How to Turn Off BitLocker in Windows 11

If you want to know how to turn off BitLocker in Windows 11, the quickest route is Control Panel → System and Security → BitLocker Drive Encryption → Turn off BitLocker on Pro, or Settings → Privacy & security → Device encryption on Home. Windows then decrypts the drive in the background while you keep working. You need an administrator account and, if the drive is locked, its recovery key.

Before you start, decide whether you really need to decrypt. For a BIOS update or hardware change, suspending BitLocker is usually the better choice, and it's covered below.

Should You Turn Off BitLocker or Just Suspend It?

Suspend BitLocker when you're about to update firmware or change hardware; turn it off only when you want the drive permanently unencrypted. The two options do very different things:

Here's the cause and effect behind the recommendation. BitLocker relies on the TPM, a security chip that releases the encryption key only when the startup measurements match what it recorded. A firmware update changes those measurements, so the TPM withholds the key and Windows asks for the recovery key. Suspending protection skips that check for a set number of restarts, so the update goes through without a recovery prompt, and your data never sits fully unencrypted on disk. If you're not sure which encryption you have, our guide to BitLocker on Windows 11 Home vs Pro explains the difference.

How to Turn Off BitLocker in Windows 11 Pro?

On Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise or Education, turn off BitLocker from the BitLocker Drive Encryption panel in Control Panel.

1. Sign in with an administrator account.
2. Click Start, type Manage BitLocker, and open it. This opens Control Panel → System and Security → BitLocker Drive Encryption.
3. Find the drive you want to decrypt. If it shows as locked, select Unlock drive and enter its password or recovery key first.
4. Select Turn off BitLocker next to the drive.
5. Confirm by selecting Turn off BitLocker again in the dialog.
6. Leave the PC on and plugged in while decryption runs. The panel shows decryption in progress, and the drive is listed as BitLocker off once it finishes.

You can use the PC normally while decryption runs in the background.

How Do I Turn Off Device Encryption on Windows 11 Home?

Windows 11 Home has no BitLocker panel, so you turn off device encryption in Settings instead.

1. Open Settings → Privacy & security → Device encryption.
2. Switch Device encryption to Off.
3. Select Turn off to confirm.
4. Keep the PC powered on until the page shows encryption is off.

If you don't see a Device encryption page, your PC either doesn't support it or isn't encrypted by it. Run manage-bde -status from an administrator terminal to confirm the drive's state.

How Do I Turn Off BitLocker with Command Prompt or PowerShell?

You can turn off BitLocker from an elevated command line with manage-bde -off C:, which decrypts drive C: and removes all its key protectors once decryption is complete. This is useful when Control Panel won't open or you're working on several drives.

1. Right-click Start and choose Terminal (Admin).
2. Check the current state with manage-bde -status.
3. To decrypt the system drive, run manage-bde -off C:. Replace C: with another drive letter if needed.
4. Run manage-bde -status again to watch the percentage encrypted fall to zero.

In PowerShell, the equivalent is Disable-BitLocker -MountPoint "C:". Microsoft notes that this cmdlet won't run on the operating system drive while any data drives are set to unlock automatically, so clear auto-unlock first with Clear-BitLockerAutoUnlock.

That brings up a related question: what is "Turn on auto-unlock" in BitLocker? It's an option for secondary drives that lets Windows unlock them automatically once you sign in, so you don't type their password each time. It's convenient, but it ties those drives to the system drive's protection, which is why Windows wants it cleared before the system drive is decrypted.

How Do I Suspend BitLocker Instead?

To suspend BitLocker, select Suspend protection next to the operating system drive in the BitLocker Drive Encryption panel, then confirm with Yes.

1. Open Control Panel → System and Security → BitLocker Drive Encryption.
2. Next to the operating system drive, select Suspend protection and confirm.
3. Install the BIOS/UEFI update or make the hardware change.
4. Return to the panel and select Resume protection if Windows hasn't already resumed it.

From the command line, manage-bde -protectors -disable C: -rc 3 suspends protection for three restarts, which helps with firmware updates that reboot more than once. The reboot count accepts values from 0 to 15, where 0 suspends protection until you re-enable it with manage-bde -protectors -enable C:. Without the -rc parameter, protection resumes after the next restart.

A Common Mistake We See

People often turn off BitLocker when they plan a clean install, assuming they must. In most cases they don't. A clean install formats the drive, which removes the encrypted data and the old encryption with it. What does matter is your recovery key: if you reinstall onto a different partition, or need files from an encrypted data drive afterwards, you'll need that key to unlock it.

The other mistake is the reverse: leaving BitLocker active during a BIOS update without suspending it, then being met by a recovery screen. Find your recovery key before any firmware or hardware work. If you're preparing a reinstall, our guides to clean install vs reset and reinstalling Windows with a USB drive cover the full process.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to turn off BitLocker?

It depends on the drive's size, its speed and how much data it holds, so there's no fixed time. A fast SSD with little data finishes much sooner than a large, nearly full hard drive. You can keep using Windows while it runs, and manage-bde -status shows the percentage still encrypted.

Do I need the recovery key to turn off BitLocker?

Not if you're signed in to Windows as an administrator and the drive is already unlocked. You only need the recovery key when the drive is locked, for example a data drive that hasn't been unlocked, or when Windows shows the BitLocker recovery screen at startup.

Why does BitLocker keep turning itself back on?

On supported hardware, Windows 11 can switch device encryption on automatically when you sign in with a Microsoft account, especially after a fresh setup. If it reappears after a reinstall, that's the cause. Turn it off again in Settings, or use the BitLocker panel on Pro.

Will turning off BitLocker delete my files?

No. Turning off BitLocker decrypts the drive in place and keeps all files, apps and settings. The only risk is losing power during decryption on a failing drive, so keep laptops plugged in and back up important files before you start.

How do I turn off BitLocker without the password?

If you're signed in as an administrator on the encrypted PC, you can turn off BitLocker on the system drive without any password. For a locked drive, you need either its password or the 48-digit recovery key. There is no legitimate way to decrypt a locked drive without one of them.

Is it safe to turn off BitLocker on a laptop?

It's safe for the computer, but it removes protection for your data. Without encryption, anyone who removes the drive from a lost or stolen laptop can read its files. For a laptop that leaves the house, suspending protection for maintenance is usually wiser than turning it off.

Conclusion

Knowing how to turn off BitLocker comes down to your edition: use the BitLocker panel or manage-bde -off on Pro, and the Device encryption toggle in Settings on Home. For firmware updates, suspend protection rather than decrypting. If you want full control over encryption, including suspend, PINs and encrypted USB drives, a genuine Windows 11 Pro licence adds it, and you can compare every option in our Windows 11 collection.

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