How to Disable BitLocker in Windows 11 and 10

Method 1: Disable BitLocker From the Control Panel

The easiest way to disable BitLocker on your Windows PC is using the Control Panel.

1. To disable BitLocker on Windows 11 and 10, open the Start menu and search “bitlocker”. Then, click on Manage BitLocker.

2. Here, click on Turn off BitLocker and confirm again in the prompt box.

3. The decryption process will start, and you can then track the progress as well. Keep in mind that the process may take a long time depending on how much your disk is used.

Method 2: Turn Off BitLocker From Windows Settings

Apart from Control Panel, Windows Settings also lets you turn off BitLocker. Here’s how you do it.

1. Open the Start menu and search for and select Manage disks and volumes.

2. Here, click on Properties next to the “C:” drive. You can also do this for other encrypted drives.

3. Now, scroll down to the bottom and click on Turn off BitLocker. Follow the on-screen instructions and you are done.

Method 3: Disable BitLocker From the Command Prompt

You can also disable BitLocker using the Windows Command Prompt program. Here’s how to do it.

1. Open the Start menu, search “cmd”, and when the Command Prompt program appears, click on Run as administrator.

2. Next, run the following command to check the status of BitLocker encryption. As you can see, the C: drive is fully encrypted.

3. Now, run the command below to decrypt the C: drive. If you want to decrypt another drive, change the drive letter accordingly.

Method 4: Turn Off BitLocker Using PowerShell

You can also turn off BitLocker using Windows PowerShell on your PC.

1. Open the Start menu, search “powershell”, and click on Run as administrator.

2. Here, run the below command to check the status of BitLocker encryption. Well, the C: drive is fully encrypted.

3. Now to turn off BitLocker, run the below PowerShell command. If you want to disable BitLocker on other drives, make sure to change the drive letter.