Help, I’m Locked out of My Account!
BitLocker is a powerful feature built into Microsoft Windows that helps easily secure your data. It does this by encrypting your entire drive, making it unreadable to unauthorized users. However, if you misplace your recovery key or forget to write it down in a secure location you can easily get locked out of your computer after a system reset. But don’t sweat it! If you ever get locked out, here’s a few steps you can use to quickly find your BitLocker recovery key.
Steps Using a Microsoft Account
The most common way to find your BitLocker recovery key is through your Microsoft account. When initially setting up BitLocker Drive Encryption, you will be prompted to either save the recovery key to your Microsoft account, or to a USB flash drive. If you elected to save the key to your Microsoft account, follow these steps below.
- On another device, open a web browser and head to this link
- Sign into your Microsoft account associated with the locked device
- Under the Devices tab, find the locked device and enter the recovery key associated
- All done! Continue using your device and forget this ever happened
Steps Using a Work or School Account
If your device is associated with a work or school account, the steps to finding your BitLocker recovery key might be very similar to a standard Microsoft account.
- On another device, open a web browser and head to this link
- Sign in with your work or school account associated with the locked device
- Under the Devices tab, find the locked device and expand to view the recovery key
- Enter the recovery key into the locked device and continue your work!
If you cannot find your BitLocker recovery key using these steps, then your device may be managed by an organization. If this is the case, check with your IT department to retrieve your recovery key. If not your device isn’t managed, you’ll have to reset your device by using one of the Windows recovery options. Head to the link here to find more information.