

You can click there to create a new online Microsoft account, sure, but this is also how you create a local account. You can also click "Create a new account" at the bottom. Setup will ask you to Sign into your Microsoft account. When you get to settings, it doesn't matter if you click Use Express Settings or Customize.

It wasn't immediately obvious to me how to create a local login, so I wrote it up here to help you, Oh Internet Person. Now, I realize that not using a Live ID would limit the things I could do and cause a lot more account popups when I visited apps like Music, Store, Video, and others, but still, I want the choice. I didn't feel like linking this temporary machine to my existing Microsoft ID and just wanted a regular local login. Learn more about Skype system requirements.I was setting up Windows 8.1 on a machine and didn't want to use a Microsoft ID (Live ID) to sign into it. To try Skype without downloading or signing up, you will need an internet connection. And if you don’t want to download the Skype app, try using Skype for Web from any supported web browser. To enjoy the best that Skype offers, download the app. And there is so much more you can do with Skype when you have an account.

Then you can keep the conversations for as long as you want. The great news is, it only takes a couple minutes to sign up for a Skype account.

We’ve made it effortless to give Skype a try – you don’t need an account and you don’t need to download anything.
