Hi Carolyn Brennan,
I understand how frustrating this can be when you have to enter the BitLocker recovery key every time you start your Surface Pro 3.
To help narrow this down further, could you let me know:
- Does the device eventually boot into Windows after you enter the recovery key?
- Did the issue start after a Windows update, Surface firmware update, BIOS/UEFI change, or hardware change?
- Is BitLocker asking for the key on every startup, or only occasionally?
Based on your description, BitLocker may be detecting a change in the device's boot, TPM, or security configuration and is repeatedly entering recovery mode.
If you can successfully reach the Windows desktop after entering the recovery key, please try:
- Open “Control Panel” > “BitLocker Drive Encryption.”
- Next to your system drive, select “Suspend protection.”
- Restart the device once normally.
- Return to “BitLocker Drive Encryption” and select “Resume protection.”
You can also review Microsoft's guidance on BitLocker recovery here: Find your BitLocker recovery key
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