How to Turn on Device Encryption in Windows 11/10

If you want to turn on or off Device Encryption in Windows 11/10, follow this step-by-step guide. This functionality is generally available on most 2-in-1 devices and tablets running Windows 11/10.

Device encryption helps protect your data, and it’s available on a wide range of Windows devices. If you turn on device encryption, the data on your device can only be accessed by people who’ve been authorized. If device encryption isn’t available on your device, you may be able to turn on and use BitLocker instead.

Device encryption is available on supported devices running any Windows 11/10 edition. BitLocker is available on supported devices running Windows 11/10 Pro, Enterprise, or Education.

Although BitLocker is a security measure you have on your Windows 10 device, Device encryption is yet another feature that you should know about. If you use a portable Windows device, and you lose it, there is a big chance of data theft. To reduce the problem, you can take the help of Device encryption that allows the admin to include people who can access your data even when the device is stolen.

What is Device Encryption?

Device encryption helps protect your data and it’s available on a wide range of Windows devices. BitLocker encryption is available on supported devices running Windows 10 or Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise, or Education. It will automatically be turned on the first time you sign into a personal Microsoft account or your work or school account.

Data encryption requirements

To enable Data encryption in Windows 11/10, you must have-

Trusted Platform Module V2.0.
Modern StandBy support.
UEFI firmware.

The best way to check if your device meets all these requirements is by using the System Information panel. Here you can find the missing parts that you do not have to enable this security function.

Read: What is the difference between Encryption and Hashing?

Check if your PC supports Device Encryption

To get started, search for “system information” in the Taskbar search box. When the result appears, click on the Run as administrator option.

Following that, find out Device Encryption Support. If it says Meets prerequisites, you can enable the Device encryption.

Read: Difference between Device Encryption and BitLocker

Turn on Device Encryption in Windows 11

To turn on or off Device encryption in Windows 11, do the following:

Press Win+I to open Windows 11 Settings.
Go to Privacy & Security.
Locate Device encryption.
Move the slider to the On position.
Device encryption in Windows 11 will have been enabled on restart.

Read: Device Encryption not showing or working

Turn on Device Encryption in Windows 10

To turn on or off Device encryption in Windows 10, follow these steps-

Press Win+I to open Windows Settings.
Go to Update & Security.
Switch to Device encryption.
Click on the Turn on button.

Let’s check out all these steps in detail.

At first, you need to open the Windows Settings panel. For that, you can search for it in the Taskbar search box, or you can press the Win+I button together. After opening the Windows Settings, go to Update & Security.

Here you can find an option called Device encryption. If Device encryption doesn’t appear, it isn’t available for your system.

Now, on the right side, you should see an option named Turn on. Click on this button to start Device encryption on your device. Once it is done, it will start encrypting your current as well as all future files.

Read: Why does Microsoft store your Windows Device Encryption Key to OneDrive?

How do you check the encryption status in CMD?

To check the encryption status of all your disk drives, launch CMD as an administrator and execute manage-bde -status. This will list the details of your disks. Look for the conversion status under each drive. If it says Fully Encrypted, the drive is encrypted. If you see Fully Decrypted, then it is not protected.

Is Bitlocked turned on by default?

BitLocker will be automatically enabled if you sign into your personal Microsoft account or your work or school account on a supported device. If you wish to use BitLocker with a Local account, you have to manually enable it using the Manage BitLocker tool.