{"id":742,"date":"2026-04-26T20:42:32","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T19:42:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/who-offers.site\/index.php\/2026\/04\/26\/go-straight-to-sell-windows-second-chance-setup-hawks-microsoft-services-at-its\/"},"modified":"2026-04-26T20:42:43","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T19:42:43","slug":"go-straight-to-sell-windows-second-chance-setup-hawks-microsoft-services-at-its","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/who-offers.site\/index.php\/2026\/04\/26\/go-straight-to-sell-windows-second-chance-setup-hawks-microsoft-services-at-its\/","title":{"rendered":"Go straight to sell! Windows second-chance setup hawks Microsoft services at IT’s\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The topic Go straight to sell! Windows second-chance setup hawks Microsoft services at IT’s\u2026<\/strong> is currently the subject of lively discussion \u2014 readers and analysts are keeping a close eye on developments.<\/p>\n

This is taking place in a dynamic environment: companies\u2019 decisions and competitors\u2019 reactions can quickly change the picture.<\/p>\n

opinion You\u2019ve had your laptop for months, and you\u2019ve always made sure it installed Microsoft updates. Then one day you boot up, and Windows 11 greets you with a confusing message: \u201cYou\u2019re almost done setting up your PC.\u201d<\/p>\n

Almost done? What could that possibly mean? You set up your computer on Windows 11 a long time ago, but here it is telling you that your installation never actually finished. What other completed task will you next learn you haven\u2019t actually finished? Did you perhaps forget to sign your marriage license five years ago, initial the deed to your home of 10 years, or miss a critical turn in the driving test you took back in 2003? Are you sure you\u2019re named as the parent on your child\u2019s birth certificate?<\/p>\n

You’re almost done setting up your PC screen – Click to enlarge<\/p>\n

So you click the Continue button that appears at the bottom of the dialog box and Windows asks you if you\u2019d like to use Microsoft\u2019s recommended browser settings. You\u2019re not sure what the settings are, but you hit the Use recommended settings button, because it all sounds above board and there\u2019s no \u201cDon\u2019t use recommended settings\u201d button (there\u2019s a toggle in another part of the screen but that\u2019s confusing). It’s not clear what effect this has – in our recent test, it did not change the default browser from Google Chrome to Microsoft Edge, but your mileage may vary.<\/p>\n

Screen asks you to use recommended browser settings – Click to enlarge<\/p>\n

Next, you\u2019re presented with a screen that encourages you to link your phone with your PC so you can get SMS messages on your desktop. This seems innocent enough, but you see and hit the Skip link (as opposed to the Next button which is yes) because you don\u2019t want to do this right now.<\/p>\n

Screen asks you to set up phone connection to your PC – Click to enlarge<\/p>\n

You\u2019re then hit with another screen that reminds you that you have Office installed and makes you click another button that says \u201cGot it.\u201d Now, you start to wonder if Microsoft is in league with the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and is just trying to make you click until you get carpal tunnel syndrome. But if you didn\u2019t have MS Office, this might be the place where Microsoft tries to sell you a subscription.<\/p>\n

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This screen would try to sell you Office 365 if you didn’t already have it installed – Click to enlarge<\/p>\n

Screen attempts to sell you a subscription to Xbox Game Pass – Click to enlarge<\/p>\n

Again, you\u2019re free to hit the Skip link, even though the “Join for $14.99” button is much more prominent on the screen. If you\u2019re lucky, there\u2019s only one more screen after this one and it offers you the chance to see some unnecessary Windows tips, which it will launch in your browser if you click Yes.<\/p>\n

Really unnecessary screen asks you if you’d like some Windows tips – Click to enlarge<\/p>\n

What you\u2019ve just experienced is Windows 11\u2019s Second Chance Out of Box Experience (SCOOBE), a deeply deceptive and unethical attempt on Microsoft\u2019s part to con you into buying more monthly services or using settings that Redmond wants you to have. SCOOBE can launch months or even years after you\u2019ve first set up your PC and you can get it multiple times in your PC\u2019s lifecycle, often after a Windows update. It\u2019s the dictionary definition of enshittification, a naked attempt to cajole you into giving Microsoft more money at a moment \u2013 boot up \u2013 when you\u2019re getting ready to work or play.<\/p>\n

