5 Reasons and Methods to Fix Outlook Search not Working on Mac

Summary: This write-up is a comprehensive guide on the recent Outlook search not working on Mac issue. It covers a brief about the problem, some factors affecting it, and prominent solutions/suggestions to fix the Mac Outlook search box.

User Query- For a few days my Outlook Search stopped working suddenly. I am unable to find the reason Why is my search not working in Outlook? on Mac. I have tried several solutions but none solved my query. Can you please suggest what are the reasons behind this and how I get Outlook search to work on my Mac?

Outlook is a popular email client used by millions of users over the globe. The application has several features, like an advanced search function that helps to spot emails easily on a Mac Outlook. However, in recent times, users are facing the Outlook Mac search not working problem. So here, we will provide some top reasons and practical solutions to fix the issue.

Why Outlook search is not Working in Mac?

There can be several reasons for the incompetency of the Outlook Search Function. Let’s see some of the main causes (top 5 reasons) for Outlook search not working on Mac.

1. Outlook Profile is in the Privacy tab of the Spotlight: If a particular name is reflected in the Spotlight settings, the Spotlight is not allowing the items appear that you are searching for. This issue is arriving mostly in Mac Outlook 2016 and 2019 versions.
2. Special Characters in the Outlook Profile: If there are any special characters like (/), (\), (!), (*), (-) in your Outlook profile, it can affect the working of the Outlook Search function. This particular issue is arising in all Outlook versions.
3. Outdated Outlook Version: If you have an outdated Outlook version, it will create the Outlook search not working on Mac issue. As the version is not compatible with the operating system.
4. Wrong Directory of the Outlook Profile Folder: The Outlook 15 Profiles folder needs to be located on the directory, i.e. ~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/Outlook. If your Profiles folder is missing from there, it might be a cause of the Seach function failure. This is a common reason in all Outlook versions.
5. Re-Index Outlook Database: You can manually terminal commands to manually force Outlook to index your data. This issue is common in all Outlook versions.

Next to this, we will use different solutions to solve the Outlook Mac search not working problem.

Quality Methods to Fix Outlook Search not Working on Mac Issue

Before you try the below methods to fix the Mac OS Outlook email search not working issue, know that the search feature may not immediately begin to work properly. As the spotlight will take some time to index all the data contained in your Outlook profile.

1. Examine the Privacy Tab of the Spotlight

• Go to the Apple Menu and click on the System Preference option.
• Click the Spotlight icon and hit on the Privacy option.
• If your Outlook profile is shown here, tap the minus(-) sign in the below-left corner.
• Once it is done, restart your device and check if the Outlook 365 search not working Mac issue is resolved.

If the issue is still not resolved then move ahead and try the next method to get rid of this issue.

2. Check Special Characters in the Outlook Profile

It may be possible that some special characters in your Outlook profile lead to the generation of an Outlook search not working on Mac issue. Implement the following steps to fix the issue.

• Go to Applications on your Mac Machine and right-click on the Outlook icon.
• Hit on the Show Package Contents option and open the Contents folder.
• After that, open the SharedSupport folder and click twice on the Outlook Profile Manager.
• In this pop-up, check if there are any special characters present in your profile.
• If yes, then click on the Go menu from the Menu bar.
• After that, hit on the Go to Folder.
• Copy and paste the ~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/Outlook location in it and press Enter.
• In this menu, go to Outlook 15 Profiles and rename it.
• Finally, restart your device to see whether the Outlook search not working on Mac issue is resolved or not.

Sometimes, the problem arises when we have checked the regular Outlook updates.

3. Check For Outlook Updates

It is a better idea always to keep checking for regular Outlook updates. Otherwise, it can create issues like Outlook Mac searches not working.

• Open Applications on your Mac system and go to the App Store app.
• Hit on the Update option from the left side panel.
• Check if there is any Microsoft pending update for MS Outlook.
• If yes, then click on the Update button to start installing the update.
• Once, it is done, restart your system and see if the Outlook email search not working is fixed or not.

If your Outlook Profile is not stored in the right place, it may also generate an Outlook search not working on Mac issue. The solution to fix the issue is easy and is outlined below.

4. Cross-Check Outlook Profile Location

• Go to the Finder, hit on the Go button, and hit on the Go to Folder option.
• Provide the following folder path ~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/Outlook and click Enter.
• Now, open Outlook 15 Profiles folder and check for a sub-folder with your profile’s name.
• If you are unable to find a sub-folder with your name in the Outlook 15 Profiles folder, you need to find your Mac for your profile’s folder and shift it to Outlook 15 Profiles.

The last and final option to fix Outlook 365 search not working Mac is to manually re-index the Outlook database using the given procedure.

5. Re-Index Outlook Database Manually

• Go to the Application menu and then click on the Utilities option.
• After that, launch the Terminal app to proceed ahead.
• Type the mdimport-L command and click the Enter button.
• Examine the entries that look like Microsoft Outlook Spotlight Importer.mdimporter or something similar.
• If there is more than one entry with this name, you will need to re-index your Outlook in the following manner.
• Provide the following command in the Terminal,

mdimport -g “/Applications/Microsoft Outlook.app/Contents/Library/Spotlight/Microsoft Outlook Spotlight Importer.mdimporter” -d1 “/Users/<user_name>/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/Outlook/Outlook 15 Profiles/<my_profile_name>”.

• Make the below changes in the command:

Replace <user_name> with your own Mac account’s name.

Replace <my_profile_name> with your MS Outlook account name.

• Implement this command by hitting on the Enter button and waiting for the procedure to complete.

Note: This procedure to fix Outlook search not working on Mac can be time-consuming.

If any solution mentioned above does not work, then you should opt to backup your Outlook emails or Outlook account. It is a better choice to create a safe copy of your Outlook data that will help you in retrieving Outlook data in the future.

Smart Way to Backup MS Outlook Data on Mac

MacSonik Outlook.com Backup Tool is a smart choice to completely backup your important Outlook data files. It efficiently backup Outlook.com emails without any mismanagement and generates 100% original backup results. Its interface is very simple to use, just implement the following steps to go along the process.

Steps to Backup Outlook Data

1. Go to Macsonik.com and download the Outlook backup Tool for Mac.
2. Install and Run the Software on your device and log in with the required credentials.
3. Tick the items you would like to save and click Next.
4. Choose the required saving option from the drop-down menu.
5. Apply some built-in features of the tool.
6. Lastly, click Convert to start the backup procedure.

Also, Read – Export Hotmail Emails to PST

Final Words

In this tutorial, we have stated the tried and tested techniques to fix the Outlook search not working on Mac. You can try and implement all the solutions one after another. If none of the solutions provides desired results, consider saving your data by creating a backup of your important items. You can use the Mac Outlook.com Backup tool to back up the whole Outlook data safely on your Mac device. It can also migrate emails from Outloo.com/Live.com/Hotmail to Gmail, Yahoo, Office 365, IMAP, iCloud, etc.

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