Has your Outlook search suddenly stopped working? You keep typing different words and phrases, but it does not make a difference. Everything you type in Outlook search comes up with zero results. Sick of the hassle of fixing Outlook every time it fails to find your emails? Try this instead.. When you rebuild a PST file, add more mailboxes, or even just migrate emails, your search index may not update and that will kick off an Outlook search problem.

Not to worry, there are things you can do to fix those issues. Search results may be incomplete because items are still being indexed.

If you see this message, take note of the number of files remaining to be indexed, wait five to ten minutes and then check again. Outlook PST and OST files are indexed by Windows by default, but it may be that something strange happened during an update to either Windows or Outlook that caused this not to be the case. In order for Outlook to be able to search your emails, the contents of those emails must be allowed to be indexed by Windows. Follow the steps outlined in step 2.

Make sure this time that the box next to Microsoft Outlook is checked. Give Outlook a little time to check the state of the indexing. It may be that it needs to add new items to the index. After a few minutes, you can try searching again. These few steps will help you get Outlook search back into shape.

Date: I’ve been fighting this problem for months before I found this post. This post was a big help! Thanks for your support Anthony Reply. I resolved the problem. Many thanks. Thanks it works pramod Reply. Worked for me, thanks! Great Help! Thanks a lot nancy javier Reply. Life saver, thank you! Thank you so much. This was really really helpful. Many thanks to the author! Maraming Salamat! Well its a sort of half thanks from me. Following steps did restore the search function and the ability to group messages.

However it does not last, close outlook and open it again I am back to square one. The check boxes set in step three have now become unchecked again. Any ideas how to stop this?? After the update Outlook would not use the index and was painfully slow and didn’t find things correctly. Thank you! Saved my “productivity life! I am so glad I stumbled upon this! I have been searching for quite some time to find a fix for why I could not search in my Outlook and Microsoft suggestions did not work.

All I had to do was steps 1 through 4 and we are in business! Keep up the good work! Will Lookeen Free search pst files? I can’t get it to search my emails or archived emails. It will only search my desktop. I have tried the fix you describe here. I have spent 2 days trying to fix this and this is the only solution that has worked! Thank you!! Thanks alot Usman Ramzan Reply. Is there any data loss with this process. Very very nice. Thanks alot. Thank you!!!!!!

Thank you for such a detailed, step-by-step fix! Thanks Joana! I have copy this method down for our users easy reference. Thank you it worked! Thank you. I can’t thank you enough! Thank you very much Joana Simoens! Again, thank you so much for your valuable contribution. Thank you soo much It really worked Seems to have solved my problem – thanks!

This solves the problem, thanks! This is the best answer I’ve found to my problem. It’s fixed now, and helps me a lot! It’s been written by someone Joana S. Thanks a million! This has been a real nice help. Just follow the steps exactly as mentioned. Keep the outlook open while changing the indexing setting is important. Thank YOU!!! This was so helpful!!! Thanks so much.

Additional comment.. And, if you have two profile in outlook Issue resolved. Good Article. Thank you soooo much! Please any body help me Sir Pawan Mishra Reply. Thanks god! Couldn’t figure out step 3. Steps 2, 4, and Last Resort did the trick. Outlook search results are back. Thanks, Lee Reply. Great information. I might just add that there are other things that can impact indexing like having a full hard drive.

I know that seems like obvious information but when you are working for a help desk you learn that stupidity knows no bounds! Thank you Tan Tan Reply. It worked. But outlook can not search again after restart Thank you very much!

Very nice advise! The hints fixed the Outlook search problem. Extremely useful post! Great stuff.

Microsoft outlook 2013 search not working free download. Outlook 2013 – contact search not working

The Outlook email client’s search function is a helpful tool, allowing users to search for specific information in an email message, such as the sender, date, folder where it’s saved, or keywords using Outlook-specific search operators. If the Outlook search function isn’t working, there may be several reasons why.

Outlook search troubleshooting procedures in this article pertain to Outlook , , , , and Outlook for Microsoft ; and Outlook for Mac and Outlook for Mac Out-of-date software can cause all sorts of glitches. Updating Outlook may solve the problem of an unresponsive search function. Select File. Select Office Account.

Select Update Options under Product Information. Select Enable Updates if the option is available. Select Update Now. Start Outlook and select File. Select Help in the left pane. Select Check for Updates. Choose Install Updates or Check for Updates.

Select Help. Select Automatically Download and Install under “How would you like updates to be installed? If you perform a search and receive a message stating No matches found or Search results may be incomplete because items are still being indexed , troubleshoot the indexing function. Click inside the Search box to activate the Search Tools tab. You should see a message stating, Outlook has finished indexing all of your items.

If there are items to be indexed remaining, wait five minutes and try again. If the problem persists, move on to the next troubleshooting technique. Select Advanced in the Indexing Options dialog box. Go to the File Types tab. Scroll down in the Extension column to msg. Select msg. Make sure Index Properties and File Contents is enabled. Select OK. Select Close. Select Modify if Microsoft Outlook is not listed. Select the checkbox next to Microsoft Outlook to select it.

Select Modify in the Indexing Options dialog box. Clear the checkbox next to Outlook and select OK. Select Advanced to open the Advanced Options dialog box. Select Rebuild. Built-in repair utilities can often fix the problem of an unresponsive Outlook search function.

This Mac Outlook utility checks for duplicate installations and reindexes Outlook files. Download and open the Outlook Search Repair Utility. Remove any duplicate Outlook installations, if prompted. Restart your system at the prompt.

Select the Reindex button. Allow the utility to complete. This can take an hour or longer. The built-in Office repair utility can often solve the problem of an unresponsive search function. Close all Microsoft Office applications. Find and click on Microsoft Office in the list of installed apps and features.

Select Modify. Restart Outlook when the repair process is complete. Right-click the Start button. Select Control Panel. Make sure Category is selected in the View By list. Select Uninstall a Program under Programs. Right-click Microsoft Office and choose Change. Select Online Repair if it is available this depends on the type of Microsoft Office you have installed. Select Repair. Select Yes if a user account control window appears. Select the Start button. Select Microsoft Office from your list of programs.

Select Change. Use this utility to rebuild a corrupted database and possibly solve Outlook search not working on Mac. These steps apply only to Outlook for Mac or Outlook for Mac Quit all Microsoft Office applications. Select the identity of the database you want to rebuild. Restart Outlook when the process is complete.

If you continue to experience issues with the Outlook search function not working, consider uninstalling and reinstalling Microsoft Office. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile. Measure ad performance.

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List of Partners vendors. Tricia Goss. She’s written tips and tutorials for Microsoft Office applications and other sites. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn. Updated on November 06, Jessica Kormos. Lifewire Tech Review Board Member. Jessica Kormos is a writer and editor with 15 years’ experience writing articles, copy, and UX content for Tecca.

Article reviewed on Jun 28, Tweet Share Email. What to Know Outlook search not working may be caused by an outdated program, an indexing error, of some other problem. Updating or tweaking index locations and features may fix it when Outlook search isn’t working. Outlook also has a built-in repair tool that might help solve the issue. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Email Address Sign up There was an error. Please try again. You’re in! Thanks for signing up.

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Outlook Search not showing recent emails after Windows update KB – Microsoft Support

 
 
Click Run to start the installation immediately. This will open the policy and you should see the below screen. EXE tool.