Windows 11’s latest update has a nasty little bug that’ll keep Microsoft busy following the big CrowdStrike outage

A new bug is affecting some Windows 11 and Windows 10 users, and it’s been caused by the July cumulative update from Microsoft.

It’s an odd one, too, and what’s happening is that the BitLocker recovery screen is being presented to some users after booting up their devices, which must come as a bit of a nasty shock to those affected.

According to Windows Central, multiple versions of Windows 11 are affected by the issue, including Windows 11 versions 23H2, 22H2, and 21H2, and also Windows 10 versions 22H2 and 21H2, among others.

The monthly cumulative updates delivered by Microsoft – known as ‘Patch Tuesday’ updates, as they arrive on the second Tuesday of every month – impart quality-of-life improvements and security fixes for Windows 10 and Windows 11. And, of course, bugs on occasion – as with this July offering.

BitLocker is a tool that offers drive encryption to keep your data safe and secure. It can be configured on Windows 11 Pro (or business and education versions of the OS), but Windows 11 Home doesn’t have BitLocker support – it does, however, offer a Device Encryption option (a lightweight alternative, basically).

As a result, we obviously wouldn’t expect Windows 11 Home users to be affected by this bug, but those of you out there running Windows 11 Pro may need to be watchful when applying the July update.

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Microsoft is looking into the bug, but what can be done in the meantime?

Microsoft is aware of this issue and has updated the Windows 11 release health dashboard with details regarding the glitch. The software giant advises that the bug is more likely to happen if you have Device Encryption enabled as well as BitLocker turned on. You can find this option in the Settings app, by going to the Privacy & Security section, and clicking on Device Encryption. If Device Encryption doesn’t appear for you, then it may not be available on your device.

In any case, after applying the July update, if you are met with the buggy BitLocker recovery screen (when you’re not expecting to see it), there’s currently an available workaround – namely entering a BitLocker recovery key. This key is available through your Microsoft Account, and it can be retrieved by logging into Microsoft’s recovery screen portal. After you enter the recovery key, your PC should continue to boot up as normal.

Unfortunately, this is currently the only known workaround for the issue, but Microsoft is on the case and says it’s investigating the bug, so hopefully a fix will follow in short order. If Microsoft can find the time while still helping to firefight the big CrowdStrike outage, that is.