How to Fix “Microsoft Outlook Email Search Not Working” Issue?

Is your Microsoft Outlook search not working properly? Do you find email messages missing from search results or searches showing incomplete data? You’re not alone. There are numerous users who have reported their MS Outlook email search not working. Therefore, we have drafted this article to help you mitigate the issue. Here, we will explain why this happens and how to resolve the issue with manual and automated approaches. So, let’s get started!

Why Microsoft Outlook Mail Search Stops Working? – Top Reasons

Before diving into the fixes, let us first understand what causes this issue for users.

• Search Index might be stuck or not updated recently.
• MS Outlook may be excluded from indexed locations.
• Windows Search Indexing might be corrupted or incomplete.
• You might have an outdated MS Office or Windows OS version.
• Your MS Outlook add-ins might be causing conflicts from within.
• Severe corruption or heavy damage in the Outlook data file/s (PST & OST).

Now that we know the reasons why your Outlook mail search is not working properly, let us dive right into the solutions to resolve the issue. In the upcoming segments of the article, we will share both manual as well as automated approaches, choose the one that fulfills your requirements the best.

1. Rebuild Outlook Index

To resolve the Outlook Search problem, you need to recreate the Outlook index. There are two ways available to rebuild Outlook index. Also to resolve Outlook search grayed out issues, follow the given solution.

Way 1- By Using Program & Features

1. At first, go to the search bar and type Control panel & open it.
2. After that, click on the Programs >> Program & Features >> select Outlook or Microsoft Office (your version).
3. Now, select Change option from the top of the menu and choose either Quick Repair or Online Repair option.
4. Finally, click on the Repair button to resolve Outlook indexing problem without any internet connectivity.

Way 2- By Using Outlook Index Repair Menu

1. At first, open the Outlook and go to the File menu >> Options >> Search.
2. After that, select the Indexing Options, followed by Advanced and click on OK.
3. Now, click on Rebuild button to rebuild the Outlook search index again.

2. Check the Locations of Outlook Index

Now, you need to check the Outlook Index locations by following these steps:

1. Open the Outlook program >> Click on File menu >> Search >> Indexing Options.
2. Now, choose the Modify option. Then, click the checkbox next to Microsoft Outlook (MSI\Gavin).
3. Finally, press the OK button and restart your system.

3. Use the Windows Registry

To repair ‘Microsoft Outlook mail search not working’ issue by using Windows registry, you can follow the given below steps:

1. First, press Windows + R key to open the Run dialog box then type regedit & press Enter key.
2. Then, Registry Editor will open. Now, you need to press Ctrl + F key to open the search menu.
3. After that, copy and paste the following registry key:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Search

4. Finally, select the New Dword (32-bit) and click on the OK button to complete the process.

4. Update the Microsoft Office

To resolve the ‘Microsoft Outlook mail search not working’ problem, you can also update the MS Office Suite with the latest version.

1. Open the Outlook application, go to the File menu >> Office Account.
2. Then, check the Update Options from the drop-down menu.
3. Select the Update Now option if it is available.

5. Check the Setting of Outlook Indexing Group Policy

If something changing occurs in the Group Policy setting, then you may face any other issues. But it is worth to resolve the Outlook search problem. Unluckily, this option is only available to Windows 10 Pro users; it is not available for Home users.

1. To check the Settings, type gpedit in the Start menu then go to the User Configuration option.
2. After that, click on the Administrative Templates >> Search option.
3. Now, check the Default excluded paths and Prevent indexing certain paths for alterations.
4. If the policy statement is set to Not configured, then it will confirm this is not where your Outlook search problems stem from.

For Mac OS Users

If you are a Mac user and facing any issue in your Mac Outlook, then you can download the Mac Outlook Database Recovery Tool to repair any issue in Mac Outlook.

Free Download Purchase Now

7. Reinstall Microsoft Outlook Application

Another resolution method to fix Outlook mail search not working problem is to uninstall the Outlook application. After that, you can install the Outlook application again and access it. However, it is known that this solution is time-consuming and tedious. Also, it cannot be a reliable solution but this is the last resort that will surely fix the Outlook search problem. If all the above-discussed methods fail, then you can try this one.

Summing Up

As we discussed, Outlook users often need to find emails but when the mailbox has a huge amount of data items, then it becomes a difficult task to find any information. Sometimes, it also displays an error message “Microsoft Outlook mail search not working”. Therefore, in this write up, we have discussed the top seven methods to resolve Outlook search problem.