How to Find BitLocker Recovery Key in Windows 10

BitLocker is a full-disk encryption tool available to Windows 10 Pro, Enterprise, and Education users. You can use it to lock the contents of your hard drive away from prying eyes , keeping it safe with virtually unbreakable mathematical security.

BitLocker secures your drives with a strong, unique password that acts as an encryption key. But what happens if you lose your BitLocker password? Will you lose your data forever?

Luckily, you can use a Bitlocker Recovery Key to unlock your drive again. Here's how to find your BitLocker recovery key on Windows 10 and your Microsoft account.

What is BitLocker Recovery Key?

BitLocker Recovery Key, also known as Microsoft recovery key or Windows recovery key, is a special key that is automatically generated when setting up BitLocker encryption on a specific drive.

BitLocker Recovery Key is stored in a .BEK file named BitLocker Recovery Key 444C8E16-45E7-4F23-96CE-3B3FA04D2189.BEK as shown below:

How to Find BitLocker Recovery Key in Windows 10
BitLocker Recovery Key

BitLocker recovery key format: 419595-387156-44334-315590-197472-399399-320562-361383.

BitLocker recovery key is used to unlock BitLocker encrypted drive when you forget BitLocker password or BitLocker password is not working.

Where and how to find BitLocker Recovery Key?

Microsoft's BitLocker drive encryption process always forces you to save your BitLocker recovery key when you set it up. You may have stored it online with your Microsoft account, saved it to a USB drive, saved it to a file, or printed it out, etc. So there are a few different ways you can find your recovery key.

How to find BitLocker recovery key? Refer to the following 6 ways:

Option 1: In your Microsoft account

To retrieve the recovery key stored online with your Microsoft account, visit: https://account.microsoft.com/devices/recoverykey ( Previously http://windows.microsoft.com/recoverykey ).

Sign in with your Microsoft account and then you will see the recovery key.

Option 2: Find the BitLocker recovery key on a USB

To find the BitLocker recovery key, plug that USB into your computer and view it.

How to Find BitLocker Recovery Key in Windows 10
Find BitLocker recovery key on USB

Option 3: Find BitLocker recovery key in txt file

The BitLocker Recovery Key may be saved as a txt file on your computer. If you haven't deleted it, search your computer for BitLocker Recovery Key.txt .

Find BitLocker recovery key in txt file

If you have deleted that BitLocker Recovery Key.txt file, download free data recovery software iBoysoft Data Recovery to scan your computer now to recover it.

Option 4: Find the BitLocker recovery key in the documentation

If you printed your BitLocker recovery key using "Microsoft Print to PDF", search for the pdf file on your computer.

How to Find BitLocker Recovery Key in Windows 10
Find the BitLocker recovery key in the document

If you can't find that pdf file by Windows search function, download free data recovery software iBoysoft Data Recovery to scan your computer now to get back lost pdf file.

Option 5: Find the BitLocker recovery key in Active Directory

If you are a domain user, the BitLocker recovery key may be saved in Active Directory (AD) , contact your admin to get it.

BitLocker Recovery Password Viewer can locate and view BitLocker recovery keys stored in Active Directory (AD).

Instructions for viewing BitLocker recovery keys in Active Directory:

  • In Active Directory Users and Computers , locate and then click the container that contains the computer. For example, click the Computers container.
  • Right-click the computer object, and then select Properties.
  • In the ComputerName Properties dialog box , click the BitLocker Recovery tab to view the BitLocker recovery keys associated with the specific computer.

Option 6: In your Azure Active Directory account

For a PC at work that you sign in to with an Azure Active Directory account, view the device information for your Microsoft Azure account and get a recovery key.

How to verify if the BitLocker recovery key is correct

To verify that the BitLocker recovery key is correct, compare the beginning of the full BitLocker recovery key identifier with the recovery key ID value. See the example below:

How to Find BitLocker Recovery Key in Windows 10
Compare keys

BitLocker Recovery Key ID is a code that identifies the BitLocker recovery key. If the BitLocker Recovery Key ID matches the ID displayed on your drive, you can unlock the drive.

If the BitLocker Recovery Key ID does not match the ID displayed on your drive, then the BitLocker recovery key does not match the drive and cannot unlock it. In that case, you need to find the correct BitLocker recovery key.

How to find the BitLocker Recovery Key ID value?

For BitLocker-encrypted operating system volumes, the BitLocker Recovery Key ID is displayed on the BitLocker recovery screen.

How to Find BitLocker Recovery Key in Windows 10
Find the BitLocker Recovery Key ID value

For BitLocker encrypted data drives, the BitLocker Recovery Key ID is displayed when the user clicks "More options" , then enters the recovery key in the wizard to unlock the BitLocker encrypted drive.

