Disconnect Windows 10 PC from Azure AD

If you have switched your workplace or you just don’t want to use your PC for work purposes any more you can remove your PC from the Microsoft Azure Active Directory (from hereon called just Azure AD) on Windows 10.

Note you cannot simply create and switch to a local user administrator account or Microsoft Account. To do so, you must completely disconnect from the Azure AD account in order to do so.

This article is for my own personal use only and may be omitting or glancing over important steps which may result in the loss of your data if you do not know what you are doing. Should you need assistance with disconnecting your Windows 10 PC from an Azure AD I can remotely assist you at my normal remote work rate.

 

Remove Azure AD from Windows 10 PC

You cannot switch an Azure AD account to a local or Microsoft account without disconnecting completely from said Azure AD account.

Before doing so, you will want to create a new local user account and make it an administrator as well as backup any important data including browsers and application settings. Note that after disconnecting your Windows 10 PC from the Azure AD all software installations will remain but all user specific customizations and settings will be lost. The new admin local account will be starting from scratch with default settings.

If your PC has no existing local user or Microsoft administrator account, open Settings > Accounts > Other people and add a new local user and change it’s account type to Administrator.

Once the new local administrator account has been setup (with or without password protection) you’ll want to backup your data. Personally, I’ve just used the “Public” folder under the “Users” directory as a temporary cache location for my data but it is advisable to also make a complete data backup to an external USB device, cloud storage service or other network storage location. You will also want to backup any browser passwords, history, settings, etc.

After properly backing up your PC data, you will see your Azure AD account under Work or school users, and your old existing or new local admin account under Other people

Select Access work or school on left pane and select the connected Azure AD domain, click Disconnect and when prompted, click Yes.

You will then need to enter the username and password for an existing local / Microsoft administrator account (to make sure you don’t get locked out). You will then be prompted to Restart your PC.

After the restart you should be able to sign into your your desktop under the new local administrator or Microsoft account. You can then move your backed up and personal data from the Public folder or other backup locations back to their original or desired locations. If the old Azure AD user profile folder is still present under the Users folder, it can be deleted after confirming you’ve not missed any data.

 

Conclusion

As always, I welcome your thoughts, questions or suggestions on my article on removing a Windows 10 PC from Microsoft Azure ActiveDirectory.

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Let me know if you found any errors within my article or if I may further assist you by answering any additional questions you may have.