The standard procedure requiring a MS account is not ideal when preparing multiple machines for non S use. Looking around it appears there is little interest in finding a workaround for signing in, if anyone has managed this or has any insight as to the mechanics of how the switching process works it I would appreciate hearing of it. I'm assuming it would take the form of boot to PE > make changes > reboot. Thanks
S mode status is stored at MS, based on hwid, because s mode status doesn't change after a reinstall with HWID license. so there is no workaround. btw you now have to not connect to the internet in setup to avoid making a MS account. the only bypass is not connecting to the net when setup asks you to. if you connect to wi-fi, and your laptop does not have a physical switch to disable the wi-fi, you cannot disconnect, as Windows 10 will IGNORE THE AIRPLANE MODE HOTKEY! It then will tell you your account requires a windows hello pin, and again there is no way out of this! you must create an account and set a pin. then switch back to password, then create a local account, then remove the MS account. an di'm not sure that will keep working they really seem to want to force an MS account and PIN use on you, despite the fact that local account with password is more secure (pins leak info about their length when you enter a wrong one)
Ah OK. So even if someone finds an offline hack to trick windows to return permission to switch without being signed in its probably going to mess something up with a new MS A/C later on due to it's HWID. So not worth the time basically. Thanks.