# Recovering a Bitlocker key **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 13, 2022, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recovering-a-bitlocker-key/960971 "2022-03-13T06:00:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Wolf333](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf333/32/3460_2.png) [@Wolf333](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolf333)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2022, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recovering-a-bitlocker-key/960971/21 "2022-03-14T15:06:36Z")
This link should take you to any stored keys. [https://account.microsoft.com/devices/recoverykey?refd=support.microsoft.com](https://account.microsoft.com/devices/recoverykey?refd=support.microsoft.com) ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2022, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recovering-a-bitlocker-key/960971/22 "2022-03-14T15:17:55Z")
The response there is _You don’t have any BitLocker recovery keys uploaded to your Microsoft account._ Clicking on _Not finding the key you need still? [Learn more](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/17133/windows-8-bitlocker-recovery-keys-frequently-asked-questions)_ takes me to the page I was looking at yesterday with a bunch of useless suggestions, _In your Microsoft account_, _On a printout you saved_, _On a USB flash drive_, _In an Azure Active Directory account_, and _Held by your system administrator_. The rest is _Help with your Microsoft Account_ none of which look useful for recovering the key. ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2022, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recovering-a-bitlocker-key/960971/23 "2022-03-14T17:34:28Z")
That is going away in Windows 11, although I believe it is still enabled. ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2022, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recovering-a-bitlocker-key/960971/24 "2022-03-14T17:39:29Z")
> [@Wolf333](#): > > The yellow warning icon is removed after the TPM protector is created and the recovery key is backed up, as explained in the following bullet points. But OP claims they didn’t back up the key, do it shouldn’t have been activated. ---
**Author:** ![Wolf333](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf333/32/3460_2.png) [@Wolf333](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolf333)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2022, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recovering-a-bitlocker-key/960971/25 "2022-03-14T20:32:23Z")
On newer devices that meet certain requirements, BitLocker (aka device encryption on Windows 10/11 Home devices) is enabled and the key is backed up automatically. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2022, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recovering-a-bitlocker-key/960971/26 "2022-03-14T21:10:57Z")
Apparently to a well hidden location. ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recovering-a-bitlocker-key/960971/27 "2022-03-15T01:56:05Z")
Look for Dick Cheney to see if it is an undisclosed location. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recovering-a-bitlocker-key/960971/28 "2022-03-15T07:13:20Z")
I’d rather lose the data. Good news: The tech was able to bring the CPU to life long enough to get the key and is in the process of getting the data off of the disk. Apparently it’s a slow process as it’s going to be overnight. Not so good news: The replacement was DOA so back to CostCo for a swap. I haven’t unboxed it yet. According to the label it’s Win 11-S which, from what I’ve found out means it can load only software from the MS store _and_ Edge is the default browser. Fuck that. The worse news: The car is in the shop for making a weird noise. This has not been my weekend. ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recovering-a-bitlocker-key/960971/29 "2022-03-15T10:13:32Z")
Brilliant. 🙂 Seriously, in the grand scheme of things, you are well ahead. People underestimate the pain of data loss until it hits them. Most things can be fixed or replaced. Data can’t. ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recovering-a-bitlocker-key/960971/30 "2022-03-15T10:57:57Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > According to the label it’s Win 11-S which, from what I’ve found out means it can load only software from the MS store _and_ Edge is the default browser. Fuck that. Good news that they could get your data. Backup, backup, backup! S mode can be turned off in a few clicks at no cost. [https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/switching-out-of-s-mode-in-windows-4f56d9be-99ec-6983-119f-031bfb28a307](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/switching-out-of-s-mode-in-windows-4f56d9be-99ec-6983-119f-031bfb28a307) ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2022, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recovering-a-bitlocker-key/960971/31 "2022-03-15T14:51:48Z")
Yeah, with the stern warning you can’t ever turn it back on again. Gosh ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2022, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recovering-a-bitlocker-key/960971/32 "2022-03-16T01:39:36Z")
So, I’ve set up the new laptop. At no time did it tell me that the drive was encrypted – I had to look for it in Settings. There was no popup suggestion to back up the key, just a link in tiny type way down at the bottom of the page. You betcha I did and I will be checking the two desktops as well. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recovering-a-bitlocker-key/960971.md?page=1)