Tag Archives: bitlocker

How to get a Bitlocker recovery key on Android

Scenario: you are out and about with your laptop and phone. Laptop protected with Bitlocker encryption. You start up your laptop and it decides for no obvious reason to demand your Bitlocker key before booting up.

If your laptop is domain-joined, this key is normally stored in Active Directory. If is not domain-joined, it is normally stored in the OneDrive linked with your Microsoft account. These are options when the Bitlocker encryption was applied.

This laptop is not domain-joined and the key is in OneDrive. So I pick up my phone and find the link, which is here.

Android helpfully opened this link in the OneDrive app, but not to the location of the keys, just the home page. No idea how to find the recovery keys in there.

The solution I found was to copy the link and paste it directly into the browser. You might need to get a code sent to your phone if you have 2-factor authentication. I found I needed to check the box for “I log on frequently with this device” before it worked.

Then I could see the key in the Android web browser. Phew.