Solved BitLocker Auto-Unlock Not Working On GMKtec NucBox G2

Hi,

I recently purchased a GMKtec NucBox G2 and upgraded it to Windows 11 Pro 24H2.

I have an external USB drive with BitLocker encryption and the auto-unlock feature works on two laptops that I use. However, when I attach it to the GMKtec G2, I am able to unlock it and I am able to set it to auto-unlock (including verifying the status using manage-bde.exe) but when I disconnect and reconnect or reboot, I have to re-enter the password to unlock again--even though the status says auto-unlock is enabled.

There's nothing wrong with the drive because the auto-unlock works fine elsewhere, so could there be some sort of setting that I need to make in the G2 BIOS? If so, what would be the types of settings that I would look for in the BIOS?

Thanks!

You could trying assigning the external drive a static drive letter to see if it makes a difference. Use a letter high in the alphabet. like X, Y, or Z.

It already is assigned a static drive letter; furthermore, when I reboot/re-attach the drive and run manage-bde -status, it shows that auto-unlock status is "enabled" and locked status is "locked." And, yes, this aligns with the GUI, which shows the option "Turn off auto-unlock."

Thanks!

After much troubleshooting, I finally ended up testing the drive under a new account and, much to my surprise/delight, the auto-unlock worked!

There was clearly something wrong with my account, which I can only attribute to PCmover. Trying to avoid a reinstall, I made numerous attempts to fix the account with whatever hacks I could think of (i.e., registry and file system copies) and even re-flashing the firmware, but they all failed.

So, in the end, the problem was with my user account and once I reinstalled Windows and did the standard/manual user account setup (i.e., no PCmover), the auto-unlock worked fine.