6 Ways to Fix Outlook Search Not Working on Windows 11

Quick Tips

• Running Microsoft’s Office repair tool is an effective way to resolve various issues with Outlook, including this one.
• If the issue persists, you can run the Windows search troubleshooter and rebuild the search index.
• Consider repairing Outlook PST files if the search function won’t work as expected.

Fix 1: Run the Office Repair Tool

Microsoft offers a handy repair tool that can automatically detect and fix problems with all Office apps, including Outlook. You can start by running this tool to see if that gets Outlook search to work again.

Step 1: Press the Windows key + R to launch the Run dialog box, type in appwiz.cpl and press Enter.

Step 2: In the Programs and Features window, locate and select Microsoft Office Suite or Microsoft 365. Then, click the Change option at the top.

Step 3: Select the Online Repair option and click the Repair button to continue.

Fix 2: Check the Indexing Status

Next, you should check Outlook’s indexing status on your PC. If Outlook is in the process of indexing your emails, the search feature may not work as well.

Step 1: Open the Outlook app and click the search box at the top.

Step 2: Click the Search Tools menu and select Indexing Status.

If Outlook is indexing files, wait for the process to finish and then use the search function again.

Fix 3: Run the Search and Indexing Troubleshooter

Another thing you can do to fix issues related to Outlook search is run the search and indexing troubleshooter on Windows. Here are the steps for the same.

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

Step 2: Select Other troubleshooters.

Step 3: Scroll down and click the Run button next to Search and Indexing. Then, follow the on-screen prompts to run the tool.

Fix 4: Rebuild Search Index

Such issues with Outlook search on Windows can also occur if the existing search index has become corrupted. To fix this, you will need to rebuild the search index on Windows using the following steps.

Step 1: Click on the search icon on the taskbar, type in indexing options, and press Enter.

Step 2: In the Indexing Options window, click on Advanced.

Step 3: Under the Troubleshooting section, click the Rebuild button.

This might take a while, so be patient. Restart the Outlook app after Windows finishes rebuilding the index and see if the search works.

Fix 5: Remove Microsoft Outlook From Indexed Locations

If rebuilding the search index proves ineffective, you can prevent Windows from indexing Microsoft Outlook. Several users on a Microsoft Community post managed to resolve the issue with Outlook search using this method. You can also give it a try.

Step 1: Click the search icon on the taskbar. Type indexing options in the box and press Enter.

Step 2: Click the Modify button.

Step 3: Uncheck the Microsoft Outlook box and click OK.

Restart Outlook after this and use the search feature again.

Fix 6: Repair Outlook PST Files

Outlook’s search function may stop working on Windows if the existing data files are damaged. Fortunately, Outlook offers a tool that can automatically fix problems with the data files. Here’s how to run it.

Step 1: Press the Windows key + E to open File Explorer and navigate to the following folder.

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\Office16

Step 2: Double-click the SCANPST.EXE file.

Step 3: Click Start to initiate the scan.

Step 4: If the tool finds any issues, click Repair.