Gave my adult son my laptop to take overseas to college

Frank Crossan 0 Reputation points
2026-08-26T16:08:53.6733333+00:00

I gave my adult son my laptop to use overseas while in college. I did a factory reset on the laptop, and it is now with

him in the Philippines. He can not set it up with his Microsoft account or mine without signing up for a month-long free trial and then $99.00 a year thereafter. How can he bypass the credit card payment screen? The operating system is Windows 10 Home, and I bought the laptop new, and it is unlocked.

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Settings
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  1. Brian Tillman 27,030 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-08-26T17:48:47.7266667+00:00

    He should be able to configure the computer with his Microsoft account without any charge if he has a Microsoft account. With Windows 10, he can also set it up using a local account that doesn't even need a network connection to work. During initial setup after a factory reset, he should get prompted for this information. What may be requesting a subscription is an factory-installed Microsoft 365 suite, but even if that's the case, there's no requirement to subscribe at that time.

    Describe exactly what he's doing and what happens when he does it.

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  2. Brian Tillman 27,030 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-08-27T15:11:44.1366667+00:00

    I'll watch for your reply.

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