help with resetting multiple surface go 2 devices without knowing administrative work/school acct. credentials due to sudden mass termination of I.T. dpt.

Jodiwan Kenobi 0 Reputation points
2026-09-05T19:38:39.2+00:00 
  Recently I have been tasked with above mentioned task by my frantically desperate supervisor due to sensitive information being leaked through/by I.T. dept.    If we cannot recover these units without previous admin work/school cred. we will stand to lose a minimum of 6 to 8 months of collective data/work, set back several thousand dollars, miss several deadlines, default on unknown number of contracts (above my paygrade) and I'm sure some more cuts would follow.

  resetting is the only safe option due to i.t. having access due to them setting up literally all devices' accounts and networks we are talking complete technological reform to gain security back and so they can't open any back doors we are sure they set up in the systems.

pls help

surface go 2

Surface | Surface Go | Safety and security
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  1. Alex-L 12,565 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-09-10T06:27:38.6333333+00:00

    Hi Jodiwan Kenobi

    If the devices are company-owned, the safest approach is to use a Surface Recovery Image or Windows recovery media to perform a full wipe and reinstall of Windows. This does not require access to the previous local administrator account, but any data not backed up will be lost. Reset or recover your Surface explains how to reset or recover a Surface using recovery media.

    Be aware that if the devices are still enrolled in Microsoft Entra ID, Intune, or Windows Autopilot, they may reconnect to the organization's management tenant during setup and could require access to the organization's Microsoft 365 administrators.

    If the data on the devices is critical, try to assess recovery options before wiping, as a reset will permanently remove local files.

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