Microsoft Outlook is the most reliable email client for Windows users. The app may fail to perform its duties. As per the recent report, the Outlook Search option is not working correctly. People say it is providing irrelevant information.
Some of the users have reported about a problem where they can’t find older or newer emails using the Outlook Search. Below, we have provided different troubleshooting solutions for outlook search not working Windows 10/11 to resolve the problem for you.
Possible fixes for outlook search not working Windows 10/11
Fix 1: Repair the app
Microsoft offers a handy tool to check and fix problems related to Microsoft Office apps. So, you should firstly start with this option:
- Press Win+ R, type in appwiz.cpl and hit Enter,
- In the Programs & Features Window, locate Microsoft Office Suite or Microsoft 365, right-click on it and Select Change option,
- Pick Quick Repair or Online Repair option and hit the Repair button to continue,
Fix 2: Use Windows built-in Troubleshooter
This is so recommended because the Microsoft Office using Windows Search to provide faster results:
- Open Start menu, type in Troubleshoot settings and hit Enter,
- Navigate to Other Troubleshooters> Search and Indexing and click Run,
- Follow the on-screen instructions to begin troubleshooting.
Fix 3: Use Registry Editor
If outlook search not working Windows 10/11 remains, we recommend you perform the below tweaks to the registry editor to disable Windows Desktop Search Service for Outlook and see if this provides you the fix:
- Press Win+ R, type in regedit and hit Enter,
- Navigate to the below key from the address bar:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows
- Right-click on the empty area on the right, click on New>select Key and rename it as Windows Search,
- Select the newly created key, right-click on the empty area, go to New and select DWORD (32-bit) and name it as PreventIndexingOutlook,
- Double-click on the newly created DWORD and change its value datato 1,
- Exit the Registry Editor window, restart the PC and see if the problem is resolved.
Fix 4: Check Search Indexing and Locations
If problem remains, you should look into the Indexing options and locations to make sure these have been set properly:
- Open Outlook,
- Navigate to the Search box,
- Expand the Search Tools menu and select Indexing Status,
- If Outlook is indexing files, wait for the process to complete and use the Outlook Search again and see if it is now working.
Fix 5: Rebuild Search Index
You should manually rebuild the Search Index cache from the below steps and see if this helps you in resolving the problem:
- Click on the search icon from Taskbar, type Control Panel and hit Enter,
- Switch the View type to icons and then click on Indexing Options,
- In the Indexing Options, click on Advanced,
- Go to the Troubleshooting section and select the Rebuild option,
- Restart the Outlook and see if outlook search not working Windows 10/11 still remains.
Fix 6: Reinstall Microsoft Outlook
If problem persists, you should uninstall Outlook and reinstall it. This should remove any data associated with app and resolve the search issue. To uninstall Outlook, open Start menu, type Outlook, right-click on the match option and finally click on Uninstall option.
Fix 7: System Restore
If nothing works, you should use System Restore on your Windows. It is possible that some changes made to your PC do not allow the Outlook Search to work effectively. In that case, you should use the System Restore function to revert to the point where the Outlook Search was working fine. Here is how:
Open Start menu, type in Create a restore point and select the first option appeared on the search result,
- Go to the System Protection tab and click on System Restore button from there,
- Now, you can go with the recommended restore point or pick one yourself by using the second option,
- Pick a restore point before the problem first occurred and hit Enter,
- Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process of system restore.
Conclusion
The Search tool on Outlook makes it easy for users to find emails, contacts, tasks and more. Hopefully, the above fixes help you in resolving outlook search not working Windows 10/11. If you don’t want to involve in these manual fixes, use automatic PC Repair tool to deal with the issue automatically.
