Encrypted Drive Data Recovery
Encrypted drives fail just like any other drive, but recovering them has one firm requirement: your password, recovery key, or credentials. We fix the physical or logical problem and recover the encrypted data so it can be unlocked with your key. We cannot bypass or break encryption. The price is one flat fee, and you pay nothing if we can't recover your data.
Signs of encrypted drive
- •BitLocker drive asks for a recovery key, or shows as RAW on another computer
- •Mac with FileVault won't boot, or its internal drive won't unlock
- •WD My Passport or My Book is detected but won't unlock, or isn't detected at all
- •Hardware-encrypted drive removed from its enclosure shows only unreadable data
- •Samsung portable SSD with password protection has stopped responding
- •Self-encrypting drive won't unlock after a hardware failure
What’s actually happening
Software encryption such as BitLocker and FileVault scrambles data on the drive, and only your password or recovery key can unlock it. If the drive fails physically, through bad sectors, a dead PCB, or a failed SSD controller, the encrypted data has to be recovered first, then decrypted with your key. A drive that shows as RAW on a different computer may simply be locked, not damaged.
Hardware encryption happens inside the device. Many WD My Passport and My Book models encrypt everything at the USB bridge on the drive's board, even when no password was ever set, so the bare drive pulled from its enclosure shows unreadable data. Samsung T-series portable SSDs and self-encrypting internal drives encrypt in their own controllers. When the encrypting component fails, recovery means getting that component working again or reproducing its decryption, which in some cases is only possible with the original hardware.
In every case, the encryption itself works as designed. If the password or recovery key is lost and the data was protected by it, the data cannot be decrypted, by us or anyone else. Our job is physical and logical recovery, so your data can be unlocked with your own credentials.
What not to do
- ✕Don't try guessing passwords repeatedly on a hardware-encrypted drive — some devices limit attempts and may lock or erase after too many failures.
- ✕Don't remove the drive from a hardware-encrypted enclosure and format it — the data looks scrambled because it's encrypted, and formatting destroys it.
- ✕Don't throw away the original enclosure or bridge board — on bridge-encrypted drives it can be essential to decryption.
- ✕Don't reset, re-key, or secure erase the drive — these can permanently discard the encryption keys.
- ✕Don't assume the key is lost — check your Microsoft account for BitLocker keys, and your Apple Account or saved recovery key for FileVault, before anything else.
How we recover it
Identify the encryption
Engineers determine whether the drive uses software encryption, bridge-level hardware encryption, or controller-level encryption, and what that means for recovery.
Fix the underlying failure
We repair the physical or firmware problem, whether that's a PCB, the heads, bad sectors, or a failed controller, and image the drive.
Restore the decryption path
For hardware-encrypted drives, we restore or reproduce the device's own decryption so the data can be read. For software encryption, the image is preserved in its encrypted form.
Unlock with your credentials
Using the password or recovery key you provide, the volume is unlocked and your files are extracted. We cannot proceed past this step without it.
Verify and return
Recovered files are checked so they open, then returned on a secure return drive.
Can the data be recovered?
When you have your password or recovery key and the encrypted data can be physically recovered, encrypted drives are often recoverable. Without the key for data that was protected by a password or recovery key, recovery is not possible, and no legitimate lab can bypass modern encryption. Hardware-encrypted drives whose encrypting component is destroyed can also be very difficult or impossible. We'll tell you plainly where your case stands, and you pay nothing unless we recover your data.
Related guides
Encrypted Drive — common questions
Can you recover my data if I forgot the password or lost the BitLocker key?
My WD My Passport never had a password. Is it still encrypted?
Do I need to send my password or recovery key?
My Mac with FileVault won't start. Can you help?
How much does encrypted drive recovery cost?
Other failures we recover from
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