Microsoft Releases Fix for Surfaces Bricked by Windows RT 8.1 Update

Microsoft has a fix for Surface owners who unwittingly bricked their tablets by installing a first, flawed version of the Windows RT 8.1 update.

After pulling Windows RT 8.1 from the Windows Store over the weekend, Microsoft on Monday released a recovery image that can be used to resurrect devices felled by the update. It’s not the simplest of fixes, requiring a USB drive and some command-line prompts. But I’m told by a few users who’ve attempted it that it does the trick.

Meanwhile, Microsoft continues scrambling to get a viable version of Windows RT 8.1 out the door again. In a statement, the company declined to say when the software will be released to the public again.

“Based on our investigations of a situation customers have encountered updating to Windows RT 8.1, we can confirm that as of now this is a Windows update issue only affecting Surface RT customers,” Microsoft said. “While only less than 1 out of every 1,000 (or less than 0.1%) Surface RT customers who have installed Windows RT 8.1 have been impacted, improving their experience and ensuring their systems are fully operable as quickly as possible is our number one priority. We have made recovery media available for download here along with actionable guidance for affected customers. We continue to work towards making the Windows RT 8.1 update available in the Windows Store again and apologize for any inconvenience. Further updates will be provided as they become available.”