You have probably already heard about the issues with the Windows RT 8.1 update which was pulled early this past Saturday due to issues with a limited number of devices according to Microsoft.

Although Microsoft has still not posted anything official about fixes for this issue, nor have they returned the update to the Windows Store, it can be fixed.

One way to fix the failed installation to Windows 8.1 RT is to recover it using a recovery USB drive with a previous version of Windows RT on it.

In fact, one of the fixes that got a lot of attention over the weekend involved a recovery process.

This official Surface RT 8.0 image will let you create bootable recovery media to at least restore your device to Windows RT 8.0 as the Windows RT 8.1 update gets sorted out and back in the store.

Over at the Microsoft Download center you will find the Surface RT Recovery Image which includes two files

  • Surface RT 8.0 North America image (3.7GB)
  • Surface RT recovery image instructions (406KB)

Just download these files and follow the directions for creating bootable recovery media and restoring your bricked Surface RT.