Contents
Summary: This blog outlines Microsoft Outlook search problems such as ‘Outlook search not working’ and ‘returns no or incomplete results’. It also describes workarounds on ‘how to fix Outlook problems’. These workarounds apply to Microsoft Office 365, Outlook 2019, 2016, and 2013.
Microsoft Outlook features a search option that helps you find email items based on keywords. You may further add filters to your Outlook search function to locate specific email items much more quickly. In outlook, Sometimes you get surprised when you find something went wrong and your search couldn’t be completed you encounter problems with the Outlook search function such as Outlook search does not find any matches, won’t work & Other Outlook Problems.
When Outlook search not working in outlook, you may experience any of these issues:
- Outlook fails to return any search results
- Outlook search not showing all results
- Outlook search not showing recent emails or can’t find older emails
- Outlook search does not find any matches
- Search tab not working, turns grey (specific to Outlook 2016)
How to Fix ‘Outlook Search not Working?’
When the Outlook indexing tool is not working or not functioning properly, It is required to check outlook Indexing Status. Like, it may not show the recent email search result due to the outlook email search which is not working. Further, it may display results like Outlook search by date or may show that items based on search criteria waiting to be indexed in the output panel. This indicates a problem with the Outlook Indexing services.
Following are some workarounds that you can try to resolve Outlook 2016 search not working issues:
- Fix Outlook Indexing Status
- Fix Incomplete Search Results Problem
- Fix Greyed Out Search Bar in Outlook 2016
- Fix Personal Folder Outlook Data File (.PST)
- Disable Add-ins
- Inspect Windows Search Service
- Fix Outlook 2016 Search Issue via Windows Registry
| Note: In case, the Outlook search bar isn’t visible, perform the below steps or else proceed with the following workarounds. Go to File > Options > Customize. Select All Tabs under ‘Choose commands from’ section.From the list of tab selections, select ‘Search’, click ‘Add’, and then click ‘OK’ (refer to Fig 1 below). |
Note: If you find that problem is due to damage in an Outlook PST file then, try PST file recovery software to make Outlook error-free and to fix “outlook 2016 search not working” related problems.
1. How to fix Outlook Indexing Status
To check the indexing status in Outlook 2016, follow these steps:
- Open Outlook 2016 and click on ‘Search’ bar.
- Click ‘Search Tools’ drop-down and choose ‘Indexing Status…’
- Click ‘OK’ when the ‘Outlook has finished indexing all of your items‘ message is displayed within the ‘Indexing Status’ dialog box.
When the indexing is complete, Outlook will display mailboxes awaiting to be indexed. You can use the search function but may not find the desired mails or get incomplete results due to incomplete indexing status. So, if the indexing does not finish, try rebuilding the Outlook index.
Steps to Rebuild the Outlook Index
There are two different ways to rebuild the Outlook index and resolve the Outlook 2016 search issue.
a. Repair MS Office Installation
- Go to Control Panel>Programs>Programs and Features.
- Click on Outlook 2016 or Microsoft Office [VERSION].
- Click the ‘Change’ button at the top.
- Select ‘Repair’ and click ‘Continue’.
- This will begin repairing MS Office or Outlook 2016 installation that may fix the Outlook 2016 search issue.
b. Using Outlook Index Repair Option
Outlook 2016 also features ‘Indexing options…’ to fix Outlook index related issues. Follow these steps to rebuild the Outlook Index and fix the Outlook search problem:
- In Outlook 2016, go to File > Options > Search.
- Click on the ‘Indexing Options…’ button.
- Click ‘Microsoft Outlook’ and then click ‘Advanced’ button.
- Click ‘Rebuild’ and then click ‘OK’.
- Click ‘OK’ to continue with Outlook Index Rebuild.
- Wait for the Indexing process to complete.
Once the Indexing process is complete, check if the ‘Microsoft Outlook search not working’ issue is resolved. Once the Indexing process is complete, check if the ‘Microsoft Outlook cannot perform your search’ issue is resolved.
