Change BitLocker Password in Windows 10

How to Change BitLocker Password in Windows 10

When you enable BitLocker for a fixed or removable data drive, you can configure it to ask for a password to unlock the drive. Today, we will see how to change that password.

BitLocker was first introduced in Windows Vista and still exists in Windows 10. It was implemented exclusively for Windows and has no official support in alternative operating systems. BitLocker can utilize your PC's Trusted Platform Module (TPM) to store its encryption key secrets. In modern versions of Windows such as Windows 8.1 and Windows 10, BitLocker supports hardware-accelerated encryption if certain requirements are met (the drive has to support it, Secure Boot must be on and many other requirements). Without hardware encryption, BitLocker switches to software-based encryption so there is a dip in your drive's performance. BitLocker in Windows 10 supports a number of encryption methods, and supports changing a cipher strength.

Note: In Windows 10, BitLocker Drive Encryption is only available in the Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions. BitLocker can encrypt the system drive (the drive Windows is installed on), and internal hard drives. The BitLocker To Go feature allows protecting files stored on a removable drives, such as a USB flash drive.

BitLocker supports passwords from 8 to 256 characters long, which may include uppercase and lowercase letters, symbols, numbers, and spaces. You must unlock the drive before you can change the password on a BitLocker protected drive.

To Change BitLocker Password in Windows 10,

1. Unlock the drive if it is locked.
2. Open File Explorer to the This PC folder.
3. Right-click on the drive and select Change BitLocker password from the context menu.
4. Alternatively, select the drive, and choose Drive Tools > Manage > BitLocker > Change password/PIN in the Ribbon.
5. Type in the Old password, type in a New password, type the new password again into the Confirm new password box, and click on Change password.
6. Click on the Close button to continue once you successfully changed the password.

Alternatively, you can use the Control Panel to change the BitLocker password.

To Change BitLocker Password in Control Panel

1. Open Control Panel\System and Security\BitLocker Drive Encryption.
2. On the right, find your encrypted drive or partition.
3. Unlock the drive if it is locked.
4. Click on the Change password link.
5. Type in the Old password, type in a New password, type the new password again into the Confirm new password box, and click on Change password.
6. Click on the Close button to continue once you have successfully changed the password.

Finally, you can change the BitLocker password in the command prompt.

Change BitLocker Password in Command Prompt

1. Open a new command prompt as Administrator.
2. Type and run the following command:  manage-bde -changepassword <drive letter>:.
3. Substitute <drive letter> with the actual drive letter of the drive you want to change the password for. For example: manage-bde -changepassword E:.
4. Type the new password when prompted, and press Enter.
5. Enter the new password again when prompted, and press Enter.

You are done!