When your Surface Go isn’t working, or you’re ready to sell it, you can use the official recovery image to reset the tablet to its default settings.
Of course, you can always use the Windows 10 reset feature to restore your device to its original settings, but if things aren’t working the way it should, the upgrade didn’t complete successfully, or you’re trying to go back to Windows 10 Home in S mode, you’ll need the recovery image to reset and repair the tablet.
In this guide, you’ll learn the steps to download the Surface Go recovery image from the Microsoft support website, and we also go through the steps to create a recovery drive.
How to download the recovery image for Surface Go
To download the official image to recover your Surface Go, use these steps:
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Sign-in at the Surface support website.
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Use the “Product” drop-down menu, and select Surface Go.
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In the “Serial number” box, enter the 12-digit number that appears under the kickstand.
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Click the Continue button.
Surface Go recovery image download -
Click the Download recovery image link.
Download recovery image link Quick Tip: If the image isn’t downloading, make sure the browser built-in pop-up is blocking the download.
Once you’ve completed the steps, the .zip file with the recovery image will download to your computer. Then, the last thing left to do is to create a recovery drive by extracting the files to a USB flash drive.
How to create a recovery drive for Surface Go
To create a recovery drive, connect a USB flash drive to your Surface Go of at least 16GB in size, and then use these steps:
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Open Start.
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Search for recovery, and then click the Create a recovery drive option.
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Clear the Back up system files to the recovery drive option.
Create Recovery Drive wizard -
Click the Next button.
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Select your USB flash drive from the list.
Select USB flash drive for recovery -
Click the Next button.
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Click the Create button.
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Click the Finish button.
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Open the .zip file with the recovery image that you downloaded it using the previous steps.
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Select all the files and drag it over the USB recovery drive you just created.
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Select the option to replace the files in the destination.
After completing the steps, you can now boot your Surface Go with the USB flash drive to reset it.
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].