How to Find BitLocker Recovery Key in Windows 10
Enter recovery key

How to use BitLocker Recovery Key ID to unlock the drive

BitLocker Recovery Key ID is just a BitLocker recovery key identifier, it cannot unlock BitLocker encrypted drive. In this case, you still need to find BitLocker recovery key by key ID.

How to get BitLocker Recovery Key with key ID

If you can find the BitLocker recovery key txt file or have saved the BitLocker recovery key in your Microsoft, AD, or Azure AD account, you can find the correct BitLocker recovery key by key ID. Otherwise, there is no way to get the BitLocker recovery key.

Sign up and earn $1000 a day ⋙

Leave a Comment

How to safely delete sensitive files on Windows 11

How to safely delete sensitive files on Windows 11

When you tell Windows to delete a file, you usually want it gone forever. However, some data recovery applications and services can restore those files even if you think they've been completely deleted.

8 Ways to Fix Windows PIN Not Working in Windows 10/11

8 Ways to Fix Windows PIN Not Working in Windows 10/11

You may encounter an issue where Windows tells you your PIN is incorrect even though you entered it correctly.

Mozilla finds a new way to make itself the default browser of Windows 11

Mozilla finds a new way to make itself the default browser of Windows 11

Back in July 2024, Mozilla expressed its desire to extend Firefox support to Windows 7, 8, and 8.1, while other browsers like Chrome and Edge have abandoned versions of Microsoft's outdated operating system.

Microsoft still recommends 15-year-old backup solution for Windows 11 and 10 users

Microsoft still recommends 15-year-old backup solution for Windows 11 and 10 users

Modern versions of Windows still contain a lot of old code, and Microsoft generally tries to hide outdated parts, like the Control Panel, in favor of more modern components. However, there are some interesting exceptions.

What to do when Copilot is not found on Windows 11?

What to do when Copilot is not found on Windows 11?

According to Microsoft, Copilot is the future of Windows. But what if you want to try it but can't find Copilot? The following article will show you some tricks if Copilot doesn't appear on your Windows 11.

Using Disk Defragmenter in Windows

Using Disk Defragmenter in Windows

Over time, the files on your hard drive become fragmented and your computer slows down because it has to check multiple locations on the drive. To help your computer run more efficiently, you can use the built-in tools in Windows to defragment those files.

This hidden score tells you how well your Windows computer runs

This hidden score tells you how well your Windows computer runs

If you're wondering how well your Windows PC is performing, run the Windows Experience Index (WEI).

Microsoft Launches Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2024 With Broader Device Support and Big Changes

Microsoft Launches Windows 11 IoT Enterprise LTSC 2024 With Broader Device Support and Big Changes

Today, Microsoft officially launched another version of the Windows 11 operating system.

Top 5 Best Encryption Software 2025

Top 5 Best Encryption Software 2025

On your PC, a lot of your personal information can be accessed without permission. That's because Windows data is stored publicly on the drive and is not encrypted or protected by encryption software, so anyone can access your confidential and private information.

How to Install and Setup Android Studio in Windows

How to Install and Setup Android Studio in Windows

Android Studio is the official IDE (Integrated Development Environment) for Android app development and it is based on JetBrains' IntelliJ IDEA software. Android Studio offers many great features that help improve productivity when building Android apps.

Instructions for installing Windows 11, installing Windows 11 using ISO file

Instructions for installing Windows 11, installing Windows 11 using ISO file

Windows 11 is officially leaked and you can even install it right now.

How to enable or disable associated device names in Windows Share

How to enable or disable associated device names in Windows Share

Phone Link lets you access your mobile device from your PC instantly. And users have the option to enable or disable the display of linked device names in Windows Share.

How to Change Tab Color in Windows Terminal

How to Change Tab Color in Windows Terminal

Since Windows Terminal Preview version 1.23.10353.0, Microsoft has added color customization so you can change the color according to your needs.

How to open Control Panel on Windows 10, 8.1, 7

How to open Control Panel on Windows 10, 8.1, 7

Accessing the Control Panel will help you adjust many system settings, because the Control Panel in Windows is a collection of applets, which are like small programs, each of which is used to configure different aspects of the operating system.

How to set different wallpapers on each monitor Windows 10/11

How to set different wallpapers on each monitor Windows 10/11

Setting up multiple monitors on Windows is quite simple and only takes a few minutes to do. After setting up multi-monitor mode (multiple screens), you can set up separate wallpapers for each screen. To do this, please refer to the article below from WebTech360.