How to Recover BitLocker Password on Windows PC

Almost all of us store sensitive information on our PC. Which is why it is a good option to encrypt the hard drive using an encryption program like BitLocker. This provides the much needed security and safety to your data.

However, the problem occurs when you forget the password with which you have locked your hard drive using BitLocker. This is because without the password you will not be able to access your own data unless you can reset or recover it. In this tutorial, we will show you the method of recovering your BitLocker password on your Windows 11 PC.

What is BitLocker

In simple terms, BitLocker is an encryption program from the stable of Microsoft offered with a select few versions of Windows operating system. Following are the flavors of Windows with which BitLocker is available:

· Windows Vista and Windows 7: Ultimate and Enterprise editions;

· Windows 8 and Windows 8.1: Pro and Enterprise editions;

· Windows 10 : Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions.

· Windows 11: Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions.

To check if your device supports BitLocker encryption, click Start and search for “Manage BitLocker” (without the quotes).

In case it doesn’t support BitLocker, you can use Windows Device Encryption instead. To check if you can use Device Encryption, click Start and search for System Information, once found click on Run as administrator. In the System Information window, locate Device Encryption Support and check if it says Meets prerequisites.

How to Check if BitLocker is Enabled or Not

Now that you know whether your device supports BitLocker, you need to check whether it is enabled on your device already. To check the status of BitLocker on your device, please follow the below method:

1. Click Start and search for CMD, once found click on the option that says Run as administrator.

2. Once the Command Prompt window opens, use the below command to check the status of all drives on your PC. Don’t forget to press Enter once you have typed in this command.

manage-bde -status

3. If the drive is encrypted with BitLocker, then under it would show under Protection Status.

If you want to check the BitLocker status for any particular drive, you can use the manage-bde -status <Drive>: command instead. Don’t forget to replace <Drive> with the drive letter of the drive for which you are checking the status.

Forgot BitLocker Password? Here is How to Recover BitLocker Password

In case you have the hard drive of your PC encrypted and you have forgotten the password, you can recover it using the below method:

1. Open This PC from your desktop.

2. Once open, right clicked on the locked drive, then click on the option that says Unlock Drive.

3. This will bring up the BitLocker Drive Encryption window from which you need to click on the I forgot my password link.

4. On the next window, there would be 2 options; to get the key from a USB flash drive, and to type the recovery key. Click on the second option to type in the recovery key.

5. Now it will ask you to type in the Recovery Key. This is available in the file downloaded during the creation of the BitLocker key. Copy and paste the BitLocker Recovery key from that file into this window and click Next.

6. In the next window, click Manage BitLocker.

7. Now you will get a number of options out of which you need to click on the option that says Change password to unlock the drive.

8. Next, it will ask you to enter the new password, twice. Enter the same and click Next.

9. That should generate a new set of recovery key. You’ll now have the option to save this new recovery key as a file like you did the last time. Click on Save the recovery key to a file option and click Next.

10. Now you should be able to unlock the drive using this new BitLocker password.

How to disable BitLocker

If you are prone to forgetting password, its best if you disable BitLocker on your hard drive. Here’s how to disable BitLocker on your computer.

1. Click Start and search for Manage BitLocker. Once found, click Open.

2. To turn off BitLocker on a drive that is unlocked, click on the option that says Turn off BitLocker beside it.

3. In case your hard drive is locked with BitLocker, click on Unlock device beside that drive. You will need to type in the BitLocker password. In case you don’t remember it, go through the previous section of this post to know how to recover the password.

4. It will give you a warning on whether you really want to Turn off BitLocker, click on that option and you would have successfully disabled BitLocker on your PC.

Hope this tutorial helps you in recovering your BitLocker password. You might even consider disabling it on your PC.