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Update Bug Renders Recovery Environment Unusable. Microsoft has encountered a significant issue with the latest Windows 11 25H2 October update, KB5066835. The company confirmed that this update disrupts mouse and keyboard functionality within the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE), making them unresponsive and unusable. As a result, the WinRE feature is completely inoperative. WinRE is a built-in troubleshooting toolkit included with Windows. It's intended to assist users when their computer encounters startup problems or system issues. WinRE activates automatically when Windows crashes or fails to boot properly, but users can also access it manually to utilize various repair tools.
However, with the current problem affecting keyboard and mouse input, WinRE is essentially ineffective. Microsoft stated that "the USB keyboard and mouse continue to work normally within the Windows operating system," and assured users that they are "working to release a solution to resolve this issue in the coming days. More information will be provided when it is available." This is yet another incident related to the recent Windows 11 updates, which have previously caused localhost issues. The list of Windows 11 problems continues to grow as the latest updates are released. Microsoft maintains a Windows 11 version 25H2 known issues and notifications website that provides status updates on the latest problems, including this one.
Early last week, Microsoft accidentally broke the Windows Media Creation Tool (MCT) just a day ahead of Windows 10's end-of-life. Additionally, the company began requiring Online Accounts for Windows 11 installations, making them increasingly difficult to bypass. Every previously reported issue has been addressed or resolved, except for the broken localhost functionality and now this WinRE problem. Without keyboard and mouse input, users are unable to initiate any recovery processes to resolve OS issues. Until Microsoft releases a patch, we must wait and hope that the OS remains stable without needing any intervention.
Sources: Microsoft, via Windows Latest