TIP: You may also search and open ‘Indexing Options’ from the Control Panel (as shown in the image below).
2. Fix Incomplete Outlook Search Results Problem
Outlook search function not working that indicates to if the search results are incomplete or missing older email items, apply the following methods:
a. Increase Email Sync Slider
This will enable Outlook to sync and index the older emails that may be missing in the Outlook search results. Follow these steps:
- Open Outlook and go to File > Account Settings > Account Settings.
- Select your email account and then click ‘Change’.
- Drag the slider to ‘All’ and then click ‘Next’.
- Click ‘OK’ when a prompt appears.
- Click ‘Finish’ to close the window and then restart Outlook.
- After restarting, Outlook will index all the mail items. Once done, you can search for the desired mails.
b. Allow Search to Display All Results
When you enter a search query in Outlook, it displays 250 search results by default. To show all results, follow these steps:
NOTE: This will show you all results but the search will be slower.
- Open Outlook and go to File>Options>Search.
- Unselect the ‘Improve search speed by limiting the number of results shown’ checkbox.
- Click ‘OK’ and restart the Outlook.
TIP: You may click ‘Include messages from Deleted items folder …’ checkbox to improve search results.
3. Fix Outlook Search bar when it’s Greyed in Outlook 2016
To fix the greyed out search bar, you need to repair the MS Office or Outlook 2016 installation. To do so, follow these steps:
- In Windows 10 PC, go to Settings > Apps.
- Search and click on Microsoft Office.
- Click ‘Modify’ and then select ‘Repair’ option.
Click ‘Continue’ to repair the MS Office installation which may fix the greyed-out search bar issue in Outlook 2016.
4. Fix Personal Folder Outlook Data File (.PST)
A corrupt Outlook data file (.pst) can cause severe issues including Outlook search problems. However, Outlook provides an Inbox Repair Tool or SCANPST.EXE to analyze and repair a corrupt or damaged PST file. The tool comes integrated with all the versions of Microsoft Outlook email client.
The default PST file location in Windows is: C:\Users\YOURUSERNAME\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook
To access and use the SCANPST.EXE tool, follow these steps:
- Open File Explorer and go to C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\
Or C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office16\
- Find and double-click on SCANPST.EXE
- Click ‘Browse’ to choose the corrupt Outlook PST file.
NOTE: SCANPST.EXE supports the PST file of size up to 2GB. It doesn’t support an encrypted PST file.
- Click on the ‘Start’ button to begin the Outlook data file scan process.
- After the scan, if the Inbox Repair Tool detects any error, it displays the following screen. Click ‘Repair.’
- After the repair, the following message is displayed. Click ‘OK’ to close it.
Now you may restart Outlook and check if the search not working in outlook problem is resolved.
Alternatively, you can use a PST repair tool such as Stellar Repair for Outlook to fix a corrupt PST file. The software can also fix oversized, encrypted, or severely corrupt PST Outlook data file.
It not only helps resolve Outlook search problems by fixing corrupt PST files but also lets you save the repaired PST mail items to various file formats such as MSG, PDF, HTML, RTF, and EML.
5. Disable Add-ins
Outlook add-ins help add features and improve productivity. However, sometimes an incompatible or outdated Outlook add-in can cause chaos and lead to issues such as Outlook crash, Outlook not responding, or Outlook search problems.
Follow these steps to disable Outlook add-ins and fix the Outlook search issue:
- In Outlook, and go to File > Options > Add-ins.
- In Manage list, select COM Add-ins and click ‘Go’.
- Clear the checkbox of the add-ins that you want to remove, and then click ‘OK’.
- Restart Outlook.
6. Inspect Windows Search Service Status
To inspect Windows Search Service status, follow the given steps:
- Press Windows+R, type services.msc, and click ‘OK’.
- Scroll down and find ‘Windows Search’.
- Check if its ‘Status’ is ‘Running’. If not, right-click on ‘Windows Search’ and select ‘Start’.
