bitblocker for older surface

Question

Dear management i tried to find a bitblocker for my older Surface Pro patop bought in 2015 but i can not retieve it in my Microsoft account

Please help me so i still can use my old Surface as a tablet

Regards

Otto Kloosterman

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Answer 1

On another device open a browser and go to https://account.microsoft.com/devices/recoverykey, then log in with the same Microsoft account you used when you set up the Surface.

The page will list all BitLocker recovery keys backed up to that account. Compare the first 8 digits of the Recovery Key ID shown on the blue BitLocker screen of your Surface with the Key IDs listed on the web page. When one matches, use the corresponding 48-digit recovery key to unlock the device.

If it's not there You may have set up the Surface with a different Microsoft account (an old email, for example). Try signing in with any other accounts you may have had.

If the key truly cannot be found, you can reset the Surface using Microsoft's official recovery image. You can find the Surface recovery images at: https://support.microsoft.com/surface-recovery-image

Answer 2

BitLocker recovery keys are not stored by Microsoft automatically; they are only available in specific locations that were configured when BitLocker was turned on.

To try to find the BitLocker recovery key for the older Surface Pro:

1. Check the Microsoft account used on the device
   • Sign in to the Microsoft account that was used on the Surface Pro and go to the BitLocker recovery key page: https://account.microsoft.com/devices/recoverykey
   • If the key was backed up to that account, it will appear there.
2. Check other common locations listed in the official guidance
   • Follow the steps in this article to look for the key in all possible places (printed copy, USB drive, another account, work/school account, Azure AD, etc.):
     • https://support.microsoft.com/windows/find-your-bitlocker-recovery-key-6b71ad27-0b89-ea08-f143-056f5ab347d6

If the recovery key cannot be found in any of the locations described in the article, the key cannot be retrieved by anyone, including Microsoft support. BitLocker is designed so that without the recovery key, the encrypted data cannot be unlocked.

In that case, the only way to use the Surface again is to reset/reinstall Windows on the device, which will erase all data on the drive. For Surface devices, this is typically done using a Surface recovery image:

• https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/surface-recovery-image

If data on the device is critical and the key cannot be found, professional data recovery will not be able to bypass BitLocker encryption without the key.

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References:

• Surface help & learning
• Surface Pro help & learning
• Surface Pro 3 blocked - Microsoft Q&A
• Request for Assistance with BitLocker Recovery – Surface Pro 2 - Microsoft Q&A
• I WANT TO FIND MY BITLOCKER RECOVERY KEY FOR MY COMPUTER - Microsoft Q&A