Power on a virtual machine from ESXi Host Client fails because an encryption key is missing.

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

Power on a virtual machine from ESXi Host Client fails with the following message.

Failure - An encryption key is required.
- The virtual machine is locked.
- To unlock this virtual machine, you need the key with ID "#####...".
- The required key is located in the "Native Key Provider".

Environment

vSphere 8.0

Cause

Native Key Provider could be missing. For example, restoring vCenter Server will reset the key to empty.

Resolution

Restore Native Key Provider via vSphere Client. Refer to Configuring and Managing vSphere Native Key Provider.

You also need to check if ESXi host encryption mode is enabled. Please see Activate Host Encryption Mode Explicitly.