7 Reliable Ways to Disable BitLocker Windows 10

BitLocker is a Microsoft built-in feature in Windows Pro and Enterprise version starting with Windows Vista. The BitLocker feature is designed to protect data by providing encryption for entire volumes, such as password protect USB drive.

In addition, the BitLocker uses the AES encryption algorithm in cipher block chaining or XTS mode with a 128-bit or 256-bit Key.

However, some people don’t need the BitLocker feature and wonder how to turn off BitLocker Windows 10. In order to remove BitLocker Windows 10, you come to the right place. This post shows how to disable BitLocker Windows 10.

[SOLVED] How to Recover BitLocker Drive Encryption Easily

If you are trying to perform a BitLocker drive encryption recovery, you can read this post to recover lost data from BitLocker encrypted hard drives.

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7 Way to Disable BitLocker Windows 10

In this part, we will demonstrate 7 ways to disable BitLocker Windows 10.

Way 1. Disable BitLocker Windows 10 via Control Panel

First of all, you can choose to disable BitLocker Windows 10 via Control Panel. 

Now, here is the tutorial.

1. Open Control Panel.
2. Choose BitLocker Drive Encryption.
3. Expand the BitLocker-protected drive and choose Unlock drive.
4. Then input the password.
5. Then click Turn off BitLocker.

Way 2. Disable BitLocker via Settings

In order to turn off BitLocker Windows 10, you can also try removing BitLocker Windows 10 through the Settings app.

Now, here is the tutorial.

1. Press Windows key and I key together to open Settings.
2. In the pop-up window, choose System.
3. In the pop-up window, choose About from the left panel.
4. Then locate the Device encryption section in the right panel and choose Turn off button.
5. Then in the confirmation window, click Turn off again.

After that, the BitLocker feature has been disabled on your computer.

Way 3. Disable BitLocker via Local Group Policy Editor

In order to turn off BitLocker Windows 10, you can choose to disable it via Local Group Policy Editor.

Now, here is the tutorial.

1. Press Windows key and R key together to open Run dialog.
2. Type gpedit.msc in the box and click OK to continue.
3. In the pop-up window, navigate to the following path: Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components – > BitLocker Drive Encryption -> Fixed Data Drives.
4. Then select Deny write access to fixed drives not protected by BitLocker.
5. In the pop-up window, choose Not Configure or Disabled. Then click Apply and OK to confirm the changes.

After that, the BitLocker feature has been disabled from the computer.

Way 4. Disable BitLocker via CMD

As for how to turn off BitLocker Windows 10, you can choose to disable BitLocker via CMD.

Now, here is the tutorial on how to disable BitLocker CMD.

1. Open Command Prompt as administrator.
2. In the pop-up window, type the command manage-bde -off X: and hit Enter to continue. Please replace X with the actual hard drive letter.
3. Then the decryption process will begin. It will take some time and please do not interrupt it.

When it is finished, you have finished the process of disabling BitLocker cmd.

Way 5. Disable BitLocker via PowerShell

In order to turn off BitLocker Windows 10, you can also choose to disable it through PowerShell.

Now, here is the tutorial.

1. Type PowerShell in the search box of Windows and choose the best-matched one.
2. Then right-click it to choose Run as administrator.
3. In the pop-up window, type the command Disable-BitLocker -MountPoint “X:” and hit Enter to continue. Please replace the X with the actual encrypted hard drive letter.

When it is finished, the BitLocker feature of the encrypted hard drive has been disabled.

In addition, you can also choose to disable BitLocker for all volumes. Just input the following commands to continue.

$BLV = Get-BitLockerVolume
Disable-BitLocker -MountPoint $BLV

After that, you are able to remove BitLocker Windows 10.

Way 6. Disable BitLocker Service

There is another way for you to remove BitLocker Windows 10. You can choose to disable BitLocker service.

 Now, here is the tutorial.

1. Press Windows key and R key together to open Run dialog.
2. In the pop-up window, type services.msc in the box and click OK to continue.
3. In the Services window, find the BitLocker Drive Encryption Service and double-click it.
4. Then change its Startup type to Disabled.
5. Then click Apply and OK to save the changes.

When it is finished, you have disabled BitLocker Windows 10.

Way 7. Format Encrypted Hard Drive

There is an available way for you to remove BitLocker Windows 10. If there is no important file on the hard drive, you can choose to format it and remove BitLocker Windows 10. If there are important files on it, it is not recommended to use this way.

Now, here is the tutorial.

1. Right-click the encrypted hard drive, then choose Format.
2. In the pop-up window, set the file systems and check the option Quick format. Then click Start to continue.

After that, you have removed BitLocker from the hard drive Windows 10. If you have lost data after formatting, you can read the post to How To Recover Files From Formatted Hard Drive (2020) – Guide to learn more.

Final Words

To sum up, this post has introduced 7 ways to turn off BitLocker Windows 10. If you want to disable BitLocker, try these ways. If you have any better way on how to turn off BitLocker Windows 10, you can share it in the comment zone.