If you are an old Outlook user your mailbox must have been filled with thousands of emails. To search for something specific in one email, we use just it in the search box and Outlook shows us the most related results. But, due to some technical glitch, Outlook could show ‘No Results’. If you are facing the same problem and looking for solutions to how to fix Outlook search not working then, this quick guide comes in handy.
Why is my Outlook search not working?
If you’re looking for specific information in an email, and Outlook doesn’t show emails or results based on your search then the Outlook search engine must have a problem. Below are some of the known reasons why your Outlook search not working:
- Outlook OST file has damaged
- Windows search feature is turned ‘Off’
- An out-dated Microsoft Office
- Issues in Windows Indexing Service
How to fix Outlook search not working on Mac?
You can fix Outlook search results with the help of ‘rebuild database’, follow the below-mentioned steps and use the rebuilt service on your Mac device.
Step 1: Close the MS Office applications like you are currently using like MS Excel, Office, etc.
Step 2: Click on the ‘Option’ key and select ‘Outlook’ the ‘Microsoft Database Utility’ will open.
Step 3: Now, choose the database identity you would want to rebuild.
Step 4: Select the option of ‘Rebuild’ and let the process complete
Step 5: Once it’s finished, restart your Mac and open the Outlook account.
Now, Outlook search not working on Mac must have been solved. See the following section if you are facing the same problem in Outlook 2016 version.
How to if Outlook 2016 Mac search not working?
Outlook has a search repair tool within itself that enables search features and shows search results on the basis of what you search. Read and follow the instructions written below step by step:
Step 1: Go to the ‘Menu’ and open ‘Select Preferences’
Step 2: Open the menu of ‘Privacy’ and click on ‘Go to Folder’
Step 3: In the ‘Go to Folder’ dialogue box, copy and paste the following position, and click on ‘Go’:
“~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/Outlook/Outlook 15 Profiles/”
Step 4: Pull the ‘Main Profile’ and drop it down to the ‘Privacy’ tab. Once the profile is added, remove it and the spotlight reindexes the folder.
You can perform the same steps for other profile folders you want to re-build. The aforementioned method must have helped you in fixing Outlook 2016 Mac search not working. If none of the above helped you, you can try one of the below-mentioned troubleshooting steps.
Easy solutions for Outlook search not working.
Not always difficult solutions are the most effective ones, sometimes even bigger issues can be fixed by easy solutions. Below is the list that includes some of the easiest ways to fix Outlook search not working issues.
- Install the recent updates of Microsoft Outlook — Microsoft releases new updates to fix internal issues and smoother function. Using an outdated version of Outlook might disable some of the important features.
- Delete and Reinstall MS Outlook — Before you delete the existing Microsoft Outlook, make sure you create a backup of all the files. Remove it from your device and reinstall for smoother function.
All the aforementioned solutions for how to fix Outlook search not working are very effective. In case you still could not fix it, simply drop a comment and connect with our representatives. Don’t forget to like and share this article to help your colleagues and friends.