- Then double click on ‘Windows Search’ and select ‘Automatic (Delayed Start)’ in ‘Startup Type’ drop-down.
- Click ‘OK’ and close all windows.
- Restart Windows PC and Outlook to check if the Outlook search problem is resolved.
7. Fix Outlook Search Issue via Windows Registry
- Press Windows+R, type Regedit and click ‘OK’. This opens the Registry Editor.
- Paste the following registry key location in the address bar and press ‘Enter’.
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows Search
- Right-click on ‘Windows Search’ and select New>Dword (32-bit) Value.
- Name the Dword as ‘PreventIndexingOutlook’.
- Double-click on PreventIndexingOutlook. Enter 0 in Value data: field and click ‘OK’.
- Reboot your system.
For Troubleshooting Outlook search issues here is the Manual Guide
Conclusion
You may face ‘Outlook search not working’ issue due to incomplete Outlook indexing or corrupt PST file. This blog helps you understand various Outlook search problems and details several troubleshooting methods to fix these problems.
For instance, if the cause of the Outlook search problem is a corrupt Outlook data file, you can repair the PST file by using Stellar Repair for Outlook or Inbox Repair Tool (SCANPST.EXE). These utilities can repair PST file and recover the entire mailbox data. After the damaged PST file is repaired, the ‘Search’ feature in Outlook should work properly.
Stellar Repair for Outlook is a recommended solution for fixing such issues caused by corrupt PST files as it provides several advantages over the SCANPST.EXE tool. The software supports encrypted Outlook data files, shows a preview of recovered mailbox data before saving, saves the recovered Outlook data file in multiple file formats, and more.
It works in almost all situations when the Inbox repair tool fails to resolve the issue. Check what the other MVPs and other experts have to say about this software: Click Here.
Check What MVP says about our software:
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About The Author
Eric Simson is an Email Platform Consultant and is associated with Stellar Data Recovery from last 6 years. He writes about the latest technology tips and provides custom solutions related to MS Outlook, MS Exchange Server, Office 365, and many other Email Clients & Servers.
Thanks for the excellent information, it is useful.
After rebuilding MS Outlook Index, the search function is working again. Thanks for your contribution.
First of all, thank you for your article Eric.
I had this issue with Outlook 2016 and tried everything you explained without success. I think the problem relies upon the Outlook PST file.
When I click on it, in advanced properties, I check the “allow index” square and then apply, then I open outlook, but search still doesn’t work. Then I go back to my pst file and find that the index option is not checked.
Sorry, I forgot to say that in safe mode outlook search works perfectly
Now, I am using Outlook 2016 with Windows 10 OS without any searching issue.
I solved it, Eric !
It is from file .pst advanced properties. Must check allow indexing !!!
Hi,
I am having a problem like this.
Apart from the search function, some emails are missing from Outlook Mailbox. Due to the busy schedule, I haven’t taken backup of Outlook data file since last 15 days. So, it seems impossible to recover missing emails from Outlook 2016 folder.
Please help me as soon possible!
Thanks,
Alan Moore
Denver, USA
Follow the procedures as we have discussed in this tutorial for eliminating search issue. I hope, you would be successful to resolve this one ongoing issue.
But, Recovery of missing emails is possible through repairing damaged Outlook PST file.
That does not work on office 365 upgrade, only rebuilding the windows profile does the trick, tedious but other than that no go.
We have a ticket into Microsoft about this issue with no fix thus far.
Hi Eric,
I did entire work in the following steps:
1. Via ‘online mode’ Outlook 2016 is working fine for the search
2. index rebuild three times.
3. Remove unnecessary add-ins from MS Outlook menu bar
4. Now, I am enjoying the adequate search result.
Hi Eric,
I am at a total loss. i have run the scanpst on my main .ost folder, as well as the other folders and for a while it seems that the search indexes and then it just seems to reset and omit all Outlook results / indexing. it gets stuck at 53 297 item indexed, but i another some 140000 items in mail that are not indexed.
something odd is going on. i have checked the correct setting in the file / contents setting in indexing as well as rebuilt and restarted the PC numerous times. I have even recovered office on line (reinstall effectively) but this hasn’t helped either. please please can you help.
