How to open BitLocker on Mac

How do I open a BitLocker encrypted external hard drive on MacBook? I have an external hard drive for extending storage capacity on my work Windows 10 PC and it is encrypted with BitLocker to Go. Today after work, I remove the external hard drive from my work PC and take it home for copying files from my MacBook. But after I connected the drive to my MacBook, I found I couldn't see all the contents inside the drive. Why and what can I do?

Take it easy! Normally, a drive encrypted with BitLocker is not readable by Mac computer, because BitLocker is one peculiar feature in Windows platform and Mac OS doesn't support BitLocker. Therefore, to open a BitLocker encrypted external hard drive on MacBook, you have two choices.


  • Method 1: Turn off BitLocker encryption on external hard drive
  • Method 2: Open BitLocker encrypted external hard drive using third-party tool

Method 1: Turn off BitLocker encryption on the external hard drive

The most straightforward method is to turn off BitLocker encryption on the external hard drive so that you can open and read it normally on your MacBook.

Step 1: Connect the BitLocker encrypted external hard drive to a Windows computer that supports BitLocker.

Tips: Bitlocker is available in the following Windows operating systems:

  • Windows 10 - Professional or Enterprise edition
  • Windows 8/8.1 - Professional or Enterprise edition
  • Windows 7 - Enterprise or Ultimate edition
  • Windows Vista - Enterprise or Ultimate edition
  • Windows Server 2008 and later

Step 2: Unlock the external hard drive using the password or recovery key.

How to open BitLocker on Mac

Step 3: Go to Control Panel > System and Security > BitLocker Drive Encryption. Look for the external hard drive on which you want to turn off BitLocker encryption and expand it, and then click Turn off BitLocker.

How to open BitLocker on Mac

Step 4: When a dialog pops up, click "Turn off BitLocker" button to continue.

Step 5: When the decryption process is complete, you can connect the external hard drive to your MacBook and open, read and write it normally on the MacBook.

However, this method has two drawbacks. One drawback is that the decryption process usually takes a very long time, especially if there are large amounts of data stored on the external hard drive. Another drawback is that if the BitLocker encrypted external hard drive is not compatible with Mac, you won't be able to open it on your MacBook. To avoid the two drawbacks, you can use Method 2 below.

Method 2: Open BitLocker external hard drive on Mac using third-party tool

If you want a quicker and more straightforward method to open a BitLocker encrypted external hard drive on MacBook, iSumsoft BitLocker Reader for Mac will be a good choice. This software can quickly and easily unlock BitLocker encrypted external hard drive on MacBook and then help you open, read and write the BitLocker drive on MacBook, no matter what file system the drive is formatted with. Here are the steps.

Step 1: Install and then launch iSumsoft BitLocker Reader for Mac on your MacBook.

Step 2: Connect the BitLocker encrypted external hard drive to your MacBook. If "The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer" prompt pops up, click Ignore to dismiss it.

Step 3: iSumsoft BitLocker Reader for Mac will immediately detect the connected external hard drive and display it in the list. All you need to do is select the BitLocker encrypted external hard drive from the list and then click Unlock button.

How to open BitLocker on Mac

Step 4: Enter your password for the BitLocker external hard drive and click Mount button. If you forgot the password, use your recovery key file to unlock the drive.

How to open BitLocker on Mac

Step 5: Once the BitLocker encrypted external hard drive is unlocked, you can open it to read and write files in it.

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Hi folks,

So I've had to use bit locker on a usb drive at work and I want to copy the files onto my MacBook Air, I've had a look at some of the programs online, most of which you've got to pay for..

Can anybody recommend which is the best software to use, or if there is a descent free one that will let me open, read and copy over to the Mac..

Cheers

Rod..

MacBook Air, macOS High Sierra (10.13.6)

Posted on Sep 24, 2018 10:03 AM

bigroddo wrote:

Hi folks,

So I've had to use bit locker on a usb drive at work and I want to copy the files onto my MacBook Air, I've had a look at some of the programs online, most of which you've got to pay for..

Can anybody recommend which is the best software to use, or if there is a descent free one that will let me open, read and copy over to the Mac..

Cheers

Rod..

[Solved] How to open Bitlocker encrypted USB drive in macOS, Mac OS X?

Posted on Sep 24, 2018 6:55 PM

Can Mac open a BitLocker drive?

BitLocker is not compatible with Mac by default. You will need a reliable third-party BitLocker for Mac tool, such as iBoysoft BitLocker for Mac which can read and write BitLocker-encrypted drive on Mac.

Does BitLocker work on Apple?

BitLocker is a proprietary encryption program of Microsoft that is used on Windows. It helps protect data security and prevent data exposure. However, there's a barrier to this powerful data encryption feature. BitLocker is not available on macOS.

What is the Mac version of BitLocker?

FileVault 2 - Disk encryption Like Microsoft's BitLocker Drive Encryption for their Windows OS, Apple has also developed their native drive encryption feature - FileVault 2 (FileVault full-disk encryption).