Windows 10, Office and MSFT accounts

[Jan Karel Pieterse]

Hi everyone,

I've just purchased a new laptop. With Windows 10.

Before starting this machine I have a couple of questions:

1 What is best, setup with a MSFT account or use a local account

2 Which MSFT account should I use in case of the former:
A The MSFT account I use to sign in for almost all of my stuff, the one I also use on a tablet and my phone?
B The MSFT account I created for my MSDN Office 365 Pro-plus account?

Can I use the Office 365 installation tied to account B from within my Windows account signed in to account A? Does it cause havoc? What happens with things like the App store from within Office 365 in such a case?

[HansV]

Using a Microsoft account has the advantage that - if you want - your settings will be backed up by Microsoft. But some/many users fear that using a Microsoft account makes it easier for Microsoft to spy on you.

When I bought a PC with Windows 8.1 in 2014, I used a local account. But each time I logged into the Microsoft account that I use to post in the Microsoft forums, I got a dialog saying something like "Your local account will be converted to your Microsoft account. Do you want to continue? Yes/No", with Yes preselected of course. The second or third time I wasn't paying attention and pressed Enter without looking...
I've been using my Microsoft account ever since.

If you want to synchronize stuff with your tablet and phone, account A is probably the best choice. Would it be possible to move your Office 365 subscription to account A? I have no idea what happens if you use two accounts. OneDrive, for example, might get confused.

[Jan Karel Pieterse]

Thanks Hans. Seems signing in with Windows on account A and having O365 on B is possible without too much hassle, so I think I'll go far that.

[HansV]

Let us know how it works out.

[JoeP]

You can use your Office 365 account if you use account a to signin to the PC. I do that on my Surface Pro 3. I login with my Microsoft account. I got Office 365 Pro Plus loaded using my work Office 365 account. In Outlook 2016 I've got a mix of personal and work accounts defined with a personal account as the default.

[DaveA]

I use a local account with Office 365 installed using my MS account.
I have no issues with the updates or access from the local account.

[Jay Freedman]

I have the most complex setup that's been mentioned so far. Running Windows 10 (Insider Fast) in a VMware VM, the administrator account uses my personal MS account, but I usually run as a standard user with a local account. Office 365 is installed with my MSDN account, but I can switch the Office programs from the MSDN account to the personal account and back again within a single session (File > Account > Switch account). For example, the MSDN account has access to OneDrive for Business, while the personal account has access only to personal OneDrive.

[HansV]

Thanks, all!