How to Unlock BitLocker Drive without Password and Recovery Key?

Don’t worry, there are several methods to fix this. It can be annoying to be locked out of the encrypted drive and unable to access the important files stored in the drive. To regain access for your BitLocker encrypted drive, try on these methods:

Method 1: Find Your BitLocker Recovery Key from Microsoft Account

If you have linked your Microsoft account with your laptop when setting up BitLocker, there's a good chance that your BitLocker recovery key is stored in your Microsoft account online. This method is one of the easiest and most reliable ways to recover your Microsoft BitLocker recovery key. Here’s how you can find it:

Step 1 Log in to your Microsoft Account(https://account.microsoft.com) using the same Microsoft Account you used when setting up BitLocker.

Step 2 Once logged in, click on the Devices section in your account dashboard. This will display all the devices associated with your Microsoft Account. Go to the device that corresponds to your locked laptop, click on See details.

Step 3 Here, click on Manage recovery keys option under the BitLocker data protection. Then it may prompt a verification.

Step 4 After that, all your BitLocker recovery key should be displayed. Copy the 48-digit BitLocker recovery key specified with Key ID, and enter it when prompted to unlock the drive.

If you’ve saved the recovery key to your Microsoft account, this method will quickly resolve your issue without requiring you to search for other backups.

Method 2: Search for your BitLocker Recovery Key File in Your PC or USB Drive

If you did not save the recovery key to your Microsoft account, there’s still a chance that you stored it locally on your PC or an external USB drive when you first enabled BitLocker. Many users save the key as a text file or a document. Here's how to find your BitLocker recovery key:

Step 1 Open the File Explorer on your laptop and try searching for files using keywords like “BitLocker”, “recovery key”, or the specific Recovery Key ID in the search bar.

You can also get BitLocker Recovery Key ID from BitLocker recovery prompt.

Step 2 If you remember saving the recovery key on a USB drive, insert the USB into your laptop and search the drive in a similar manner.

If you cannot find the file or it has been renamed, try to remember any potential file names you might have used. In some cases, the file may have been moved or hidden accidentally.

Method 3: Brute force to crack your BitLocker Password

If you’ve exhausted all other options and still can’t find your BitLocker recovery key or remember the password, another method is to attempt a brute-force attack to crack BitLocker password for the Locked Drive.

Before start, you should know that brute-forcing a BitLocker password can take a significant amount of time, especially if the password is complex.

Step 1 Download iSunshare UBitkey and have it installed on your PC. This BitLocker password recovery tool can attempt to recover BitLocker Password using brute-force, mask, or dictionary methods.

Step 2 Launch the software, and go to Brute Force section if you don’t remember any of your password.

Step 3 Select the drive from the list, and then set possible characters and Start and End character, and the password length. If you’re unsure, just checked all possible character combinations and keep other settings default.

Step 4 Click on Start button to begin. This may take a long time, just wait for it.

Step 5 When it finished, a password windows will pop up. Copy it to unlock the drive. Or you can click on View records to view the password records.

Tips: The brute-force will systematically try every possible combination of characters to crack the password. While Dictionary uses a pre-built list of common passwords to try to match the correct password, which is faster than brute-force but relies on the password being relatively simple.

Conclusion

While brute-forcing a BitLocker password is technically possible, it’s not always practical due to time and resource constraints. For most users, locating the recovery key is the most straightforward and safest method.

Always consider storing your recovery key in multiple secure locations in the future to avoid these situations. If brute-forcing is the only remaining option, ensure that you be prepared for a lengthy process.