How to Turn Off BitLocker

This wikiHow teaches you how to turn off your Windows computer's BitLocker encryption. BitLocker is a feature that's built into most Windows 10 Pro, Education, and Enterprise editions, as well as some Windows 10 Home PCs. If you can't decrypt your hard drive in order to turn off BitLocker, you'll need to use your BitLocker recovery key to unlock the drive before you can turn off BitLocker.

Method 1
Method 1 of 3:

Using Windows Settings

  1. Image titled Turn Off BitLocker Step 1
    1
    Open Start
    Windows Start
    .     Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen. This will open the Start menu.
  2. Image titled Turn Off BitLocker Step 2
    2
    Open Settings
    Windows Settings
    .     Click the gear-shaped Settings icon in the lower-left corner of the Start menu. The Settings window will pop up.
    Advertisement
  3. Image titled Turn Off BitLocker Step 3
    3
    Click System. This monitor-shaped icon is near the top of the Settings window.
  4. Image titled Turn Off BitLocker Step 4
    4
    Click the Device encryption tab. It's on the left side of the System window.[1]
    • If you don't see a Device encryption tab here, try clicking About in the bottom-left corner and then look for a "Device encryption" heading. If that doesn't work, your computer doesn't have BitLocker.
  5. Image titled Turn Off BitLocker Step 5
    5
    Click Turn off. This button is in the middle of the page.
  6. Image titled Turn Off BitLocker Step 6
    6
    Click Turn off when prompted. Doing so causes BitLocker to begin decrypting your drive. This can take several hours to complete.
    • You may be asked to enter your Administrator password or PIN before BitLocker will begin turning off.
    7. Advertisement
Method 2
Method 2 of 3:

Using Control Panel

  1. Image titled Turn Off BitLocker Step 7
    1
    Open Start
    Windows Start
    .     Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen. The Start menu will pop up.
  2. Image titled Turn Off BitLocker Step 8
    2
    Search for BitLocker. Type in bitlocker to do so. A list of matching search results will appear in the Start menu.
    • On Windows 7, you must first click the search bar at the bottom of the Start menu.
  3. Image titled Turn Off BitLocker Step 9
    3
    Click Manage BitLocker. It should be at the top of the Start menu. Doing so opens the BitLocker Control Panel page.
  4. Image titled Turn Off BitLocker Step 10
    4
    Find the correct hard drive. Scroll down until you find the drive for which you want to disable BitLocker.
    • Skip this step if BitLocker is only encrypting one hard drive.
  5. Image titled Turn Off BitLocker Step 11
    5
    Click Turn Off BitLocker. It's a link below and to the right of the BitLocker heading.
  6. Image titled Turn Off BitLocker Step 12
    6
    Click Turn Off BitLocker when prompted. Doing so causes BitLocker to begin decrypting your drive. This can take several hours to complete.
    • You may be asked to enter your Administrator password or PIN before BitLocker will begin turning off.
    • On Windows 7, you'll click Decrypt Drive here.[2]
    7. Advertisement
Method 3
Method 3 of 3:

Unlocking BitLocker

  1. Image titled Turn Off BitLocker Step 13
    1
    Find your recovery key. When you set up BitLocker on your computer, you were given a 48-digit recovery key to use when you forget your BitLocker password. You'll need to find this key before you can unlock BitLocker:[3]
    • If you printed out your recovery key, look for it in any location in which you keep important documents.
    • If you saved your recovery key as a text file on a USB drive, plug the USB drive into a different Windows computer to open the text file and view the key.
    • If your system administrator or IT professional set up BitLocker for you, contact them for specific instructions on getting back your key.
  2. Image titled Turn Off BitLocker Step 14
    2
    Start your computer if necessary. If your computer isn't already turned on to the BitLocker screen, turn on your computer.
    • If your computer is turned on to the BitLocker screen, skip this step and the next one.
  3. Image titled Turn Off BitLocker Step 15
    3
    Wait for the BitLocker screen to load. It can take several minutes for the BitLocker login screen to open.
  4. Image titled Turn Off BitLocker Step 16
    4
    Press Esc. Doing so indicates that you want to enter the recovery key instead of your BitLocker password.[4]
  5. Image titled Turn Off BitLocker Step 17
    5
    Enter your BitLocker recovery key. Type the 48-digit recovery key into the provided text box at the top of the screen.
  6. Image titled Turn Off BitLocker Step 18
    6
    Press ↵ Enter. This will submit your key.
  7. Image titled Turn Off BitLocker Step 19
    7
    Follow the on-screen prompts. Depending on your computer, you may have additional options after submitting your key. Once you've navigated through any extra prompts, you're free to turn off BitLocker from within Settings.
    8. Advertisement

Community Q&A

  • Question
    What if this device can't use a Trusted Platform Module?
    Aasim
    Aasim
    Top Answerer
    If your device does not have a TPM, you still can use BitLocker. It is just not possible to use Trusted Boot, meaning the TPM verifies the boot loader before booting. Secure Boot still works, but it is not as good as Trusted Boot.
Advertisement

Warnings

  • BitLocker is not available for Windows 10 Home edition users, and some Windows 10 computers may not have the proper hardware settings enabled to support BitLocker in the first place.
    ⧼thumbs_response⧽
Advertisement

You Might Also Like

Recover BitLocker
How to
Recover BitLocker
Take a Screenshot in Microsoft WindowsHow to Take a Screenshot on a Windows PC: 8 Simple Tricks
Enter BIOS
How to
Enter BIOS
Install FFmpeg on Windows
How to
Install FFmpeg on Windows
Install Software Without Admin Privileges on Windows
How to
Install Software Without Admin Privileges on Windows
Run C Program in Command Prompt
How to
Run C Program in Command Prompt
Manually Reset Your Wireless Adapter in Windows4 Easy Ways to Manually Reset the Wi-Fi Adapter in Windows
Zoom Out on a PC
How to
Zoom Out on a PC
Turn Off S Mode in Windows 11
How to
Turn Off S Mode in Windows 11
Install Windows from Ubuntu
How to
Install Windows from Ubuntu
Check Your Windows Version
How to
Check Your Windows Version
Check Mouse Sensitivity (Dpi) on PC or Mac
How to
Check Mouse Sensitivity (Dpi) on PC or Mac
Resolve No Sound on Windows Computer
How to
Resolve No Sound on Windows Computer
Fix a Windows Computer that Hangs or FreezesHow to Stop Windows from Freezing: Easy Troubleshooting Guide
Advertisement

References

  1. ↑ https://windowsreport.com/disable-bitlocker-windows-8/
  2. ↑ https://uit.stanford.edu/service/encryption/wholedisk/bitlocker
  3. ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4026181/windows-10-find-my-bitlocker-recovery-key
  4. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZlGZLDWnIQ

About This Article

Jack Lloyd
Written by:
Jack Lloyd
wikiHow Technology Writer
This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Jack Lloyd. Jack Lloyd is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. He has over two years of experience writing and editing technology-related articles. He is technology enthusiast and an English teacher. This article has been viewed 242,803 times.
How helpful is this?
Co-authors: 13
Updated: November 26, 2022
Views: 242,803
Categories: Windows
Article SummaryX

1. Open your PC's Settings.
2. Click System.
3. Click the Device encryption tab.
4. Click Turn off, then click Turn off when prompted.

Did this summary help you?
Advertisement