I find that there’s BitLocker Device Encryption on my Windows 11 laptop. I want to use it to secure my data and know how to manage it easily. I also wonder how Device Encryption affects my Drives and Data. Any help is appreciated.
Device Encryption is just a lite BitLocker, specially designed for Windows 11 Home users. Thus, Device Encryption and BitLocker are different in many aspects.
First of all, to use BitLocker Device Encryption, your laptop must be equipped with UEFI firmware and TPM 2.0.
Besides, for Windows 11 23H2, it also requires HSTI and Modern Standby, while in Windows 24H2, Microsoft has looser restrictions, to realize automatic BitLocker Device.
To check if your PC supports Device Encryption, follow these steps:
Step 1 Type System Information in the Windows Search box, and then click on Run as administrator.
Step 2 In System Summary section, scroll down from the right pane, and locate “Device Encryption Support” option.
Step 3 Here will tell you whether your PC support Device Encryption, and list the reasons why your PC doesn’t support.
After checked, if your PC meets the Device Encryption requirement, then you can easily access it in settings:
Step 1 Press Win + i to open Windows settings, then click to open Privacy & security.
Step 2 Then you can find Device Encryption option here. Enter into it, and toggle it on to enable Device Encryption.
Step 3 It need you to Sign in with your Microsoft Account to finish encrypting.
Step 4 After sign in, the BitLocker Recovery Key will be saved to your Microsoft Account Automatically.
Click on Find your BitLocker Recovery Key to verify if it has been saved.
You should know that if you haven’t signed in, then your drives will remain encrypted, but the BitLocker Protection is still in off status.
Step 1 Just toggle the option to off. And confirm to Turn off when a prompt window pops up.
Step 2 Wait the decryption process to complete, then the switch will turn to grey.
Step 1 Open an Elevated Command prompt, and then execute the command below:
manage-bde -status
Step 2 To check specific drive status:
manage-bde -status c:
If your PC doesn’t support both BitLocker Drive Encryption and Device Encryption, you can still access BitLocker Encrypted Drives, and unlock it with BitLocker password to access its contents.
However, to disable BitLocker for the drive, you need extra tools to help:
Step 1 Download iSunshare BitLocker Genius, install and launch it.
Step 2 Choose the locked drive to decrypt, and right-click on it, select “Turn off BitLocker”.
Step 3 Enter the BitLocker Password or Recovery Key, and tap on Decrypt button to disable BitLocker for drive Directly.
Tips: BitLocker Genius for Windows helps us Open & read & write BitLocker encrypted drive on Windows computer.
Easy BitLocker Encryption Management
iSunshare BitLocker Genius for Windows enables you to access BitLocker in Windows 11 Home.
Free DownloadSupport Windows 11/10/8/7
Of course you can. Since Windows 11 24H2, the full-disk Drive Encryption will be enabled by default, whether you’re in Home or Pro Edition.
Lydia
BitLocker is a powerful encryption tool built into Windows, designed to protect your data by encrypting your entire drive.
Benjamin
The error code 0x8031004A when backing up files indicates that there’s something wrong with your device, you can change another drive for file backup.
Lydia
Hmm, I had the same issue before. After researching, I learned that Device encryption does not support all devices.
Benjamin
