How to Find Your BitLocker Recovery Key (and What to Do If You Can't)

You turned on your computer and, instead of the sign-in screen, Windows shows a blue page asking for a BitLocker recovery key. This guide shows you how to find your BitLocker recovery key in the places Windows usually saves it, how to type it in, why the screen appeared, and what your real options are if the key cannot be found. Most people find their key within a few minutes, usually in their Microsoft account.

This is an independent guide, not affiliated with Microsoft. Steps are for Windows 11; Windows 10 works the same way.

What the BitLocker recovery key is

BitLocker (called device encryption on Windows 11 Home) scrambles everything on the drive so that nobody can read your files if the laptop is stolen or the drive is removed. Normally the security chip in your PC, the TPM, unlocks the drive silently every time you start up, so you never notice it.

The recovery key is the backup way in. It is a 48-digit number, shown in eight groups of six digits. Windows asks for it when the TPM refuses to unlock the drive because something about the startup process has changed. Common triggers include:

• a BIOS or firmware update, or a change to BIOS settings,
• turning Secure Boot off or on, or clearing the TPM,
• changing the boot order, or starting from a USB drive,
• replacing a motherboard or moving the drive to another PC,
• several wrong PIN attempts on PCs set up with a BitLocker startup PIN.

Many people did not know BitLocker was on at all. Newer PCs often enable device encryption automatically when you sign in with a Microsoft account during setup, which is why this screen surprises so many owners.

Step 1: Write down the Key ID

Look at the recovery screen. It shows a Key ID (or recovery key ID), a string of letters and numbers. Write down the first 8 characters. If you have more than one PC or more than one encrypted drive, this is how you pick the right key from a list. On Windows 11 version 24H2 and later the screen may also show a hint of the Microsoft account the key was saved to, which tells you which account to check.

Step 2: Check your Microsoft account

For home users this is where the key is most often found.

1. On a phone, tablet or another computer, open a web browser and go to aka.ms/myrecoverykey (it opens the BitLocker recovery keys page of your Microsoft account).
2. Sign in with the Microsoft account you use on the locked PC. If you are not sure which one, try every address you might have used, including old Hotmail or Outlook.com addresses.
3. Find the entry whose Key ID matches the characters you wrote down.
4. Type the 48-digit recovery key on the blue screen and press Enter.

If somebody else set up the PC, such as a family member or the shop that sold it, the key may be in their Microsoft account. Ask them to check the same page. If you cannot sign in to your account, see how to reset a Microsoft account password first.

Step 3: Check a work or school account

If the computer was provided by an employer or school, or was ever signed in with a work or school account, the key may be stored by that organization.

1. From another device, go to aka.ms/aadrecoverykey and sign in with the work or school account.
2. Select Devices, open the device you need, and choose View BitLocker Keys.
3. Match the Key ID and type the key.

Many organizations hide this page from users. In that case, contact your IT department; they can look the key up.

Step 4: Check printouts, USB drives and saved files

When BitLocker is turned on manually, Windows offers to print the key, save it to a USB flash drive, or save it to a file. Look through:

• papers kept with the computer’s receipt or manual,
• any USB flash drive you used around the time you set up the PC (plug it into the locked PC, or read the text file on another computer),
• a file named something like “BitLocker Recovery Key” with the Key ID in the name, on another computer or in cloud storage.

Typing the key correctly

The key is numbers only. Type all 48 digits; the hyphens between groups are added automatically on most screens. The pre-boot recovery screen accepts the number keys or the function keys F1 to F10 (F10 stands for 0), which helps on laptops where the number pad does not respond at this stage. If the key is rejected, check that the Key ID matches exactly; a key for a different drive will never work.

BitLocker on external and second drives

The recovery key is not only for the main drive. If you encrypted a USB flash drive or a second internal drive with BitLocker To Go and protected it with a password, Windows asks for that password when you plug it in. If you forget the password, choose More options > Enter recovery key on the unlock prompt and use the recovery key saved when the drive was encrypted. It is stored the same way as above: in your Microsoft account, as a printout, or in a file. Each encrypted drive has its own key and Key ID, which is why matching the Key ID matters.

If your PC unlocks the system drive automatically but a data drive stays locked after a Windows reinstall, the data drive’s key is what you need, not the system drive’s key.

Why the screen keeps coming back

If Windows asks for the key every time you start up, the change that triggered it is still there. Undo it if you can: for example, return a BIOS setting you changed, unplug a USB drive you left connected, or turn Secure Boot back on. If a firmware update caused it, entering the key once and letting Windows start normally usually settles it. If the loop continues, you can temporarily suspend and then resume protection from Control Panel > BitLocker Drive Encryption (on editions that show it) after signing in, which lets BitLocker re-seal the key with the current settings.

If you cannot find the key

This is the hard truth: without the recovery key, the data on an encrypted drive cannot be read. Microsoft Support says it cannot retrieve, provide or recreate a lost key, and there is no back door.

Your remaining option is to reset the PC using the Windows recovery options, which erases the drive and reinstalls Windows. Anything that was not backed up elsewhere, for example in OneDrive or on an external drive, will be lost. Before you do that, check every possible Microsoft account one more time and ask anyone who might have set the PC up. Our guide to resetting Windows 11 explains the reset choices, and the 3-2-1 backup rule helps make sure this never costs you files again.

Beware of “BitLocker unlock” scams

Because a locked laptop is stressful, scammers advertise BitLocker unlocking services and fake support numbers. Nobody can bypass BitLocker without the key, so anyone who claims they can for a fee, or who asks for remote access to “recover” it, is not trustworthy. Read how to spot fake tech support calls if someone contacts you about it.

Back up your key now, while Windows works

If your PC is working today, take two minutes to make sure you will never be stuck:

1. Go to aka.ms/myrecoverykey and confirm your PC is listed.
2. On Windows 11 Pro, open Control Panel > System and Security > BitLocker Drive Encryption and choose Back up your recovery key; print it or save it to a USB drive.
3. On Windows 11 Home, check Settings > Privacy & security > Device encryption to see whether encryption is on, and confirm the key is in your Microsoft account.

Before updating the BIOS or changing startup settings, make sure you can see the key. If your PC is having other startup trouble, our guides to starting Windows 11 in Safe Mode and a computer that won’t turn on may help. You can browse more in the Windows section.