Many laptops today come with Bitlocker drive encryption enabled. This is where the problem basically starts. Many buyers don’t know this, and when the computer suddenly asks for the recovery key when it is turned on, panic breaks out.

This happen after changes to the hardware configuration, for example. The recovery key is also requested after installing a new Windows 10 version.

Fortunately, you can view this information in your Microsoft account, as long as you are logged in with one. Unfortunately, the option is hidden and cannot be found via “Security” or “Devices”.

The best thing to do is to bookmark the following URL: https://account.microsoft.com/devices/recoverykey

On this page you can find all Bitlocker recovery keys that have been backed up automatically. I always recommend the “backup” on a piece of good old paper to be able to access it offline in case of emergency. Also, if you change devices frequently, you should clean up every now and then. Make sure to delete the keys of the devices that are no longer in use.