[mstrblueskys]

Hey WindowsCentral - I purchased a new laptop yesterday and needed to have it encrypted. I called Microsoft and they told me I needed to set it up with a Microsoft account in order for the device to be encrypted. Unfortunately, when I took it out of the box and connected it to the internet, it forced me to use a local account and I didn't even see the option to use a Microsoft Account.

That's weird and I need encryption, so I needed to fix it. Here's what I did.

1. Set up using a local account since that's the only option
2. Check time and date for accuracy - mine was way off
3. Go to Time and Date settings and toggle automatic settings off then back on again so it is correct
4. Reset the computer
5. You should see the option to sign in with a Microsoft account after this

Hopefully that is helpful to people who need to set up the machine with a Microsoft account!