Hi Andrew,
Could you please let us the Outlook version you are working upon as solution varies from version to version.
Hi Eric,
It is version 16.0.6965.2058
I have now completely uninstalled and reinstalled and it is still unable to search in outlook 2016.
Looking forward to your assistance.
thanks
Andrew
Hello Andrew,
A majority of Outlook users are getting the same experience with this version. To fix this issue adequately, we need to work on the compatibility of file contents as well as indexing in Outlook 2016.
To solve this problem completely, go through set of instructions as follows:
1. Open the File –> Options
2. Now Click on ‘Search‘.
3. Select “Indexing Options”.
4. Then, click on “Advanced”.
5. Now Go through “File Types” Tab
6. Scroll down till you didn’t find ‘PST’ and check the box
7. Now, Trick the radio button along “Index Properties and File Contents”.
8. Repeat the same procedure for ‘OST’ file.
9. Set “Plain Text Filter” and click on ‘OK’.
10. Close the application
In case, if you face any technical barrier then feel free to share with us.
Hi Eric,
It was the only solution that worked for me, then about a week later, Outlook 2016 search as back to not working again with the error “Search results may be incomplete”.
It works, but it doesn’t access the index, and you have to wait. I’m convinced there’s a bug because Outlook 2013 search works fine on Windows 10 PC and doesn’t crap out like this.
I have observed that the problem is related to damage in Outlook file. Can you help me on this one issue?
Sure!
You should go for Outlook repair tool.
hello Eric
help me to fix search option in outlook.
You should look into indexing status of MS Outlook.
I am getting the same i.e. Outlook search not working in Outlook 2013. From last few days, I encountered this problem whenever fired search query for any item in Outlook mailbox.
During search over the internet, I came through this post but it is targeted to Outlook 2016 mail.
Please help me!
To fix the search not working issue in Outlook 2013, please follow the steps given below:
1. Go to the File menu
2. Click on the options.
3. Go to the search setting
4. Click on the Indexing Option
5. In the indexing option Click on Advanced.
6. Click on ‘Rebuild’
7. Click ‘Ok’ and Close the Tab
Above steps are effective to rebuild the search index again and you would be able for searching recent emails in Outlook.
Still, Outlook 2016 instant search not working for me. I have tried this three times, going back to Outlook 10 because search is a critical function for me.
If possible, please share the screenshot of the error. Then, we will try to fix this problem efficiently.
Hi Eric,
My Outlook 2016 becomes nightmare for me. Its search functionality has stopped working since 1st may. I have tried all methods mentioned above but didn’t get the expected result.
However, I didn’t check PST corruption issue yet. I have no idea about ScanPST.exe file location.
Can you provide the location of Scanpst.exe as I want to try the last solution provided by you in this post?
Thanks in advance!
Hello Daniel,
In MS Outlook 2016, predefined location of ScanPST.exe is mentioned below:
For 32-bit Windows PC:
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office16\
For 64-bit Windows PC:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office16\
Do let us know if the problem still persist.
Hi Eric,
My searching is still not working, and it’s too slow. It first shows the result of 2015, 2016 and it takes ages to show the latest one.
My outlook 2016 is already updated to the latest version(7870.2031) it says when I try to update it.
Tried modifying indexing, rebuilding everything but nothing fruitful.
Any suggestion would be really helpful.
Regards
Umesh
Hi Umesh,
If the search problem still exists, then create new Windows profile.
I have found rebuilding the windows profile has worked for my company.
How about outlook 2013 shared mailbox that my inbox emails will go missing and then returned after I restarted my Outlook.
Thank you.
Somehow Outlook users accidentally move the location of ‘outlook data file’. In this situation, you should restart Outlook again.