How to add a new User in Windows 11

As part of a Windows 11 installation, you will automatically create a user account that you can use to log into the Microsoft system. The account has administrator privileges which is perfect for anyone using their device alone. However, if yours is a family device or a work computer shared with several users, an individual user account is required. We will show you how to add a new user in Windows 11.

You can add a new user to Windows 11 at any time. The easiest way to do so is via the Settings:

1. Launch Settings from the Start menu or using the key combination [Windows] key + [i].
2. Select the ‘Accounts’ item from the left side menu.
3. Click on the ‘Family & other users’ section.
4. Click ‘Add account’ for the desired account type (‘family member’ or ‘additional user’).
5. Link the account to a Microsoft account (always required for the family account) or create the user as a local user by pressing ‘I don't have this person’s sign-in information’ and ‘Add user without Microsoft account’ in sequence.
6. Assign a username and a secure password and answer three of the selectable security questions.
7. Add the new Windows 11 user account via ‘Next’.

When you create a new user in Windows 11, you have two options: You can either link the new account to a Microsoft account for logging into the system or you can generate a local user account.

If you select the former, you will log in with an online account every time you log in to Windows. This offers some advantages when using Microsoft services like OneDrive or Skype. In addition, linking to a Microsoft account enables cross-device synchronisation of your data and settings. Merging a user and a Microsoft account is mandatory if you want to download apps from the in-house Microsoft Store.

A local user does not have access to the above features; however, a link can be created at any time.

As with many other features and functions, Windows 11 allows for different approaches to adding new users. Read on to find out more about the three most commonly used options to add a user in Windows 11.

The standard option to add a new user account in Windows 11 is via the Settings – the central configuration menu of the Microsoft system. Among other things, you can adjust the language settings to switch the keyboard in Windows 11 or the basic configuration for screen recording in Windows 11 with the Xbox Game Bar.

Windows 11, much like its predecessors, offers password management for existing user accounts. Here, you can create a new user to share Windows 11 with multiple people.

Password management is hidden well in Windows 11 but can be accessed quickly and easily using the ‘Run’ function. You can use the function either with the key combination [Windows] key + [R] or by right-clicking on the Start menu and selecting ‘Run’.

Type the following command into the ‘Run’ window and confirm it by pressing ‘OK’:

The command prompt, a Windows command line tool, provides the option to create new user accounts. However, you need administrator rights for this step, else the required commands cannot be executed.

Now, enter the command to create a new user account into the command prompt. The syntax is as follows: