Usually manufacturers only allow you to recover your system with the version of Windows that originally came with the device. In the case of Surface Pro 3 would be Windows 8.1, but Microsoft has now added a new recovery image that comes with Windows 10 too.
However, the company isn’t replacing the recovery image, instead users wanting to recover their tablets have the choice to download the image with either Windows 8.1 and Windows 10.
The new recovery image featuring Windows 10 will really help Surface Pro 3 owners who have already upgraded, and if they need to recover their device, they don’t have to go through the upgrade process once more.
The new recovery image is available for download for any Surface Pro 3 owner through the Surface support center online, and here’s how you can get it.
Download Surface Pro 3 Windows 10 recovery image
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At the Microsoft support page, sign-in to with your Microsoft Account, and register your Surface Pro 3 if you haven’t done it already. If you have already registered your tablet, it will appear in the list, select the device and click Continue.
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You’ll now be given the choice to download two images: Surface Pro – Windows 8.1 or Surface Pro 3 – Windows 10. Click Download on the recovery image that feature Windows 10. It’s important that you don’t save it directly into a USB flash drive, you’ll need to save it to your Surface or another PC.
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On “Step 3: Create the recovery drive”, the support page will provide all the instructions you need to follow to create a recovery drive. The process involves connecting a USB drive, formatting it to FAT32, and copy all the unzip files into the drive.
Once you have completed the process, you can use the recovery drive with the image to reset your Surface Pro 3 device to the default factory settings or to refresh your device. Microsoft has also documented the instructions to recover your Surface using a USB recovery drive.
Are you running Windows 10 on your Surface Pro 3? Tell us in the comments below.
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 21 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].