Another Emergency Windows 11 Update KB5070762 Released to Fix Broken USB Devices in Recovery Mode

Microsoft has released yet another new out-of-band (OOB) update to fix a serious issue affecting USB devices inside the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) on Windows 11.

The emergency update, released under KB5070762, targets versions 24H2 and 25H2 as well as Windows Server 2025 and addresses a problem where USB keyboards and mice became unresponsive during Windows recovery.

The issue stemmed from the October 2025 Patch Tuesday update (KB5066835), and introduced a bug through the WinRE update KB5067039. This left users unable to navigate recovery menus using USB peripherals.

According to Microsoft, the new patch improves the Windows recovery experience by restoring USB functionality within WinRE. The company explained in its release notes:

[USB] Fixed: After installing the Windows security update released on October 14, 2025, USB devices, such as keyboards and mice, do not function in the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE). This issue prevents navigation of any of the recovery options within WinRE. Note that the USB devices continue to work normally within the Windows operating system.

Microsoft says this emergency fix will install automatically via Windows Update, but users can also download it manually from the Microsoft Update Catalog.

Alongside KB5070762, Microsoft has also released KB5070773, another emergency update that addresses the same USB input bug on Windows 11 25H2 (Build 26200.6901) and 24H2 (Build 26100.6901).

In parallel, the company recently released WinRE updates for Windows 10 under KB5067017, KB5067016, KB5067015, and KB5067018, improving stability and error handling within older recovery environments.