XPS 13 9360, Asks for BitLocker after Update

Same exact thing happened to me this morning.  I'm at a total loss what to do now because I don't have a key either.

I logged into an old microsoft account I had when I setup the computer in 2018 and found the key there. Whew.  Good luck to others with the same issue.

I had no recovery key in my microsoft account

Same thing happened to me after a firmware update this morning, completely unexpected.

I was able to sign in to my Microsoft live account under this address:

https://account.microsoft.com/devices/recoverykey

Hopefully your recovery key is under there - good luck!

Thanks for sharing and sorry to hear you’re in the same boat. I’m trying to get Dell’s attention since it seems to be a widespread issue.

Thanks for sharing what worked for you. Glad you’re in the clear now.

Unfortunately, there are no recovery keys saved there when I check.

I have the same problem, I have tried reaching out to Dell support and Microsoft support with no luck. I need the data on my laptop, I can't just reinstall Windows. Dell please release an updated BIOS that I can flash to hopefully fix this. This problem has started for everyone after the 2.16 BIOS update.

I too have same problem

All this happened after firmware update today!

@x60643  @Ramkumarlakkoju  @MikeL1019  @MaxPain123  See my post marked as the answer in this thread for a recovery option.  It basically involves reverting to whatever BIOS release you were running, which can be done even if you can't boot into Windows.  But @x60643  in your case, the fact that you changed a bunch of other BIOS settings may have made things worse for you, because some of those settings may cause the system state to no longer match the TPM's trusted state even if you return the system to its previous BIOS release.

@x60643  Good luck!  Not all BIOS configuration changes create a problem, and if you don't remember making BIOS changes before, then resetting to factory default is probably the most likely route to getting back to where you need to be in terms of BIOS settings.  The only thing that would completely ruin your chances would be if you chose to clear the TPM.  If you did that, then even if you get the system back into its trusted state, it won't matter because the TPM will no longer have a decryption key stored at all.  And in that case, or if you simply can't get back to the trusted state, then if you're certain you've checked all Microsoft accounts you've ever used with that system for a key that was backed up the cloud and still haven't found one, then unfortunately yes your only way back to a functional system would be to wipe the disk and reinstall everything from scratch.

That other thread I linked was created very recently too, so between that and the multiple reports in this thread, I do wonder what happened here.  Dell Update is supposed to suspend BitLocker when a BIOS update will be installed specifically to avoid this.  And of course BitLocker Recovery Keys are supposed to be backed up to the cloud too, since there are other cases like motherboard replacements where you'll need that and there won't be any other recovery option.  But it's also true that the choice by Dell (and other vendors) to have BitLocker auto-enable when you link your Microsoft account to your Windows logon, plus Microsoft's choice not to make that obvious AT ALL when it happens, does turn encryption that is supposed to be a security benefit into a huge liability, because users don't even realize BitLocker was on and don't know where to get their Recovery Key, or have to check some old account.  Hopefully Microsoft changes their interface to make it much more clear that encryption is being enabled when that happens....

I appreciate the response @jphughan 

Will attempt shortly and let you know what happens. Am a little worried it sounds like I’ve caused more damage. Assuming the only solution after that would be complete factory reset of the laptop.

Thanks again for the response @jphughan 

I downloaded the following driver to a USB drive, followed your steps to update with the previous BIOS update exe file. It goes to a black screen and looks to have successfully installed it…but it brings me back to the original blue screen asking for my BitLocker.

Admittedly, I only tried the first download among the drivers list - but it looked like the only BIOS related item. Will try now with the other exe files to see if it works. 

Back to what you said earlier,

“The only thing that would completely ruin your chances would be if you chose to clear the TPM.”

Is there a cmd prompt or way for me to check if I’ve done this unintentionally?

@x60643 You need to return to whatever BIOS release you were running BEFORE the update, since that will be the BIOS version that the key in your TPM was sealed against and therefore would trust.  If your system is already on 2.1.6 right now while you're having this problem, then re-flashing that release isn't going to change anything.  That's where that "Older versions" link in the screenshot you posted comes into play.  Of course you may or may not have been running the immediately preceding version, so you might have to try a few releases.  But the release dates might give you a clue as to how far back you would plausibly have to go.  And you can verify that your BIOS version changed by going into the BIOS Setup after the update.  Your BIOS version will be displayed in there, so that's your test as to whether the flash was successful.

In terms of the TPM, I don't know of a way to view the TPM contents from outside Windows.  But the "Clear TPM" option in the BIOS Setup is something you'd have to have selected, and if you do that, then you get a warning when you click Apply.  So it's unlikely you would have done that without realizing it, but I mentioned it because someone else I tried to help here with a BitLocker issue cleared their TPM thinking that it would be a good idea.

I am having the same issue on my XPS 9360 as of yesterday morning after the latest BIOS update. I've also tried all of the steps that you've taken without any luck. Frustrating as I’ve had the computer for over 4 years and never even knew Bitlocker existed. Never set up Bitlocker and also don’t have the recovery key anywhere.

This is definitely a huge issue for me as I have client files that I’m not able to access which is impacting my income. This is unacceptable and sounds like a widespread issue. Please provide a fix ASAP.