[SOLVED] Bitlocker option is disabled after Warranty Repair ?

[sanman98]

I got a Lenovo laptop and had some problems needing warranty repair and has gotten reset.
Did I have Windows 11 Professional before? Or did Home Edition have Bitlocker? I have my Recovery keys, and have received the device back from repair 2 times as reset.
So I'm trying to find how to enable Bitlocker but the option is missing now.

I can prove I had Bitlocker from Microsoft recovery keys, but I tried asking Microsoft and the store I bought it from and Lenovo all about how to get Bitlocker or find what version OS I had.
It's definitely Windows 11 Home now, but I'm not convinced anyone at the tech support is savvy or actually care to help. It's always just reset this and that.

 

[USAFRet]

I got a Lenovo laptop and had some problems needing warranty repair and has gotten reset.
Did I have Windows 11 Professional before? Or did Home Edition have Bitlocker? I have my Recovery keys, and have received the device back from repair 2 times as reset.
So I'm trying to find how to enable Bitlocker but the option is missing now.

I can prove I had Bitlocker from Microsoft recovery keys, but I tried asking Microsoft and the store I bought it from and Lenovo all about how to get Bitlocker or find what version OS I had.

Pro has BitLocker.
Home does not.
Windows 11 S had BitLocker. If you promoted an S Mode to a full Home, it is still BitLocker enabled. (my Surface Go 3 is like this)

So, what did YOUR laptop have when it came out of the box?

 

[sanman98]

I checked the product listing at Best Buy and it says Home Edition.
So I'm not sure how I had Bitlocker. I actually didn't check before getting it repaired and didn't do a full imaging backup.

 

[USAFRet]

I checked the product listing at Best Buy and it says Home Edition.
So I'm not sure how I had Bitlocker. I actually didn't check before getting it repaired and didn't do a full imaging backup.

Only you know what it came with.

 

[sanman98]

Wow I just contacted Microsoft again after messaging Best Buy and being on the phone with Lenovo.

The Microsoft guy helped reinstall Windows and managed to get it back to Pro edition.
I oughta make a full image backup and System Restore point ASAP.

Cheers!

 

[USAFRet]

Wow I just contacted Microsoft again after messaging Best Buy and being on the phone with Lenovo.

The Microsoft guy helped reinstall Windows and managed to get it back to Pro edition.
I oughta make a full image backup and System Restore point ASAP.

Cheers!

So it was Pro to begin with.

Do NOT rely on 'System Restore'. That is a poor backup solution.


Macrium Reflect, and full drive Images are far batter.

 

[sanman98]

Yeah I'm doing Macrium Reflect backup right now. I had another thread about backup solutions and organizing files.

 

[sanman98]

Got Windows installed again and it activated