How to Enable or Disable BitLocker Auto-unlock for a Drive

Isabella Shinn

Updated: January 11, 2024

If you're tired of manually entering a password to unlock your BitLocker encrypted drive, then turning on the auto-unlock feature should be a good idea. When the BitLocker drive has auto-unlock enabled, it will always unlock automatically without you entering a password or key. Now, this article describes three simple ways to enable or disable auto-unlock for a BitLocker drive in Windows 10/8/7.

3 ways to turn on/off Auto-unlock for a drive in Windows 10

Way 1: Turn on or off auto-unlock in Manage BitLocker

Click on the Start Menu. In the search box, type "Manage BitLocker", then hit Enter to open the Manage BitLocker windows.

Open Manage BitLocker

To set a BitLocker-protected drive to unlock automatically in a computer that is running in Windows 7, check Automatically unlock this drive on this computer box after typing your password to unlock that drive.

Manage auto unlock drive on Windows 7

If you are using Windows 10, locate to the drive on which you want to enable auto-unlock, and then click Turn on auto-unlock.

Set auto unlock in manage bitlocker

Return to the Manage BitLocker window to Turn off auto-unlock if you change your mind.

Way 2: Enable/disable BitLocker auto-unlock in Command Prompt

Step 1: Open Command Prompt as an Administrator.

Step 2: You can enable Auto-unlock protector using the following command, replace H with your drive letter.

manage-bde -autounlock -enable H:

Enable bitlocker auto unlock command

You can disable Auto-unlock protector using: manage-bde -autounlock –disable H:

Way 3: Enable/disable BitLocker auto-unlock in PowerShell

Step 1: Click on the Start Menu. In the search box, type "PowerShell", and right-click it in the result list and select to run PowerShell as administrator.

Run powershell as administrator