I had a laptop come back from a ex employee, I wiped the device to factory default, now it is asking for a recovery key, not sure where to find

Question

I had a laptop come back from a ex employee, I wiped the device to factory default, now it is asking for a recovery key, not sure where to find

Answer 1

Hello Venkat!

The recovery key is a unique 48-digit code that is generated when BitLocker is enabled on a device. If you don't have the recovery key, the recovery key is saved on the Microsoft account signed-in on the Surface device. To find the recovery key, go to the Microsoft account website and sign in with the account. Then, go to the Devices section and look for the device in question. If the recovery key is saved, it will be displayed there.

Please let us know with how it goes.

Regards,

RodelioP.

Answer 2

Hi Venkat,

The recovery key is not needed if the drive was wiped. I suspect it wasn't. Try using the Secure Data Eraser to fully wipe the drive. More at Microsoft Surface Data Eraser (Surface) - Surface | Microsoft Learn

Then you can download and install a factory recovery image from Surface Recovery Image Download - Microsoft Support

Hope this helps,

Greg

Answer 3

Thank you for the reply, I did find the key, even I enter the key, it is reporting something wrong, so I would need steps to recover to factory default.

would you please send me a link to this process
thanks

Answer 4

Hi Venkat,

You can find detailed steps and a video at Creating and using a USB recovery drive for Surface - Microsoft Support

Hope this helps,

Greg

Answer 5

Hi Venkat!

Thanks for getting back to us!

Thank you for sharing your ideas on this Greg. Please see through this link Creating and using a USB recovery drive for Surface - Microsoft Support. with how to proceed in performing a recovery image reset.

Let us know how it goes!

Regards,

RodelioP.