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Do you wish to join a Windows 11 PC to a local Active Directory domain? This guide teaches you four methods to join Windows 11 to a domain.
Option 1: Join a Domain from Windows Settings
This is the method Microsoft would want you to use to join their latest Windows to a domain. Follow the steps below to join your Windows 11 PC to a local AD domain.
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- Right-click Windows 11 start menu and select Settings.
- Then, on the left pane of Windows Settings, click Accounts.
- When the Accounts settings page opens, scroll down and click “Access work or school.”
- Then, on the Access work or school page, click Connect on the far right of “Add a work or school account.” This action will open a Microsoft account pop-up page.
- Look at the bottom of the pop-up page and click “Join this device to a local Active Directory domain.” Clicking this will open a “Join a domain” pop-up window.
- On the “Join a domain” pop-up, enter the Fully Qualifies Domain Name of the domain you want to join your PC. Then, click Next to continue.
- Enter your domain admin user name and password on the account verification pop window, then click OK.
When you click OK, your Windows 11 will take a while to join the domain – wait. See the second screenshot below.
Once the PC has joined the domain, you’ll receive a final “Add an account” prompt.
- On the “Add an account” prompt, click skip. Then, restart your Windows 11 PC.
- Finally, after the PC has rebooted, sign in with a domain user name and password. To sign in to the domain, enter the user name in the DomainName\username format.
Option 2: Join a Domain from System Properties
Another way to join a Windows 11 PC to a domain is via System Properties. Follow the steps below to use this method.
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- Right-click the Windows 11 Start menu and click Run.
- Then, enter the command below and click OK when the Run dialogue box opens. When you click OK, Windows 11 System Properties will open.
sysdm.cpl
- On the Windows 11 System Properties, click Change. Clicking Change will open the “Computer Name/Domain Changes” window.
- Then, click the Domain radio button on the “Computer Name/Domain Changes” window. Next, enter the Fully Qualified Domain name of the Active Directory domain name you want to join your Windows 11 PC, then click OK.
- When you click OK, Windows 11 will prompt you to enter a domain user name and password. Then, wait for the computer to join the domain and click OK – see the second screenshot below.
When you click OK, Windows will display a notification, letting you know that you must restart the computer before the changes take effect.
- Click OK at the notification.
- Finally, click Close on the System Properties window. Then, click Restart now.
Option 3: Join a Domain with the Add-Computer PowerShell Command
So far, I have shown you how to join a Windows 11 PC to an AD domain via Windows Settings. In addition to that, you have also seen how to perform the same task via System Properties.
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In this section, you’ll learn how to join a Windows 11 PC to the domain using PowerShell. To use this method, follow the steps below:
- Click the Windows 11 search icon on the taskbar, then search powershell. Finally, to open PowerShell as administrator, click Run as administrator.
- When you click Run as administrator, Windows 11 may display a User Account Control window asking you to permit the program to make changes to your device. Click Yes.
- Finally, enter the command below in PowerShell to join your Windows 11 PC to the domain using PowerShell. Then, press the Enter key on your PC’s keyboard to run the command.
Add-Computer -DomainName itechguides.local -Credential itechguides\administrator
- Enter the password for the domain account, then click OK. If everything goes well, the Add-Computer will join the computer to the domain, then prompt you to restart the computer.
- To restart the computer, enter the command below in the PowerShell console. Then, to run the command, press the enter key on your PC’s keyboard.
Restart-Computer
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, it does. Windows 11 is like any other Windows Operating System with support for Active Directory. Firstly, you can join Windows 11 to an AD domain.
Also, you can use Windows 11 to manage a Windows AD by installing RSAT for Active Directory features on your PC.
Firstly, you must install RSAT for Active Directory features on your Windows 11 PC. Then, you can open any of the AD tools like Active Directory Users and Computers.
You cannot create a domain in Windows 11. However, you can join Windows 11 to an existing Active Directory domain.
To join Azure domain in Windows 11, open the Windows Settings App. Then, click Accounts -> Access work or school -> Connect.
For the step-by-step guide visit How To Join Windows 11 To Azure Active Directory.
Azure Active Directory is Microsoft’s cloud directory service. If you know about local (on-premise) Active Directory, Azure Active Directory is similar.
However, instead of you installing a Windows server and hosting Active Directory, with Azure AD, Microsoft hosts the directory service for you.
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Conclusion
Windows 11 is Microsoft’s latest offering of its popular Windows Operating System and users and admins alike have loads of questions about this new OS.
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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallThis guide answered one of the most asked questions about this new OS – how do I join Windows 11 to a domain? In this guide, I showed you three methods to perform this relatively simple task.
Specifically, you learned how to perform this task via the new Windows Settings, then via Systems Properties. Not only that, I also included the steps to perform this common task using PowerShell.
I sincerely hope that you found this guide helpful! If you did find it helpful, click on “Yes” beside the “Was this page helpful” question below.
You may also express your thoughts and opinions by using the “Leave a Comment” form at the bottom of this page.
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