- To turn off BitLocker on Windows 11, open Settings > Storage > Advanced storage settings > Disks & volumes, select the drive, click “Properties,” click “Turn off BitLocker,” and click “Turn off BitLocker” again from the “Manage BitLocker” page in Control Panel.
- Another way to disable BitLocker, open PowerShell (admin) and run the “Disable-BitLocker -MountPoint “C:”” and “$BLV = Get-BitLockerVolume” and “Disable-BitLocker -MountPoint $BLV” commands.
On Windows 11, you can disable BitLocker (or suspend the feature) in at least two ways from the Settings app and using commands from PowerShell, and in this guide, you will learn how. Although BitLocker allows you to use encryption on a drive to protect your data from unauthorized access, it has a caveat. It may cause problems when for certain operations, such as when upgrading to a newer version of Windows 11, updating non-Microsoft apps, or when the system may need to install a firmware update.
If the encryption feature is causing issues, you don’t need to disable it. You only have to suspend the feature, complete the task, and then resume BitLocker. Now, in the case that you no longer need to protect your data with encryption, then you can disable BitLocker completely. You can perform these tasks on Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise, and Education through the Settings app or PowerShell.
In the case that you have Windows 11 Home, then you need to use these instructions to disable BitLocker device encryption.
This guide will teach you the steps to temporarily or permanently disable BitLocker on Windows 11.
Disable BitLocker permanently on Windows 11
If you want to stop using BitLocker, you can disable the feature altogether through the Settings app and PowerShell.
To disable BitLocker on Windows 11, use these steps:
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Open Settings on Windows 11.
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Click on Storage.
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Under the “Storage management” section, click on Advanced storage settings.
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Click on Disks & volumes.
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Select the drive to disable encryption.
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Choose the volume and click the Properties button.
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Click the “Turn off BitLocker” option to disable BitLocker from the “Manage BitLocker” page.
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Under the “Operating system drive” section, click the “Turn off BitLocker” option.
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Click the “Turn off BitLocker” button again.
- Click the “Turn off BitLocker” button one more time.
After you complete the steps, BitLocker will disable encryption on the specified drive on Windows 11.
Turn off BitLocker temporarily from PowerShell
To disable BitLocker with PowerShell commands on Windows 11, use these steps:
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Open Start.
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Search for PowerShell, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.
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Type the following command to disable BitLocker on Windows 11 and press Enter:
Disable-BitLocker -MountPoint "C:"
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(Optional) Type the following command to BitLocker for all drives on Windows 11 and press Enter:
$BLV = Get-BitLockerVolume Disable-BitLocker -MountPoint $BLV
Once you complete the steps, the system will decrypt the drive and disable BitLocker permanently on Windows 11.
Disable BitLocker temporarily on Windows 11
On Windows 11, you can suspend BitLocker encryption in at least two ways through the Settings app and PowerShell.
To turn off BitLocker temporarily on a Windows 11 drive, use these steps:
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Open Settings on Windows 11.
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Click on Storage.
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Under the “Storage management” section, click on Advanced storage settings.
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Click on Disks & volumes.
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Select the drive with protection to suspend encryption.
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Choose the volume and click the Properties button.
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Click the “Turn off BitLocker” option to open the “Manage BitLocker” page in Control Panel.
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Under the “Operating system drive” section, click the “Suspend protection” option.
- Click the Yes button.
Once you complete the steps, the encryption protection will be temporarily disabled, allowing you to perform updates, such as firmware and non-Microsoft app updates.
If you want to resume, you can use the same instructions outlined above, but on step 8, make sure to turn on the “Resume protection” option and click the Yes button.
Turn off BitLocker temporarily from PowerShell
To suspend BitLocker with PowerShell commands, use these steps:
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Open Start.
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Search for PowerShell, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.
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Type the following command to suspend BitLocker on the system drive and press Enter:
Suspend-BitLocker -MountPoint "C:" -RebootCount 0
After you complete the steps, the system will disable BitLocker temporarily on the system drive, allowing you to perform different tasks that otherwise could cause problems. The “-RebootCount 0” option specifies the many times the computer will reboot before re-enabling BitLocker. You can change the number to a maximum of 15.
If you want to resume the protection immediately, you can use the same instructions outlined above, but in step 3, run the Resume-BitLocker -MountPoint "C:" command.
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 21 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].