In this article, we'll walk you through how to turn off BitLocker encryption on a Windows computer. BitLocker is a feature built into Windows 10 Professional, Academic, and Enterprise. If you are unable to decrypt the hard drive to disable BitLocker, use the BitLocker recovery key to unlock the drive and disable BitLocker.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Using Windows Settings
Step 1. Open the Start Menu
Click on the Windows logo in the lower left corner of the screen.
Step 2. Click "Options"
It's a gear-shaped icon in the lower-left corner of the Start menu. The settings window will open.
Step 3. Click on System
This monitor-shaped icon is at the top of the preferences window.
Step 4. Click the Encryption tab
It's on the left side of the System window.
If the Encryption tab is not active, click About System in the lower left corner, and then look for the Encryption heading. If that didn't work, the computer doesn't have BitLocker
Step 5. Click Disable
This button is in the middle of the page.
Step 6. Click Disable when prompted
BitLocker will begin decrypting the drive. This may take several hours.
You may need to enter your administrator password or PIN first
Method 2 of 3: Using the control panel
Step 1. Open the Start Menu
Click on the Windows logo in the lower left corner of the screen.
- In Windows 7, click on the multicolored icon
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Step 2. Find BitLocker
Enter bitlocker in the start menu. A list of search results will be displayed.
In Windows 7, first click on the search bar at the bottom of the Start menu
Step 3. Click Manage BitLocker
It's near the top of the Start menu. The BitLocker Control Panel page opens.
Step 4. Find the required hard drive
Scroll down and find the drive where BitLocker will be disabled.
Skip this step if BitLocker only encrypts one hard drive
Step 5. Click Disable BitLocker
It's a link below and to the right of the BitLocker heading.
Step 6. Click Disable BitLocker when prompted
BitLocker will begin decrypting the drive. This may take several hours.
- You may need to enter your administrator password or PIN first.
- In Windows 7, click Decrypt Disk.
Method 3 of 3: How to unlock BitLocker
Step 1. Find your recovery key
When you installed BitLocker, you were provided with a 48-character recovery key in case you forget your BitLocker password. Find this key to unlock BitLocker:
- If you printed out the recovery key, look for it in the place where important documents are stored.
- If you saved the recovery key as a text file on a USB drive, connect the USB drive to another Windows computer to open the text file and view the key.
- If your system administrator or IT professional has configured BitLocker on your computer, contact them for a recovery key.
Step 2. Turn on your computer
Do this if the BitLocker logon screen is not displayed.
If the BitLocker logon screen is already displayed, skip this step and the next
Step 3. Wait for the BitLocker logon screen to load
This may take several minutes.
Step 4. Press Esc
This means that you want to enter your recovery key instead of your BitLocker password.
Step 5. Enter your BitLocker recovery key
Enter the 48-digit recovery key in the text box at the top of the screen.
Step 6. Press ↵ Enter
The key will be entered.
Step 7. Follow the instructions on the screen
Depending on your computer model, additional options may appear on the screen when you enter the key. When you have followed all the instructions, disable BitLocker through system settings.