Back in March earlier this year, a new redesigned Microsoft Account sign-in was released with the intention to make it "more modern, simple, and secure." Microsoft also probably hopes that the revamp will help win some hearts since many dislike the Microsoft Account (MSA) quite a bit as they are forced to use the service during Windows 11 installation.
Yes, signing in to the MSA is one of the several system requirements for Windows 11, and it is also the recommended way and it clearly does not like it when users opt for a Local account instead.
Microsoft often highlights the benefits of an MSA as it points out the unified access users get across devices and services like Windows, Office, OneDrive, and Xbox, which can help in synchronization of files and settings for convenience.
A Microsoft Account also stores the BitLocker encryption key which is crucial thing that all users who have encryption need to store securely.
Back in May this year, we covered reports of users losing their data as a consequence of BitLocker key loss, and this is a real danger for many, given that Microsoft now enables automatic BitLocker encryption on Windows 11 24H2, that most users won't even be aware of.
So in the case of loss of access to a Microsoft Account, an affected user can suddenly find that they have lost all their data and there may be no way to recover it according to Microsoft's terms.
Such account lock-outs can happen as a Reddit user deus03690 found out. The frustrated user claims that Microsoft apparently "randomly" locked their account when they were dealing with multiple data drives. They explain:
"Microsoft randomly locked my account after I moved 30 years' worth of irreplaceable photos and work to OneDrive. I was consolidating data from multiple old drives before a major move—drives I had to discard due to space and relocation constraints. The plan was simple: upload to OneDrive, then transfer to a new drive later.
Instead, Microsoft suspended my account without warning, reason, or any legitimate recourse. I've submitted the compliance form 18 times—eighteen—and each time I get an automated response that leads nowhere. No human contact. No actual help. Just canned emails and radio silence."
The user has good reason to be annoyed and frustrated at this, Microsoft's own official guidance about the Account lock says: "If you tried to sign in to your account and received a message that it's been locked, it's because activity associated with your account might violate our Terms of Use."
The Terms of Use for MSA explain how Microsoft deals with a closed account. It states:
If your Microsoft account is closed (whether by you or us), a few things happen. First, your right to use the Microsoft account to access the Services stops immediately.
Second, we’ll delete Data or Your Content associated with your Microsoft account or will otherwise disassociate it from you and your Microsoft account (unless we are required by law to keep it, return it, or transfer it to you or a third party identified by you). You should have a regular backup plan as Microsoft won’t be able to retrieve Your Content or Data once your account is closed.
Third, you may lose access to products you’ve acquired.
Thus, this shows how users can be pretty much helpless if they get locked out of MSA or lose access to it if they (unknowingly) end up violating Microsoft's terms. It also shows how over-reliance on cloud services on Windows 11, something which LibreOffice recently pointed out, can lead to additional data nightmares like losing all of your data due to forced BitLocker encryption that you may not even be aware of was there in the first place.
The solution? Consider keeping your important data backed up locally on internal or external HDDs and SSDs or NAS solution, as only cloud storage is probably not the best decision.
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