Key Takeaways:
- Microsoft has confirmed that some Windows devices are unexpectedly booting into the BitLocker recovery screen after the July 2024 Patch Tuesday updates.
- The BitLocker recovery bug affects Windows PCs that installed the July 2024 security update released on July 9.
- Microsoft is currently investigating the issue and working on a permanent fix.
Microsoft is investigating a new issue that causes some Windows devices to enter the BitLocker recovery screen when booting up. The company acknowledged on the Windows Release Health Dashboard that the bug impacts users who installed the July 2024 Patch Tuesday updates.
BitLocker is a full-disk encryption feature that helps users protect sensitive data or information from unauthorized access on Windows devices. The BitLocker recovery mode allows users to regain access to the encrypted device if they encounter issues during startup or when trying to access the data. It’s triggered under certain conditions, such as invalid TPM (Trusted Platform Module) information, forgotten BitLocker password, or changes to startup configuration.
Microsoft notes that users affected by this issue will need to provide the BitLocker recovery key to regain access to their Windows devices. This bug affects all supported versions of Windows, including Windows 11 versions 23H2 and 22H2, Windows 10 version 21H2, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2022.
“This screen does not commonly appear after a Windows update. You are more likely to face this issue if you have the Device Encryption option enabled in Settings under Privacy & Security -> Device encryption. Resulting from this issue, you might be prompted to enter the recovery key from your Microsoft account to unlock your drive,” Microsoft explained.
Microsoft to fix BitLocker recovery screen issues
As of this writing, Microsoft’s engineers are investigating the issue, and there is no estimated timeline for a permanent fix. In the meantime, the company advises users to follow this step-by-step guide to retrieve recovery keys on Windows PCs.
Earlier this year, Microsoft released an update (KB5034441) to fix a BitLocker vulnerability that allowed hackers to bypass encryption using the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE). However, some users reported that the update failed to install with an 0x80070643 error. Microsoft recommended that users with disk space issues manually resize their partitions to resolve the problem.