Microsoft shares fix for Windows 11 / Windows 10 OOBE BitLocker suspension issue

BitLocker encryption is a feature used to prevent the unauthorized access of drives to protect against data theft. However, under certain circumstances, the manual suspension of BitLocker becomes necessary, like in instances such as updating the firmware. Using a command called “reboot count parameter”, a user can define how many times a device can reboot before BitLocker automatically resumes again.

In his Microsoft Tech Community blog post, Wagensonner explains:

.. there are some scenarios where you may need to suspend BitLocker temporarily, such as when you update your BIOS or firmware using a vendor’s update utility. When you suspend BitLocker, you can specify how many times your device can restart before BitLocker resumes encryption. This is called the reboot count parameter.

[..] However, there is a known issue with BitLocker that you may encounter: BitLocker does not resume automatically after suspending when OOBE (Out of box experience) is not complete. OOBE is the process of setting up your device for the first time after installing Windows 10. This means that your device will remain unprotected until you manually resume BitLocker.

You can find details on the fix in Wagensonner’s blog post on Microsoft’s official website.