![](data:image/svg+xml, %3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' height='64' class='font-weight-bold' style='font: 600 30.11764705882353px "SegoeUI", Arial' width='64'%3E%3Ccircle fill='hsl(41.6, 28.000000000000004%, 14%)' cx='32' cy='32' r='32' /%3E%3Ctext x='50%25' y='55%25' dominant-baseline='middle' text-anchor='middle' fill='%23FFF' %3ECC%3C/text%3E%3C/svg%3E)
![](data:image/svg+xml, %3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' height='64' class='font-weight-bold' style='font: 600 30.11764705882353px "SegoeUI", Arial' width='64'%3E%3Ccircle fill='hsl(16, 86%, 11%)' cx='32' cy='32' r='32' /%3E%3Ctext x='50%25' y='55%25' dominant-baseline='middle' text-anchor='middle' fill='%23FFF' %3ESN%3C/text%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Hello,
If the BitLocker recovery key isn't available in your primary Microsoft account, it typically means the device was associated with a different account when BitLocker was first enabled. This could be another personal Microsoft account, or a work or school account. Please sign in to https://account.microsoft.com/devices/recoverykey using any other email addresses that you or your family may have used with the device.
If your Surface 3 was ever connected to a workplace or university, the recovery key may have been backed up to that organization's Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD). In that case, you'll need to contact the IT administrator to see if they can retrieve the key.
If you're unable to locate the recovery key in any account, the only option to use the Surface again is to perform a clean installation of Windows. This process will erase all data currently on the drive, but you can restore the operating system by downloading the official Surface 3 Recovery Image from Microsoft's website and creating a recovery USB drive.