[SOLVED] Just some Curious questions about Windows 11 S-Mode

[penguintech]

We just recently closed down our computer store and I have been out of the Windows 11 loop for a few months. I have also not had to purchase a brand new laptop in ages. We purchased a nice dell 10th gen i5, 8gb, 256gb ssd, Win 11 home laptop from best buy for our niece but was warned before purchase that it was in "S-Mode" meaning it would only download programs and apps from the MS store and no other 3rd party downloads were allowed. It was in this s-mode due to being a "Value Laptop" per best buy.

a few questions.

Wiping and reloading with Windows 11 pro I am told will get rid of this S-Mode issue- just want to verify this is correct before I even open the box.

If I send the recovery USB with I made through Dell with the service tag number, and she needs to reload it from the USB, will that enable the S-Mode BS again? They are not computer literate so I am sure if there is an issue it will just come back to me ( they live in another state) but just curious.

WHY did MS do this? Are they trying to follow Apple with locking stuff down? I get it that they want to get people to only use crappy edge and bing but the forcing of it because one is not buying a $1000 computer is just a trash move. ( the laptop we got was $450 and hardly "Value priced" )

 

[USAFRet]

No reinstall needed.

Change from Win 11 S to Win 11 Pro, directly within the OS.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us...3-119f-031bfb28a307#WindowsVersion=Windows_11

 

[penguintech]

No reinstall needed.

Change from Win 11 S to Win 11 Pro, directly within the OS.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us...3-119f-031bfb28a307#WindowsVersion=Windows_11

Appreciate that, but I was a MS authorized refurbisher and have some left over 11 pro licenses, I would use one of those as opposed to paying to do the upgrade through MS store plus, I would like to get rid of all the bloatware and just do a clean install. on a side note, to do that upgrade I would have to log into a MS account, and as she does not have one, it would have to be my account which would sync all the one drive files and she shouldn't have access to those due to the nature of company files that are store there. Even "removing" the MS account would still leave lingering information on a laptop that will be used by someone else.

 

[USAFRet]

Appreciate that, but I was a MS authorized refurbisher and have some left over 11 pro licenses, I would use one of those as opposed to paying to do the upgrade through MS store plus, I would like to get rid of all the bloatware and just do a clean install. on a side note, to do that upgrade I would have to log into a MS account, and as she does not have one, it would have to be my account which would sync all the one drive files and she shouldn't have access to those due to the nature of company files that are store there. Even "removing" the MS account would still leave lingering information on a laptop that will be used by someone else.

I don't believe there is any monetary issue with changing from S to Not-S.

Try it and see what happens.

Otherwise, just do a full wipe and reinstall with one of your licenses.
Deleting all partitions in this process WILL wipe out any S info...indeed anything at all from the original install.

 

[Math Geek]

correct there is no cost to the change.

my dad has one of these cheap laptops that came with s-mode on. just followed the steps to turn it off and now it's good to go. no cost nor any real hassle.

do note you can't turn it back on once it is done, but who would really want to turn it back on anyway.

 

[penguintech]

correct there is no cost to the change.

my dad has one of these cheap laptops that came with s-mode on. just followed the steps to turn it off and now it's good to go. no cost nor any real hassle.

do note you can't turn it back on once it is done, but who would really want to turn it back on anyway.

You have to log into a MS account to do this... it's not an upgrade to pro, it's just a means to turn off S-Mode. I already know that route.... As I am sending it to family, I do not want to have any MS account associated with this laptop and once you do an MS account, even once "removed" it still leaves lingering files as it does an automatic sync to one drive. our one drive contains company information from our store that she should not have access to.

I was just curious if there was a way to disable S-Mode without an MS account attached, but I see that's not really possible.
But thanks for your input

 

[USAFRet]

After changing from S to Not-S, and having it fully activated as Not-S, you can then do a full wipe and reinstall.
Removing any issue of OneDrive or whatever.

But, a full wipe and reinstall of whatever other license you have will also work.

 

[USAFRet]

I see the issue about "OMG, I don't want an MS account!" all the time.

All my house systems have 3x log ins.

1x local Standard user, for everyday use
1x local Admin user, for installing things
1x MS account, for those rare times I need to manage the license info or need something from the store.

And my "MS account" is literally a rarely used gmail address. It does NOT have to be JoeSchmoe@microsoft.com.

 

[penguintech]

After changing from S to Not-S, and having it fully activated as Not-S, you can then do a full wipe and reinstall.
Removing any issue of OneDrive or whatever.

