Windows 11 update breaks recovery mode
Microsoft’s first Patch Tuesday for Windows 11 version 25H2 has already gone off the rails. The update, KB5066835, was supposed to signal a stable public rollout of the new version; instead, it has broken a critical part of Windows: recovery.
Shortly after users installed the update, Microsoft confirmed that USB keyboards and mice stopped working inside the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE). So while everything functions normally once Windows boots, anyone who lands in recovery mode is stuck, unable to click, type, or even start a repair. In other words: if your system fails to boot, you’re locked out of fixing it.
Microsoft acknowledged the issue in a support notice, stating that “USB devices do not function in WinRE after installing KB5066835,” released on October 14, 2025. The timing is bad: earlier this week, the same update also broke localhost authentication, forcing Microsoft to issue an emergency workaround.
Recovery mode is essential for resetting Windows, running Startup Repair, restoring from backups, or launching Command Prompt to fix boot failures. Without input support, those tools are useless. Most modern PCs only use USB peripherals, and while PS/2 ports technically still exist on some motherboards, few people own PS/2 keyboards today. Bluetooth peripherals aren’t a reliable fallback, either, as WinRE doesn’t always support them.
Microsoft released two recovery updates, KB5067039 and KB5067019, but neither addresses the USB failure. A permanent fix is still pending.
