how to I restore the surface pro 3 windows 11 bitlocked without bitlock recovery key?

Hi Benjamin Worthy Sr,
It sounds like you're in a tough spot with your Surface Pro 3, and I totally get how frustrating that can be. BitLocker is a security feature built into Windows that encrypts your drive, and sometimes it gets triggered by hardware changes like when you plugged in that USB Wi-Fi adapter. Now, without the BitLocker recovery key, you're locked out of the system, and even trying to reset the PC or use advanced startup options isn’t helping.

The first thing to try is checking if the recovery key is stored in a Microsoft account. If the previous owner used one, they might still have access to the key at https://account.microsoft.com/devices/recoverykey. If you’re still in touch with them, it’s worth asking if they can check or share the key with you.

If that’s not an option, your next best move is to do a clean install of Windows. You’ll need another computer to create a bootable USB using the Windows Media Creation Tool. Once that’s ready, you can boot your Surface from the USB by holding the Volume Down button while pressing Power. This will let you install Windows from scratch but keep in mind, if BitLocker is active, you won’t be able to access any of the data on the drive, and it’ll be wiped during the process.

If even that doesn’t work because the drive is locked, you might need to replace the SSD or take it to a technician who can help with hardware-level solutions.

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Best,
Carl

Hi Benjamin,

Please bear in mind that Surface Pro 3 (if this is what you really have) cannot be upgraded from Windows 10 to Windows 11 and support for Windows 10 ends October 25th (although you can purchase another year of security upgrades). Even if you do manage to get it up and running again, it isn't a really good investment and if there is any change the seller will take it back and refund your money, I recommend you do so. The SP3 was released 11 years ago and that makes it a dinosaur in computer lifespan terms. I would not spend any money trying to get this device up and running if you decide to keep it.

You mention Windows 11 in the title of your question, so I need you to confirm that this is a Surface Pro 3 as it was not eligible to be upgraded to 11.