Top 7 Ways to Fix Outlook Search Not Working on Windows 11

Outlook is the most reliable email client for Windows users. But that doesn’t mean that it will run indefinitely without problems. There may be times when the Outlook application does not perform its functions. One such occasion is when Outlook search stops working.

If you were unable to browse your mailbox because Outlook search is not showing results, here are some troubleshooting tips to fix Outlook search on Windows 11.

1. Repair the application

Microsoft offers a handy repair tool to find and fix problems with Microsoft Office applications. Therefore, this is the first place you should start.

Step 1: Press Windows key + R to launch the Run command and type appwiz.cpl and press Enter.

2nd step: In the Programs and Features window, find Microsoft Office Suite or Microsoft 365. Right-click on it and select Change.

Step 3: Select Quick Repair or Online Repair and press the Repair button to continue.

2. Run the troubleshooter

Because Outlook uses Windows Search to provide faster results, you can try running a troubleshooter to see if the problem lies with Windows Search. Here’s how.

Step 1: Open the start menu, type troubleshoot settings, and press Enter.

2nd step: Select Other Convenience Stores.

Step 3: Scroll down to locate Search and Indexing. Click the Run button and follow the onscreen instructions to begin troubleshooting.

3. Use the registry editor

If the above solutions don’t help, you can try using a Microsoft suggested workaround to fix Outlook search on Windows 11. The process is to tweak Registry Editor to turn off the Windows Desktop Search service. for Outlook.

Step 1: Press Windows Key + R to open the Run dialog box. Type regedit in the Open field and press Enter.

2nd step: Use the address bar at the top to navigate to the next key.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREPoliciesMicrosoftWindows

Step 3: Right click on the empty area to your right, go to New and select Key. Name it WindowsSearch.

Step 4: Select the newly created key. Right-click on the empty area, navigate to New and select the DWORD (32-bit) value. Name it PreventIndexingOutlook.

Step 5: Double click on the newly created DWORD and change its value data to 1.

Exit Registry Editor and restart your PC. This should fix Outlook search on Windows 11.

4. Check indexing and search locations

Then you can review the options and index locations to make sure everything has been set up correctly.

Step 1: Open Outlook and go to the search box at the top.

2nd step: Expand the Search Tools menu and select Indexing Status.

If Outlook indexes the files, wait for the process to complete and use Outlook Search again to see if it works.

5. Rebuild the search index

Another way to fix Outlook search on Windows is to manually rebuild the search index cache. Several users were able to resolve the issue with this method. You can also try it.

Step 1: Click the Search icon in the taskbar, type control Panel, and press Enter.

2nd step: Change the view type to icons and click Indexing Options.

Step 3: In the Indexing Options window, click Advanced.

Step 4: In the Troubleshooting section, click the Rebuild button.

Once done, restart the Outlook app and see if the search works now.

6. Reinstall Microsoft Outlook

If the problem persists, you can uninstall the Outlook application and reinstall it. This should remove all data associated with the app and fix Outlook search issues.

To uninstall Microsoft Outlook, open the Start menu, type Outlook. Right click on the first search result and select the Uninstall option.

7. System restore

Finally, if nothing works, you can try using System Restore on Windows. It is possible that some recent changes to your PC have led to an issue with Outlook search not working. If so, you can use System Restore to revert to a time when Outlook Search was working fine. Here’s how.

Step 1: Open the start menu, type create a restore point and click on the first result that appears.

2nd step: Click the System Restore button under the System Protection tab.

Step 3: You can either use the recommended restore point or choose one yourself by choosing the second option.

Choose a restore point before the problem occurs and click Next. From there, follow the onscreen instructions to perform a system restore.

Your search ends here

Outlook search tool makes it easy to find emails, contacts, tasks, etc. Hope the above solutions have put an end to your Outlook search problems for now. If you find another solution that works for you, please share it with us in the comments.