has forever been thus, even before the Internet was even a mainstream thing.

 

[GS250]

There are, but I'm fairly sure you still need to connect online to do the activation, unless they still offer a telephone option.

Oh yes...they do still offer that. It comes in handy when a MB on a machine dies and you replace it with an identical part number but different serial.

There was once a time where the presumption was 'the license dies with the machine'. Completely ridiculous really if you had a machine go to an early grave.

I thought with even W11 setup, you could avoid signing in with a live account or confirming an internet connection? Maybe it depends on the exact version.

 

[Ediswan]

You can still get ones with Windows 10 (but I thought that had the same requirement).

In my experience, Windows 10 defaulted to using an online account, but is/was easy enough to set up without. From large suppliers, the activation key is/was often in the BIOS.

(Thus far, I have managed to avoid setting up Windows 11.)

 

[nlogax]

Why would I need all these patches (I don’t know what they are but please don’t bother to explain) and updates?

Performance improvements, bug fixes, functionality fixes..patches aren't all about fixing security vulnerabilities. Software improves all the time but the only way your currently supported copy of PhotoWotsit Eleventy Pro sees those improvements is by deployment of a patch or an updated version via the store or another online mechanism. Even an offline patch still needs to be downloaded.

You being 'careful with what you download' or having a disconnected PC altogether may reduce your perceived risk of virus or malware infection but it's no guarantee of anything.

 

[Baxenden Bank]

I would agree it's best to set a day, or a few evenings, aside to set up a new PC to your tastes and install your preferred software. It has forever been thus, even before the Internet was even a mainstream thing.

Things used to come on shiny discs, with holograms because they were genuine, some people had things on green read-write discs because they weren't. No need for a connection to anywhere.

 

[nlogax]

(Thus far, I have managed to avoid setting up Windows 11.)

It is possible to set up Windows 11 offline, so I've read anyway. For instance,

https://www.makeuseof.com/windows-11-set-up-without-internet-connection/

How to Install and Set Up Windows 11 Without an Internet Connection​

BYTASHREEF SHAREEF
UPDATED SEP 30, 2022

Windows 11 Home forces you to connect to Microsoft's services on setup, but what if the internet is down? Here's how to set up Windows 11 offline.

 

[skyhigh]

A person may be in an area with intermittent or slow connection. They may have limited data paid for. They may not have time for all the updates etc but need to use a new machine urgently.

In which case, simply connect it for the required sign-in and then disconnect it again. You're not forced to download the updates, just to sign in.