After installing one of the several Windows updates that were released on October 14th or later, many Windows users have reported being asked to reset their systems via BitLocker Recovery, which requires you to have a BitLocker recovery key. If you don’t have that key, you won’t be able to access your PC and will lose all your data.
According to a statement from Microsoft (via Windows Latest), the issue affects Windows 11 versions 25H2 and 24H2 as well as Windows 10 version 22H2. Strangely, the statement is only visible to users with Microsoft 365 Business or Windows 11 Enterprise licenses:
“Affected devices might boot into the BitLocker recovery screen, requiring users to enter the recovery key once. After the key is entered and the device restarts, it will boot normally without any further BitLocker prompts. This issue primarily appears to affect Intel-based devices that support Connected Standby, a feature that enables the device to stay connected to the network while in a low power state.”
If you encounter this BitLocker recovery bug and don’t have access to your BitLocker recovery key, you risk losing all the data on your computer. In that case, you’ll have to hope that you can get your BitLocker recovery key through your Microsoft account. Learn more about that in our article on backing up your data and BitLocker recovery keys.
Microsoft says that a fix is already being rolled out, and business users may need to manually deploy the fix across their organizations.
