So there's a good mantra in the technology world where you always have to ensure that the backup plan designed to save your hide will actually save your hide. There are a few data-related horror stories where people reached for the backup when things went into meltdown mode on the primary drive, only to discover that the backup had also broken somewhere along the way.

Well, if you've updated Windows 11 to the October patch, try not to break it any time soon. It turns out the latest update prevents people from using the Windows Recovery Environment, the thing you use when things have broken. Oops.

The Windows 11 October update breaks USB keyboard and mouse input in the Recovery Environment

As spotted by Tom's Hardware, Microsoft has added a new passage to its Windows 11 25H2 update documentation. We had a peek at this a little while ago when Microsoft confirmed that Windows 11 25H2 was now rolling out to everyone who opted in to receive updates ASAP, and we're back for a less positive reason.

On the page is a new entry under the "Known issues" header. It's called "USB mouse and keyboard not working in the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE)," and when you click on it, the report reads like this:

After installing the Windows security update released on October 14, 2025 (KB5066835), 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 keyboard and mouse continue to work normally within the Windows operating system.

So, yeah. If you visit the Windows Recovery Environment in hopes of fixing your Windows 11 woes, you won't be able to click on anything or navigate with the keyboard. So you're just kind of sitting there, looking at a tool that could have helped you, with no way of using it. That's the last thing I'd want when trying to fix my PC.

Right now, Microsoft hasn't given us any ways to circumvent or manually fix this issue, and hopes to "resolve this issue in the coming days." So, try not to break your Windows 11 PC too much until Microsoft manages to roll out an update that fixes this problem. If something does break, you can try this list of ways to fix Windows 11's issues, skipping the Recovery Environment step for the time being.