6 Ways to Recover Forgotten BitLocker Password

Overview of BitLocker Encryption and Recovery Key

BitLocker is a built-in encryption feature in Windows operating systems to protect your data from unauthorized access by encrypting the entire drive, making it unreadable without the proper credentials. This is especially useful for protecting sensitive information or against malware attacking your system’s firmware.

Here are some of the system requirements for using it, make sure your system meets them:

1️⃣ A supported Windows OS:

• Windows Vista and Windows 7 Ultimate and Enterprise editions;
• Windows 8 and 8.1 Pro and Enterprise editions;
• Windows 10 and 11 Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions;
• Windows Server 2008 and later;

2️⃣ You have a drive with at least two partitions and the drive must be formatted with the NTFS file system.

3️⃣ TPM (Trusted Platform Module) chip:

It will run authentication checks against your system’s software, hardware, and firmware and boot in restricted mode when detecting unauthorized changes to thwart possible attackers.

While not strictly necessary, having a TPM chip enhances security and simplifies the setup process. You can also use Bitlocker in software mode even if your computer does not have a TPM. For more information, check out the Microsoft support page.

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How to Recover Forgotten BitLocker Password Effectively

Now that we're ready, let's dive into how to recover forgotten BitLocker passwords. Here are 6 methods at your disposal, including a powerful data recovery tool - MyRecover to retrieve data from encrypted drive.

#Way  1: Try Your Usual Passwords

While encrypting a drive, you are asked to create unique, strong passwords, with a combination of alphanumeric and special characters, and you are likely to use familiar passwords, including a Microsoft account password, Google login password, email password, etc. You can try these usual methods one by one to attempt to decrypt the Bitlocker drive.

#Way  2: Find the Bilocker Recovery Key

If you saved a Bitlocker password or recovery key during setup, you can try to find it in your Microsoft account, or other locations, such as a USB drive, or the printed documents, and decrypt your drive quickly.

To check your Microsoft account, you can log into your account on another machine, click Device and choose the encrypted device, click Info & support > Manage recovery keys. 

In addition, the BitLocker password can be stored in a BEK file named BitLocker Recovery Key on your local computer. You can press the ”Win + E” keys to open File Explorer and search the*.bek in in the address bar. Then, wait for the process to complete and check the search results to see if the recovery key is found.

#Way 3: Recover Lost Bitlocker Recovery Key using Software

If you have saved the recovery key before, whether it’s on your computer or a USB drive, you can try to recover deleted or lost Bitlocker recovery key using MyRecover, which is one of the best Windows data recovery software. After unlocking, you still can use it to recover data from a Bitlocker-encrypted hard disk.

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Why Choose MyRecover?

• Apply to: recover deleted txt/docx/xls documents, x3f/heif/jpg images, avi/mp4/mpg videos, etc., over 1000 file formats.
• With a user-friendly and easy-to-navigate interface.
• It has a free version that recovers up to 500MB data.
• Top algorithms - finds deleted or lost files effectively, even the Bitlocker recovery key.
• Fast recovery - filter files quickly through types, file names, extensions, etc., and preview, then recover specific files or folders while scanning.
• Support NTFS, FAT32, exFAT, and ReFS file systems.
• Powerful data processing - retrieve files lost in any scenario, such as accidental deletion, formatting, virus infection, corrupted disk, etc.
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Now, download MyRecover to get started.

Step 1: Select the drive containing the recovery key.

Open MyRecover. Select the drive containing the Bitlocker recovery key and click Scan. It will run Quick Scan & Deep Scan automatically to find all recoverable files including the recovery key. This scanning time depends on data amount, disk type, and size.

Step 2: Filter and preview text files.

During scanning, click the Filter button to specify the data type (e.g. Documents) and then search or filter file name or extension (.txt, .bek) to locate and recover the Bitlocker recovery key. Once found, double-click them to preview and confirm. Or wait until the process is complete to see all the scanned results.

Step 3: Recover forgotten Bitlocker recovery key.

Select the deleted or lost Bitlocker recovery key and click the Recover button to save it. Avoid saving them back to the original drive to prevent data overwriting or file corruption.

In addition, you still can use it to recover deleted files from Windows Server 2016, 2019, 2022, etc.

#Way 4: Use Bitlocker Encryption Options

If you can’t find the Bitlocker password or recovery key, try to use the BitLocker Encryption options. Here’s how:

Step 1. Go to Control Panel and select System and Security > BitLocker Drive Encryption.

Step 2. Then, click the Unlock Drive option and I cannot remember my password.

Step 3. This displays the recovery key ID. You can ask an administrator to unlock the BitLocker encrypted drive.

#Way 5: Force decrypt BitLocker drive

You can also try to use CMD to force the recovery of Bitlocker passwords for both local and remote computers.

On the local computer:

Step 1. Type cmd in the search box and select Run as administrator. Then, click Yes when prompted.

Step 2. In the command prompt window, type manage-bde -forcerecovery [Volume] and press Enter. Replace the [Volume] with your encrypted drive.

On the remote computer:

For domain administrators, you can perform a force recovery on a remote PC.

Step 1. Open cmd as administrator.

Step 2. Type manage-bde -ComputerName [ComputerName] -force recovery [Volume] in the command prompt window. Then press Enter to execute.

#Way 6: Try Professional Data Recovery Services

If the above methods don’t work, consider turning to professional data recovery services. Please note that this only applies if the Bitlocker password is not lost but the device is unresponsive.

First, you need to do an in-depth search to find a reputable service. Then, request a quote and learn about the process. If you’re comfortable, send the Bitlocker encrypted drive in for evaluation and recovery.

How to Reset the Bitlocker Password and Recovery Key

In Windows 10 or 11, you can easily reset the Bitlocker password and recovery key, either in File Explorer or using the command prompt.

In File Explorer:

Step 1. Press the” Win + E” keys to access File Explorer. Then, right-click the BitLocker encrypted drive and select Change BitLocker PIN.

Step 2. In the pop-up window, click on the Reset a forgotten PIN link. It allows you to set up a new password without typing in the old one.

In the CMD window:

Step 1. Open CMD with admin priority.

Step 2. To change the current Bilocker PIN, type the manage-bde -changepin C: command. Replace C: with your encrypted drive. Then, type the new PIN when prompted. 

Step 3. To change the BitLocker Password, type the manage-bde -changepassword C: command.

Besides, reliable BitLocker password cracking tools like BitCracke, Passware Kit, and Thegrideon Software can also help to reset the BitLocker password.

Conclusion

This article describes 6 simple and effective ways to recover forgotten Bitlocker recovery key and walks you through every step. It even works if the recovery key is deleted. You can now seek help from reliable data recovery software like MyRecover. For a severe case, it’s best to consult with a service.

Don’t forget to save two or more copies of the recovery key in case you forget or lose it. You can also directly backup files to external hard drive, network drive, cloud drive, etc., to protect your data safely.