how to remove a device from entra back to personal windows log in. New laptop was erroneously sign into entra first by mistake. need to remove from entra and sign in with personal microsoft account

Question

how to remove a device from entra back to personal windows log in. New laptop was erroneously sign into entra first by mistake. need to remove from entra and sign in with personal microsoft account

Answer 1

Hello Matt McCaleb,

Since the laptop was joined to Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) during the initial setup, it is currently managed as a work device. To revert it back to a personal Microsoft account login, you need to disconnect it from Entra and reconfigure the sign-in.

Go to Settings > Accounts > Access work or school. Select the Entra ID account that shows as connected, then choose Disconnect. The system will prompt you to confirm and may require administrator rights. Once disconnected, restart the machine.

After reboot, open Settings > Accounts > Your info. If the account still shows as “Connected to organization,” you need to switch to a local account first. Select Sign in with a local account instead, set a local password, and sign out. Then sign back in with that local account.

From there, you can add your personal Microsoft account by going to Settings > Accounts > Email & accounts or Your info, and choose Sign in with a Microsoft account instead. Enter your personal Microsoft account credentials, and the device will now be linked to your personal profile rather than Entra.

If the device was fully enrolled in Intune or had policies pushed from Entra, you may also need to check Settings > Accounts > Access work or school > Enrollments and remove any listed MDM enrollment. This ensures the device is no longer managed by the organization.

I hope you've found something useful here. If it helps you get more insight into the issue, it's appreciated to accept the answer. Should you have more questions, feel free to leave a message. Have a nice day!

Domic Vo.

Answer 2

To move the laptop from being Microsoft Entra–registered/joined back to a personal Microsoft account sign-in, remove the work/school (Entra) account from Windows, then sign in with the personal account.

1. Remove the work or school (Entra) account from the device
   1. Open Settings on Windows.
   2. Go to Accounts > Access work or school (briefcase icon).
   3. Select the work or school account that was added first.
   4. Select Disconnect and confirm.
      • This removes the Microsoft Entra registration for that user profile on the device.
2. If the device is still shown as registered in Entra and needs to be re-registered or fully reset
   • For a Microsoft Entra registered Windows 10/11 device that must be re-registered (for example, if it was disabled/deleted in Entra):
     1. Go to Settings > Accounts > Access work or school.
     2. Select the work or school account and select Disconnect.
     3. Select + Connect and only re-add the account if the organization still needs it on this device. Otherwise, leave it disconnected.
3. Sign in with a personal Microsoft account
   • If using a local Windows account today and only apps were using the work account:
     1. Sign out of any remaining work apps.
     2. In Settings > Accounts, add the personal Microsoft account where needed (for example, in Email & accounts or when signing into Microsoft 365/Store apps).
   • If the Windows sign-in itself was with the work account and a personal account sign-in is desired instead, create or switch to a local/personal account and stop using the work account for Windows sign-in.
4. (Optional) Remove the device from online device lists
   • If the device still appears under the work account’s device list and the organization allows it, an admin can remove or disable it in Entra.
   • For the personal Microsoft account, if an old or incorrect entry appears:
     1. Go to https://account.microsoft.com/devices and sign in with the personal account.
     2. Find the device and select Remove device > More actions > Remove, then confirm with I’m ready to remove this device.

After these steps, the laptop will no longer be managed or registered by the organization (for that profile), and Windows and apps can be used with the personal Microsoft account instead.

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References:

• Microsoft Entra device management FAQ
• Add Your Work or School Account to a Windows Device
• Remove a device from your Microsoft account