But SCOOBE is more than just an annoyance and a money-grab. It\u2019s a serious problem for organizations with managed PCs. The weird setup pattern costs more than just a minute of employee productivity. It leads to support calls, because less-tech-savvy employees think that there\u2019s something genuinely wrong with their work computers. In communicating with dozens of IT people, I heard numerous stories about support tickets and lost time due to the SCOOBE experience.<\/p>\n

If you haven\u2019t heard of SCOOBE, it makes sense to call IT when your long-running computer suddenly says that it needs to complete setup. If I got it and didn\u2019t know better, I would think that someone had just wiped my computer and reinstalled Windows. And I\u2019d want IT to step in and get all my data back.<\/p>\n

\u201cSCOOBE first appeared on our devices months after their configuration. The appearance timing was especially inconvenient since they appeared on our contributors’ screens who were working actively on data collection and thought that there might be a technical issue with their machines,\u201d Hanna Parkhots, data collection project manager at Unidata, an AI training data company, told The Register. \u201cIt led to numerous support ticket increases, which we found out by reviewing three error tickets filed within a week for the same SCOOBE-related message.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even worse, employees may be tricked into buying or installing something that the IT department doesn\u2019t want them to have. Users may intentionally or accidentally end up with an Xbox Game Pass or Microsoft Office subscription, along with the associated software. The organization may have its own preferred browser settings that Microsoft fools the user into overriding.<\/p>\n

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A number of IT people I communicated with also cited the very negative effects of SCOOBE distractions on clients, patients, or others needing to receive immediate service from a provider.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most frustrating instance was on our front-desk PC mid-consultation with a wedding client,\u201d said Tatiana Egorova, a florist with Flowers N Baskets, who does her own IT support. \u201cThe screen hijacked itself, pushing Office subscriptions while we were trying to pull up venue photos. Not a great look.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perhaps worst of all, SCOOBE breaks user trust by using a UI to try to trick users into doing something that Microsoft wants but businesses do not.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat makes SCOOBE especially frustrating to me is that it breaks trust in the device itself,\u201d Athena Kavis, a web designer, told us. \u201cIt feels less like setup and more like an ad layer, and for small teams that already juggle enough, even one extra interruption can derail a task like fulfilling orders, updating branding assets, or responding to leads.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the end, Microsoft is putting a boost in its subscription profits for services such as Office 365 and Xbox Game Pass over its obligation to help businesses that have already paid for Windows licenses. It\u2019s not enough that you paid once when you bought a laptop with Windows 11 on it. The company wants your users to pay again, perhaps for something that has no place on a work PC (Xbox) or something your organization would decide to license at the IT level (Office). And what if the company has chosen to go with Google Workspace and Office is forbidden?<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re an individual user, you can disable SCOOBE by navigating to Settings->system->Notifications->Additional settings and unchecking \u201cSuggest ways to get the most out of Windows and finish setting up this device.\u201d<\/p>\n

Disable Additional settings in system Notifications to get rid of SCOOBE – Click to enlarge<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re in IT, you\u2019ll want to disable this via a change in Group Policy. In Group Policy Editor, navigate to Computer Configuration->Administrative Templates->Windows Components->Cloud Content and enable Turn off Microsoft consumer experiences. It might also help to enable the other options here including \u201cDo not show Windows tips.\u201d<\/p>\n

Disable Cloud Content in Group Policy Editor – Click to enlarge<\/p>\n

Also, check the Windows Task Scheduler and see if UserNotPresentOrFirstLogon is there and disable it if so. These methods should prevent SCOOBE from popping up again. But Microsoft is slick, so it\u2019s always possible they won\u2019t work forever.<\/p>\n

We did reach out to Microsoft’s PR representatives to give the company a chance to defend SCOOBE and explain the benefits they believe it offers users. We’ll update this story if we get a response, but we are not holding our breath. \u00ae<\/p>\n