How to reset any Microsoft Surface via USB (Bare Metal Recovery)

In this video we look at factory resetting any Microsoft Surface device via USB using the Bare Metal Recovery Tool.

0:00 What is Bare Metal Recovery an when to use
1:38 How to download the BMR image
3:04 Creating your BRM bootable USB
5:42 Loading the BRM image onto your Surface

A Bare Metal Recovery tool allows you to completely factory reset your Surface device to its original state when it first came out of the box and is a great tool for troubleshooting any issues your having with your device as it allows you to bypass Windows and reinstall the OS from scratch.

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You can access the Surface Recovery Images below:

As of publishing, the following Surface recovery images are available:
Microsoft Surface Pro
Microsoft Surface Pro 2
Microsoft Surface Pro 3
Microsoft Surface Pro 4
Microsoft Surface Pro 5
Microsoft Surface Pro 6
Microsoft Surface Pro 7
Microsoft Surface Pro 7+
Microsoft Surface Pro 8
Microsoft Surface Go
Microsoft Surface Go 2
Microsoft Surface Go 3
Microsoft Surface RT
Microsoft Surface 2
Microsoft Surface 3
Microsoft Surface Studio
Microsoft Surface Studio 2
Microsoft Surface headphones
Microsoft Surface Hub 2S
Microsoft Surface Duo
Microsoft Surface Duo 2
Microsoft Surface Book
Microsoft Surface Book 2
Microsoft Surface Book 3
Microsoft Surface Laptop
Microsoft Surface Laptop 2
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3
Microsoft Surface Laptop 4
Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio
Microsoft Surface Laptop Go
Microsoft Surface Laptop SE

#Microsoft #Surface #Recovery

[bobgreen]

Microsoft has this content on their support page but you did a better job of illustrating the steps and the process. Thanks so much.

[johnmares]

This was the most comprehensive but simple video that helped me to fix my daughter’s pc. Thank you so much.

[marcg.]

I couldn't get into recovery mode by pressing and holding volume down and power button. Rather, I used the volume up and power button to get into a area where I could change the boot sequence and selected USB and instructed it to boot immediately (note I had my recovery USB drive plugged in). From there, I got to the "blue screen" and all went perfectly from there. Anyways, many thanks to this video for getting my Surface Pro 7+ up and running again!!!

[MorganNilsson]

I thought I'd pitch in for some additional support (As Microsoft did not cover this in their guide).

For anyone who might be getting the issue.
"There was a problem resetting your PC. No changes were made."

Please make sure that in your BIOS that you have the correct settings. it should look like this:
Internal Storage - (active)
USB Storage - (active)
PXE Network - (active)
((Advanced options))
Enable alternative boot sequence - (on)
Enable IPv6 from PXE Network boot option - (on)
Enable Boot from USB devices - (on)
Enable Boot Configuration Lock - (OFF) = Having this on is the reason most are getting this issue, so turning this off should work
Automatic power-on after power loss - (off)



Also thank you @AldoJames for the very informative video!

[lynnlambert]

On this Surface book 2, the soft restart/reboot always came up in the UEFI screen. Had to choose "Boot Configuration" button on left. Then drag USB STORAGE option to top of list. Plug in USB drive into the Surface. Click "Exit" to restart computer. IT WORKED. I OWE YOU HUNDREDS!!! THANK YOU

[Blackcomb.]

Oh my gosh. I have a Surface RT 2 that I got for Christmas and it all of a sudden just stopped working, I was so sad for weeks, and you really helped me fix my issue. Thank you sooo much!

[juanservin]

This video is very accurate. The many versions of the windows surface makes it so hardf to fully reset your device. I followed carefully all the steps, and it was a succesful installation. Thank you.

[shaunjims]

You are awesome, the instruction is simply by far the best one and easy to follow. Got my S4 up and running within a few hours. Thank you Sir!

[adrianmcquiston]

been attempting to recover a microsoft go tablet for a couple years and this video walked me through the process in minutes thank you it sucks owning a several hundred dollar brick lol

[perrypaddy]

Wow! This video really helped out alot!! I was trying to restore my SP7 for hours until I came upon your video. Straight to the point and easy to follow. THANK YOU!!

[thisistheway]

This worked for me! If you plug in the USB and the recovery isnt popping up, make sure USB is in FAT32. I had to reformat my USB for this to work.

[ivanaussi]

Wow!
After 3 years of searching and trying everything!
I have finally been able to clean my table with the help of your tutorial.

[danootz]

Thank you so much for this! It's been a minute since I'd done a factory reset on my Surface Pro 3, and I don't know if something changed in the recovery menu options or something, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out why I wasn't able to get my machine to use the USB recovery drive I'd created.

But your walkthrough helped sort it all out! Successfully doing the bare metal recovery -- as opposed to relying on the cloud recovery I had done in defeat, but that made me itchy because I'd never done it and prefer the recovery drive creation and booting into it method. THANK YOU!

[ariarivazhagan]

Really helpful. To me, I'm troubling to recover my one user personal laptop OS , That Time seen your video it's work, thank you so much sir

[krzysztofkubinski]

Well done. I had a problem with BitLocker.😡
I watch so many movies and nothing.😡
This video made my surface pro 4 and surface pro 7+ come back to life.😀😂😗👌👍💪

Thank you and greetings from Poland🙏

[hdpapsey]

This has been very useful in getting my SB3 up and running again…
Thank you 🙌🏽

[ericrobidoux]

I tried so many things and you are the only one with the right solution for my Surface.. Thank you..

[runaruna]

Thank you for the tutorial video, really helped me reinstalling my surface pro 8. And, unless your device is bricked, you can use recovery options then advanced startup option in w11, so you don't have to press volume and power button👍

[Gee_Geez]

Thank u so much, I have no computer experience but you explained this so well and thoroughly that I got it done on my first try! Awesome job brother 👏

[manohar]

That video was very helpful as all the other videos on the net were pointing out to the same options repeatedly.