Unable to unlock Bitlocker external drive in W11 Enterprise (Drive created in W10 Enterprise).

Question

I am using the same pc which was a W10 enterprise and now upgraded (clean install) to W11 enterprise and I can no longer access my work files on my external HD on this PC. I get this message when I try to unlock the folder:
"The BitLocker encryption on this drive isn't compatible with your version of Windows. Try opening the drive using a newer version of Windows."

When I right-click the folder, there is an option to unlock, but when I go to unlock, I still get the same message. Any ideas how do I get access to my external drive?

My PC is a Ryzen 5 3600, with a B450m motherboard.

Answer 1

Hi. Thank you for your question and reaching out. I’d be more than happy to help you with your query

It sounds like you are having trouble unlocking a BitLocker-encrypted external drive in Windows 11 Enterprise. This kind of issue can occur if the BitLocker version on the drive was created using a different version of Windows. You may want to try unlocking the drive using the BitLocker recovery key or by using a compatible version of Windows. Additionally, you may want to try using the BitLocker repair tool to see if that helps. Finally, you may want to check the encryption settings on the drive to make sure they are set correctly.

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