Device Encryption prevents unauthorized individuals from accessing your device and data.
Your computer might support BitLocker Drive Encryption (in English) or Device Encryption (in English). You can verify whether your device supports standard BitLocker encryption or Device Encryption.
Be sure to save your recovery key, because it might be required after certain actions, such as a BIOS update. There are multiple ways to attempt to retrieve your recovery key, if necessary.
BitLocker Drive Encryption, also known as standard BitLocker encryption, is available on supported devices running the Windows 11 and 10 Pro, Enterprise, or Education operating systems.
BitLocker Drive Encryption is not available on devices running the Windows 11 and Windows 10 Home operating systems.
If your device uses BitLocker Drive Encryption to encrypt your data, you must activate BitLocker.
During the activation process, you can select where to store the recovery key. This manual recovery key backup process is initiated when BitLocker is turned on.
Device Encryption is a feature-limited version of BitLocker that encrypts the entire system. Device Encryption is also known as BitLocker Device Encryption or BitLocker Automatic Device Encryption.
Windows automatically enables Device Encryption on devices that support Modern Standby (in English). Microsoft offers Device Encryption support on a broad range of devices, including devices that run Windows 11 and 10 Home edition. See Overview of BitLocker Device Encryption in Windows.
Device Encryption is enabled automatically when you either sign into your device with a Microsoft account or join with a corporate domain account. The recovery key is uploaded to the Microsoft account or the corporate domain automatically.
You can enable BitLocker Drive Encryption or Device Encryption using the following procedures.
Computers encrypted with BitLocker Drive Encryption or Device Encryption might require the entry of a recovery key after one of the following events:
BIOS update
Microsoft Push Button reset
Disabling Secure Boot or Trusted Platform Module (TPM)
Hardware changes such as adding or removing video or network card
For more examples, go to the BitLocker recovery guide (in English).
Normally, you back up your recovery key when BitLocker is enabled. If you enable BitLocker Drive Encryption, you must manually select where to store the recovery key during the activation process. If you enable Device Encryption using a Microsoft account, the encryption starts automatically and the recovery key is backed up to your Microsoft account.
Retrieve, and then enter the recovery key to use your computer again.