If you see this screen, something went wrong at startup and you need to prove your identity to recover your data. As the Microsoft report dryly notes: "This screen does not commonly appear after a Windows update." The advisory does not provide a cause for the issue, but it offers one clue: "You are more likely to face this issue if you have the Device Encryption option enabled in Settings under Privacy & Security -> Device encryption."
Update 19-Aug-2024: Microsoft reports that this issue is now resolved.This issue was resolved by Windows updates released August 13, 2024 (KB5041585), and later. We recommend you install the latest update for your device as it contains important improvements and issue resolutions, including this one.
If you install an update released August 13, 2024 (KB5041585) or later, you do not need to use a workaround for this issue. If you are using an update released before August 13, 2024, and have this issue, your device should proceed to start up normally from the BitLocker recovery screen once the recovery key has been entered.
After entering the recovery key, Windows starts up normally. If you can't find the recovery key, your data is lost for good.
That sounds bad, but the story is not nearly as alarming as media coverage has made it sound. I've been digging into this issue for the past week. Here's what I've found.
How widespread was this bug?In typically frustrating fashion, Microsoft provided no details about how common this issue was or what triggered it. Obviously, it didn't affect every machine that received the July 2024 security update. (If that were the case, the update would have been pulled immediately and it would have been front-page news.) It didn't occur on any machine I've tested, and I didn't hear from any readers affected by it. When I searched on Microsoft's community forums, I didn't find any reports related to this bug.
On Reddit, I did find several network administrators reporting that this issue affected multiple machines in their organization. (See this thread and this one for examples.) It appears all the devices were HP or Lenovo laptops that were managed on corporate networks and received firmware updates as part of the July 2024 Patch Tuesday update release.
When I asked Microsoft for additional details on the scope of the issue, a company spokesperson said: "Microsoft has nothing more to share beyond what is available in the following resources," providing links to an overview of BitLocker technology (with the Device Encryption section highlighted) and a support article titled "BitLocker drive encryption in Windows 11 for OEMs".
Sources Google/ Microsoft/ Div. Screenshot from Microsoft Support.
