I wonder, is Microsoft ever going to solve this issue? It is really annoying. Surface is a great machine, and like it a lot, recently I need to use the flash drive on a daily basis and it is a real pain having to turn the table off and on everytime you want it to work.
Microsoft should be ashamed of not solving this issue, in such a long time. But I guess numbers rule and not too many people have both a Surface RT and a Sandisk Xtreme 3.0...
Workaround: Buy and use this cable: http://www.amazon.de/Verl%C3%A4ngerungskabel-Stecker-Buchse-Adapter-gewinkelt/dp/B00FPHY6I0/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1395046565&sr=8-14&keywords=usb+3+verl%C3%A4ngerung . Then it works. I don't know why, maybe the resistance is a little bit higher.