How to Turn Off BitLocker in Windows 11 and 10

What is BitLocker?

BitLocker is a Windows feature that encrypts entire drives. Without signing in or the recovery key, nobody can read the data, even if the SSD is pulled out of the computer. According to Microsoft, full BitLocker Drive Encryption is available in Windows Pro, Enterprise and Education.

Besides full BitLocker Drive Encryption, there is device encryption. According to Microsoft, it turns on BitLocker automatically for the operating system drive and fixed drives and is available on a wider range of devices, including Windows Home. If you sign in with a Microsoft account or a work or school account during setup, Microsoft says device encryption is turned on at first sign-in and a recovery key is attached to that account. With a local account, it is not turned on automatically.

How do I check if BitLocker is on?

The quickest way is the command manage-bde -status in a Command Prompt with administrator rights. It shows for each drive whether it is encrypted. In Control Panel, the BitLocker Drive Encryption page shows the status. For device encryption, check Settings.

How to do it:

1. Command Prompt: open Command Prompt as administrator and type manage-bde -status. Dell lists this command in its guide.
2. Control Panel: open "BitLocker Drive Encryption" in Control Panel. It shows whether BitLocker is on for each drive.
3. Device encryption: according to Microsoft, Settings has a "Device encryption" entry with a toggle under Privacy & security.

If the Device encryption entry is missing, Microsoft says your device may not support it, or you may be signed in with a standard account without administrator rights. Menu names can differ slightly between Windows versions.

How do I turn off BitLocker?

Open "BitLocker Drive Encryption" in Control Panel, click "Turn off BitLocker" next to the drive and confirm. Windows then decrypts the drive in the background. According to Dell, this takes 20 minutes to several hours, depending on drive size and computer speed.

The steps according to Dell's guide:

1. Start Windows and sign in with an administrator account.
2. Open BitLocker management: select "BitLocker Drive Encryption" in Control Panel.
3. Turn off BitLocker: click "Turn off BitLocker" for the drive.
4. Confirm: confirm the prompt.
5. Wait: let the computer finish decrypting. Dell says not to force a shutdown during decryption. Sleep or shutdown interrupts the process, and it resumes where it left off.

On Windows Home with device encryption, there is no Control Panel page. There you use the same toggle Microsoft describes for turning it on, under Privacy & security, Device encryption in Settings, and switch it to Off.

How do I turn off BitLocker with manage-bde?

With the command manage-bde -off followed by the drive letter, for example manage-bde -off C: for the system drive. According to Microsoft Learn, the command decrypts the drive and turns off BitLocker. All key protectors are removed when decryption is complete.

How to do it:

1. Open Command Prompt as administrator.
2. Type the command: manage-bde -off C: for drive C. Change the letter for another drive.
3. Check progress: manage-bde -status shows how far decryption has come.

Where do I find my BitLocker recovery key?

Usually in your Microsoft account. According to Microsoft, go to aka.ms/myrecoverykey on another device and sign in. The key is a 48-digit number. It can also be on a printout, on a USB flash drive, in a work or school account or with your IT department.

The possible places according to Microsoft:

Important: according to Microsoft, Microsoft Support cannot retrieve, provide or recreate a lost BitLocker recovery key. If the startup screen shows a key ID, match the first 8 digits with the ID in your account. Check that you can find the key before you turn anything off. Without it, you may lose access to your data after a problem.

When should I turn off or suspend BitLocker?

Turning it off makes sense if you want to use the drive without encryption for good, for example for some hardware changes or a change of operating system. Before a BIOS update, Dell says suspending is enough. Suspending does not decrypt anything, it only pauses protection.

Common situations at a glance:

Dell is clear about this: if BitLocker is active during a BIOS update, the keys stored in the TPM are lost and Windows asks for the recovery key on the next start. According to Dell, a suspended BitLocker stays suspended across reboots until you click "Resume protection". The guide BIOS update explains how to update the BIOS safely.

The guides clone a drive and install an SSD cover what to watch out for when cloning or installing a new SSD. If you plan to set up Windows from scratch anyway, see reinstall Windows 11.

How do I just suspend BitLocker?

In Control Panel under BitLocker Drive Encryption, click "Suspend protection" next to the drive. The data stays encrypted, but Windows does not ask for a key at startup. According to Dell, protection stays suspended until you choose "Resume protection".

Suspending is the quicker route before a BIOS or firmware update, because it does not decrypt anything. Remember to resume protection afterwards. While it is suspended, the data on the drive is not protected.

Does BitLocker slow down an SSD?

BitLocker encrypts either with the processor (software) or with the SSD's own encryption (hardware). Since the Windows update KB4516071 from September 2019, BitLocker uses software encryption by default for new encryptions on self-encrypting drives. ratioDB has not measured how much this slows an SSD in everyday use.

Background: according to Tom's Hardware, the KB4516071 notes said BitLocker now defaults to software encryption when encrypting a self-encrypting drive. Drives that are already encrypted keep their type. The change followed security flaws in the hardware encryption of some SSDs that researchers published in November 2018. To see how fast an SSD really is, use a tool like CrystalDiskMark. The guide SSD speed test explains how to run it and read the results.

How much does a new SSD cost right now?

If an SSD swap is coming up, the cheapest 1TB NVMe SSD from a well-known brand costs $146.99 on amazon.com right now (Adata Legend 710 1 TB). The TB index for NVMe SSDs is $133.85 per TB (as of Oct 30, 2026 at 9:17 AM UTC).

Cheapest new NVMe SSD per size on amazon.com (well-known brands), as of Oct 30, 2026 at 9:17 AM UTC

You can find all models under NVMe SSD prices per TB. For a USB flash drive to store your recovery key on, see USB flash drive prices per GB.

What happens to my data when I turn off BitLocker?

Nothing is lost. When you turn it off, Windows decrypts the drive, and all files stay where they are, just no longer encrypted. Anyone with access to the SSD can then read them. If you plan to pass a drive on, turning off BitLocker is not enough, erase it securely.

The guide wipe a drive explains how to securely erase an SSD or hard drive before selling it. For formatting and splitting a drive, see format a drive and partition a drive.

How does ratioDB compare SSDs?

ratioDB checks amazon.com prices for all listed SSDs and hard drives regularly and converts them to price per TB, with 1TB equal to 1,000,000,000,000 bytes. The TB index is the median of the 10 cheapest new offers in a form factor.

The table in this guide shows the cheapest new NVMe SSD from well-known brands for each size, single drives only. Used and refurbished offers are labeled and never count toward the index. ratioDB does not test drives or measure speeds. All rules are on the methodology page, and all SSDs are under SSD prices per TB.