Step 5: After seconds, the BitLocker encrypted drive is successfully unlocked and mounted on the Mac computer and you can open this drive to transfer files between the drive and Mac. Notes: Don't quit iSumsoft BitLocker Reader for Mac until you are finished with the BitLocker drive on the Mac computer. This BitLocker reader for Mac is fully compatible with macOS version 10.14 Mojave, 10.13 High Sierra, 10.12 Sierra, and Mac OSX 10.11 EI Capitan, 10.10 Yosemite, 10.9 Mavericks, 10.8 Mountain Lion and 10.7 Lion. Besides, BitLocker Genius supports NTFS, FAT32, and exFAT file systems.
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Home > Resources > Access Bitlocker Encrypted Drive on Mac
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BitLocker is a disk encryption utility on Windows that protects an entire disk from unauthorized access by adding a password to it. Although BitLocker was designed for Windows only, you might want to access the encrypted drive on a Mac sometimes. Since BitLocker is not native to Mac OS X and macOS, you may run into problems when trying to open Bitlocker encrypted external drive like a USB flash drive on your Mac. This article gives an overview of the BitLocker tool, reasons why it can't be opened natively in Mac and what tools you need in order to be able to do so.
What is BitLocker?
BitLocker was designed to prevent offline attacks on external hard drives. For example, if someone steals your drive and tries to access the data, they won't be able to do so with BitLocker encryption being applied to the drive. The security protocol for BitLocker involves the use of 128 or 256-bit keys in cipher block chaining (CBC) mode, and used the AES standard for data encryption. BitLocker has always been a Windows-only utility, and supports all versions of the operating system starting from Windows Vista Ultimatate and Enterprise.
Can I Open Bitlocker Encrypted Drive on Mac?
Since Bitlocker was developed by Microsoft exclusively for the Windows environment, it is not compatible with macOS and Mac OS X. The simple reason is that Mac does not support the program, and there's no version available for Mac computers. However, that doesn't mean you can't access your drive from a Mac after it was encrypted by BitLocker. Instead, you have to use a third-party utility to access the content in Bitlocker encrypted drives on Mac. Fortunately, several of them are available for free. If you want more advanced features, you can also consider using some premium products available on the market.
How to Access Bitlocker Encrypted Drive on Mac
One of the best free BitLocker utilities for Mac that will allow you to open an encrypted external drive on a computer running Apple's operating system is M3 BitLocker Loader for Mac. As long as you know the password for the encrypted drive, you can use this to open it and access the files inside on your Mac computer. On the flip side, it means that you can't access the data inside the drive if it is corrupted or you forgot the password. Assuming the password for decrypting the drive is known, it is very easy to install M3 BitLocker Loader for Mac and quickly gain access to your encrypted data.
Another great utility for opening BitLocker-protected drives on a Mac is Hasleo BitLocker Anywhere for Mac. One unique feature of this software utility is that it allows you to use both the native file explorer as well as the native volume-mounting tool to access your files, depending on your preference. You can also add files to the unlocked external drive and then lock it again with the same password. While being accessed on the Mac, the files in the drive are unprotected. Once you eject and remove the drive, however, the new files will also be encrypted by BitLocker.
How Does Bitlocker Loader or Reader Work on Mac?
There are several third-party tools available for this, but most utilities for using BitLocker on Mac work in pretty much the same way. They either let you mount the drive on Mac or allow you to open it using a built-in file browsing utility. Since Mac's Finder app doesn't natively support drives protected by BitLocker encryption, you will need the software even if you're just opening the file to view and download the contents. The general process is to install the software and then launch it. After that, the mounted drive can be imported into the software and unlocked. Depending on which utility you're using, you may have to choose the software's file explorer option to access the protected data.
Such utilities are usually very intuitive in that you don't have to have extensive knowledge about encryption algorithms and so on. That means even new users will be comfortable using these tools. If you're working regularly on both Windows and Mac computers and need to have your external drive data protected by BitLocker, then you definitely need one of these tools for your Mac computer in order to open, edit and make changes to the drive. Once it's done, the drive will revert back to its encrypted state, with all newly added files also being encrypted until the next time you unlock them.
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Summary: Windows BitLocker To Go encrypted drives are unreadable in macOS. Here is the tutorial to open, access, read and write to BitLocker encrypted external hard drives, USB flash drives, SD cards and other removable devices on MacBook Pro/Air/iMac, etc.
BitLocker is, by design, a proprietary feature in Windows to encrypt an entire drive and protect your data against unauthorized changes. However, if you insert an external drive encrypted by BitLocker To Go to your Mac computer, you'll be prompted with 'The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer'.
What to do if you have to open the BitLocker encrypted drive on Mac? Is there any free BitLocker for Mac tools? Let's dive into the details.
![Bitlocker Für Mac Bitlocker Für Mac](/uploads/1/2/5/7/125746370/838634493.png)
- Table of contents
- 1. Does BitLocker work on Mac?
- 2. Can you open BitLocker encrypted drives on Mac anyway?
- 3. What is BitLocker for Mac software?
- 4. How to open BitLocker encrypted drives on Mac?
Does BitLocker work on Mac?
By default, neither Apple nor Microsoft offers a method to open, read or write to BitLocker To Go encrypted drives in macOS or Mac OS X. If you check in Disk Utility, you'll find the BitLocker drive detected, but you cannot mount it manually.
As you have already known, an unmounted drive is inaccessible on Mac, and you are unable to view, edit, or transfer files on it.
Can you open BitLocker encrypted drives on Mac anyway?
Yes, you can have full access to a BitLocker encrypted drive on your Mac computer, conditionally.
At first, the BitLocker encrypted drive should be healthy. It's impossible to read or write to a drive if it is formatted, corrupted or even damaged physically.
Second, the password or the recovery key is a must to unlock the BitLocker encrypted drive, either on a Mac or on a Windows PC. Learn how to find the recovery key >>
Third, you need to install a BitLocker for Mac tool on your Mac computer to enable the access.
What is BitLocker for Mac software?
Generally, BitLocker for Mac software is a tool which can help you mount Windows BitLocker encrypted drives on Mac, bridging the gap between Windows and Mac while keeping data secure. It allows you to open, read and write to BitLocker encrypted drives, including external hard drives, USB flash drives, and SD cards, and also supports NTFS, exFAT or FAT32 file systems. With a BitLocker for Mac tool, you can feel free to share photos, videos, documents and other private files with friends or partners without hassle.
What's more, compared with free BitLocker for Mac software, some paid programs also enable you to secure a drive with Windows BitLocker encryption on Mac. That's to say, in addition to Apple's native encryption features - FileVault and APFS (encrypted), you have a third drive encryption choice on Mac, aka, BitLocker.
How to open BitLocker encrypted drives on Mac?
As mentioned above, to access a BitLocker encrypted drive on Mac, you should have:
1. The password or the recovery key of the BitLocker encrypted drive.
2. A BitLocker for Mac program to enable BitLocker read-write support on Mac, such as M3 BitLocker Loader for Mac
After free downloading the BitLocker for Mac tool and installing it on your Mac, you can follow its tutorial to open BitLocker encrypted drives on Mac, or encrypt the drive with BitLocker through simple clicks.
Do you have any other BitLocker or BitLocker for Mac related questions? Please feel free to contact us.