How to turn off BitLocker encryption in Windows 11?

There are several methods to disable BitLocker encryption. Disabling BitLocker will initiate the decryption process for the encrypted data. Once completed, your data will no longer be protected by BitLocker.

It's important to ensure that your computer won’t unexpectedly shut down during the decryption process to prevent potential disk damage and data loss.

1. BitLocker Drive Encryption Panel to Disable BitLocker

BitLocker Drive Encryption Panel utilizes graphical interface for users to manage BitLocker more effectively. It provides multiple options, including back up recovery key, change password, turn on auto-unlock, turn on/off BitLocker, and so on. Follow the guide to access to BitLocker Drive Encryption Panel.

Step 1 Press the Windows logo key on your keyboard, and choose settings.

Step 2 Navigate to Storage -> Advanced storage settings -> Disks & Volumes.

Step 3 Choose the encrypted drive, and click on "Properties" -> "Turn off BitLocker".

Step 5 In BitLocker Drive Encryption panel, click the "Turn off BitLocker" option next to the encrypted drive and confirm.

Step 6 It will pop up a BitLocker decryption progress bar and wait for it to reach 100%.

2. Turn off BitLocker via Command Prompt

Microsoft provides two BitLocker Tools, one is Manage-bde for BitLocker management, another is Repair-bde to repair inaccessible BitLocker drive. Next, I'll show you how to disable BitLocker using manage-bde.

Step 1 Type "cmd" in the windows search box, and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter key to run Command Prompt as Administrator.

Step 2 Type the following command to check all drive status:

Step 3 Turn off the specific BitLocker-encrypted drive:

Step 4 You need to frequently use "manage-bde -status" command to view decryption progress.

Step 5 To pause or resume the BitLocker decryption process:

Example is as follows, replace "d" with the letter "e":

3. Turn off BitLocker via PowerShell

Step 1 Press Win + X key, click on Windows PowerShell (Admin).

Step 2 Type and execute the following command:

To disable all BitLocker encrypted drives at once, execute the command below:

Step 3 To check if the command takes effect, pay attention to whether the protection status is off :

Get-BitLockerVolume is to get all the BitLocker volumes for the current computer.

4. Turn off BitLocker via Third-party software

Step 1 Download and run iSunshare BitLocker Genius.

Step 2 From all the disks that are automatically recognized, right-click the disk and click turn off BitLocker option.

Step 3 Wait for the decryption process to complete.

Tips: Use iSunshare BitLocker Genius to safeguard your sensitive information effectively.