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Microsoft Issues Out-of-Band Windows 11 Update Restoring USB Input in Recovery

The emergency patch fixes a WinRE regression that left on-device recovery tools unusable for many systems.

Overview

  • Microsoft released KB5070773 on October 20 to resolve a bug that disabled USB keyboards and mice in the Windows Recovery Environment after update KB5066835.
  • The issue affected Windows 11 versions 24H2 and 25H2 as well as Windows Server 2025, with input devices still working normally inside Windows.
  • A companion Safe OS Dynamic Update, KB5070762, also targets WinRE components, and both fixes are being delivered automatically via Windows Update.
  • The updates are available for manual download from the Microsoft Update Catalog, and Microsoft advises installing the latest update promptly.
  • Microsoft outlined workarounds and recovery options including touchscreen or PS/2 input, booting from a USB recovery drive, PXE via Configuration Manager, and deployments using Windows ADK and WinPE.