A BitLocker recovery key is a unique 48-digit numerical password that can be used to unlock a BitLocker-protected drive if the drive cant be unlocked normally. It is generated when a drive is encrypted using BitLocker and is issued at the time of installation in case the user forgets or misplaces their password and loses access to their hard drive. If Windows detects a possible unauthorized attempt to access the data, it will require a BitLocker recovery key as an extra security precaution to keep the data safe and secure.

If a user needs to find their BitLocker recovery key, there are several ways to do so, including:

• Printout: The user may have printed their recovery key when BitLocker was activated. They should look where they keep important papers related to their computer.
• USB flash drive: The user can plug the USB flash drive into their locked PC and follow the instructions. If they saved the key as a text file on the flash drive, they can use a different computer to read the text file.
• Microsoft account: The recovery key may be saved to the users Microsoft account by default. They can sign in to their Microsoft account and look for the recovery key displayed next to their device name.
• Miradore: If the drive was encrypted with Miradore, the recovery key can be found from the Inventory tab of the device page.

It is important to note that if a user cannot locate their recovery key using these methods, they may need to format their device.