But, a full wipe and reinstall of whatever other license you have will also work.

So, if I log in with a MS account, disable the S-Mode, then do a factory restore, S-Mode will still be disabled?

 

[USAFRet]

So, if I log in with a MS account, disable the S-Mode, then do a factory restore, S-Mode will still be disabled?

The "Factory Restore" would almost certainly bring it back to out of the box condition, with S. Because thats the way it came from the Factory...😉

Instead, do a regular OS install.
Boot from your Win 11 install media that you create, delete all partitions, install.

Similar to this for Win 10:

How To - Windows 10 clean install tutorial

If you are looking for the Windows 11 Clean install tutorial, you can find that here: Windows 11 Clean install tutorial (Click here) Otherwise, welcome to the Windows 10 Clean install tutorial This tutorial is intended to help you, step by step, to perform a clean install of Windows...

forums.tomshardware.com

 

[penguintech]

I see the issue about "OMG, I don't want an MS account!" all the time.

All my house systems have 3x log ins.

1x local Standard user, for everyday use
1x local Admin user, for installing things
1x MS account, for those rare times I need to manage the license info or need something from the store.

And my "MS account" is literally a rarely used gmail address. It does NOT have to be JoeSchmoe@microsoft.com.

I don't use an MS account for anything other than office and one drive due to the business we had. My personal laptop, my partners personal laptop and our old store PC all still run 10 and I am perfectly happy with it that way....lol

so, not to sound redundant, if I wipe and reload with just Windows 11 home, it will activate just fine without S-Mode ? That would be great as I wouldn't have to use one of my pro licenses.

 

[USAFRet]

I don't use an MS account for anything other than office and one drive due to the business we had. My personal laptop, my partners personal laptop and our old store PC all still run 10 and I am perfectly happy with it that way....lol

so, not to sound redundant, if I wipe and reload with just Windows 11 home, it will activate just fine without S-Mode ? That would be great as I wouldn't have to use one of my pro licenses.

After getting it to Not-S, what will the version be?
Home or Pro. Verify after the change.

Do a fresh install with whatever that is, and it WILL activate itself.
You won't have to consume one of your Pro licenses.

And for 10 vs 11....my current main system is 11. All the other house systems are still on 10, and will remain so.
Very little actual difference.

MS account vs the local ones?
I really cannot remeber the last time I logged in with my MS account. Probably late Dec, 20201, when I did a full reinstall on thiis Win 11 box.
Since then, not.
Not even for Office 2019 use.

 

[penguintech]

After getting it to Not-S, what will the version be?
Home or Pro. Verify after the change.

Do a fresh install with whatever that is, and it WILL activate itself.
You won't have to consume one of your Pro licenses.

And for 10 vs 11....my current main system is 11. All the other house systems are still on 10, and will remain so.
Very little actual difference.

MS account vs the local ones?
I really cannot remeber the last time I logged in with my MS account. Probably late Dec, 20201, when I did a full reinstall on thiis Win 11 box.
Since then, not.
Not even for Office 2019 use.

it currently has home, if I wipe and reload with a MS USB of Windows 11 home, will it activate 11 home without the S-mode? ...it wont be mine so home vs. pro isn't a big deal....lol but going with home would be an easier route since that is what is already on it and I don't have to torch a license.

 

[USAFRet]

it currently has home, if I wipe and reload with a MS USB of Windows 11 home, will it activate 11 home without the S-mode? ...it wont be mine so home vs. pro isn't a big deal....lol but going with home would be an easier route since that is what is already on it and I don't have to torch a license.

Per the above instructions, change it from S to Not-S.

Then, do a full wipe and reinstall of Win 11 Home.
It will activate itself.

 

[penguintech]

Per the above instructions, change it from S to Not-S.

Then, do a full wipe and reinstall of Win 11 Home.
It will activate itself.

Thanks!

 

[penguintech]

Just a quick update, it did not go as planned, Logging in and turning off S Mode in Windows 11 home then a full wipe and reload still brought back S Mode. I had to wipe and reload with Windows 10 Home, Turn off S Mode in 10 home, reload 10 home and then do the upgrade to Windows 11 Home. Once the upgrade was done, S mode had stayed off. I am so glad I got out of the computer business. This Windows 11 is sure a pain of an OS. But thanks for you help, it led me in the correct direction to get my end result of just Windows 11 Home and no S Mode.