Bitlocker recovery key

Question

I need a bitlocker recovery key but there is not one under my account, what do I do or how can I get one?

Answer 1

If there is no BitLocker recovery key listed under your Microsoft account, it means the key was either saved somewhere else or was never backed up to that account. BitLocker does not generate a new recovery key for an already-encrypted drive, and there is no way to bypass or reconstruct the key. The recovery key must have been saved at the time encryption was set up.

First, check all possible places the key might have been saved. When BitLocker is enabled, Windows prompts you to save the key to a Microsoft account, a USB drive, a file on another drive, print it, or (on work or school devices) store it in Entra ID or Active Directory. If this is a work or school computer, contact your IT department because the key is often stored in your organization’s directory service. If the device was previously managed, even temporarily, the key may be tied to that organization’s account rather than your personal one.

If you saved it to a file, search any external drives, USB sticks, or cloud storage for a text file named something like “BitLocker Recovery Key” followed by the Key ID. If you printed it, check any physical paperwork from when you set up the PC. If someone else set up the device, ask them whether they saved the key.

For more details, refer to https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/find-your-bitlocker-recovery-key-6b71ad27-0b89-ea08-f143-056f5ab347d6

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hth

Marcin