Where to find recovery key

Hi Elizabeth,

If your new laptop is asking for a recovery key, this means BitLocker device encryption has been triggered. This can happen automatically after updates, hardware changes, or reset attempts.

To retrieve your recovery key, please check the following:

1️⃣ Microsoft Account (Most Common Case) On another device, go to: https://account.microsoft.com/devices/recoverykey

Sign in using the same Microsoft account that was used to set up the laptop.

If BitLocker was enabled automatically during setup, the key is usually saved there.

2️⃣ Work or School Account If this device was set up with a work or school email, the recovery key may be stored in your organization’s Azure AD. You would need to contact your IT administrator.

3️⃣ Printed or Saved Copy Some users choose to:

Print the key

Save it to a USB drive

Save it to a file

Check if you did this during setup.

⚠️ Important: If the recovery key cannot be found, the only option will be to reset the device and remove all data. There is no way to bypass BitLocker encryption without the recovery key.

Let us know what happens after checking your Microsoft account.

Hi Elizabeth,

Was the laptop used by someone i.e. was it refurbished?

On the screen, you are asked for the BitLocker key. You might get a partial email that has the key.

If you had your account setup, you can go to https://aka.ms/myrecoverykey page to get the key.

I’m eager to hear back and work together to find a solution.