Fix Outlook Search Not Working with Simple Solutions

  

Mark Regan
Published: February 12th, 2026 • 7 Min Read

Using Outlook for everyday conversations is the right choice, and using all of its features at work is a great way to improve your performance. But what if Outlook search not working? Don’t worry, you have reached the right blog page to find the exact solution for the Outlook search function not working issue.

Microsoft Outlook sometimes shows responses like “no results found” or “incomplete results,” and sometimes the search bar is greyed out. These are the common symptoms that inform us Outlook search option not working properly. The Outlook search bar not working mainly because of an indexing error. This is a catalog that helps you to locate your emails, contacts, and other files. When this catalog gets corrupted or stuck, then your Outlook search box not working and you will face this problem.

In this blog post, we are going to discuss solutions to fix the Outlook rebuild index problem. The solutions we are using to solve the Outlook search box not working problem are fully tested solutions. We use both manual and automatic methods to fix this issue safely, with complete data integrity. Along with this, we are sharing the common reasons due to which you are facing this issue.

So, let’s begin with understanding the root causes of the Outlook search box not working.

Common Reason of Outlook Search Not Working

The Outlook search function not working properly due to many reasons few of which are listed below.

• When the problem arises from the search index, such as if your index is stuck, not updated, the index gets corrupted, Outlook is accidentally excluded from Windows indexing, or PST and MSG files are not properly indexed.
• The corrupted OST/PST files and a big mailbox slow down your Outlook search, due to which the search bar failing.
• Outdated Outlook and Windows, recent updates, and third-party add-ins might affect the Outlook search and create a glitch or cause failure in your Outlook search.
• If your default settings, folder limits, or an old version of Outlook also show incomplete results and maybe restrict your profile.

These were the major reasons that are affecting the search bar, due to which your Outlook search function not working.

Let’s move on to the solutions explained in the next sections to get rid of this.

Fixing Outlook Search Function Not Working Issue Manually

To resolve the Outlook search bar not working manually, you can use its default indexing option, which is already in the Outlook application. Follow the instructions below carefully to fix the Outlook search box not working issue:

1. Open Outlook on your computer PC.
2. Click on “File” menu, and go to “Options” menu.
3. At left side you will see “search” menu click on.
4. In side the “search” column, you will get “indexing options…” button; hit that button.
5. The new window is open here, hit the “advanced” button.
6. In the “troubleshooting” column and hit the “Rebuild” button.
7. Hit the “OK” button.
8. And the repair started.
9. Done, after rebuilding, your search bar started working normally.

You can also try other manual solutions like restarting the application, checking for Updates, and disabling add-ins.

Restart Application

1. Close the Outlook application completely on your computer.
2. Open windows task manager by entering the command.
   Ctrl+Shift+Esc+Delete
3. Then, select your running Outlook and click on the button.
4. After that, open your Outlook and check.
5. If this method doesn’t work for you, do updates.

Update Outlook

1. Open the Outlook application on your computer PC.
2. Go to the Files and choose Office Account option, and click on the Update Option.
3. Then, choose the Update Now button and click on it.
4. Done! After updating your Search bar working normally.
5. When this solution also fails, you can try the last manual solution.

Remove Add-ins

1. Open Outlook on your Windows PC.
2. Then, go to the “File” menu and navigate to the “Options” menu.
3. Now, navigate to add-ins, go to the manage area, and select the COM add-ins.
4. Then, click on the “OK” button.
5. Done, your search bar starts working normally.

Using the following solution, you can simply repair your Outlook search bar not working. It has some limitations that you must know before using it.

Limitations of Using a Manual Solution

• The use of the default method to solve the Outlook search not working problem only rebuilds the index option, not the complete mailbox.
• The Rebuilding Inbox process might take a long time to complete when you have big size of mailbox with large data.
• Views and search results may be incomplete if the process isn’t finished.
• This process is not helpful for non-tech users; any accidental mistakes lead to account corruption.
• Using this rebuilding function might solve the problem; if not, the problem remains constant.
• The manual methods do not work in the case of OST and PST file corruption.
• The use of other manual solutions will temporarily fix the problem, but the issues might recur.
• If the corruption happens with your account, the mentioned manual solution does not work.
• Updating an Outlook application will only fix the issue bugs; it might solve the real problem completely.
• Removal of add-ins also stopped the work of some features of Outlook. If the problem does not belong to the add-ins, then the removal of the add-ins is useless.

These were the major limitations of using all the manual solutions that you should know before attempting any of these. However, you can try the next upcoming solution to overcome this issue without taking a risk of your account.

How to Fix Outlook Search Option Not Working Automatically?

You can fix Outlook search not working issues automatically with the use of BitRecover OST Repair Tool, if your Outlook search box not working after attempting all the described manual solutions in the above section. This tool simply repairs your OST file corruption issues and recovers all the inaccessible emails in a few simple clicks. It maintained data integrity during the complete repair process.

Easy Steps of Automatic Solution

1. Download and install the tool on your PC.
2. Then, open the application on your Windows OS.
3. After that, click next to move to the next page.
4. Select the option between file/folder, and select the location where your OST files are located.
5. Then click on the next button, and now check the OST folder you want to fix.
6. After that, click on the next button and select the OST file option.
7. Set the destination path for the repair to be files.
8. Finally, click on the repair button to start repairing.
9. Done! Your OST files are repaired successfully, and your Outlook search bar starts working normally.

The use of an automatic solution will make your work easy and secure in any Outlook error situation.

Strength of Automatic Solution

• The automatic solution comes with multiple export options, such as PST, EML, CSV, and others, that help users in case of conversion.
• You can recover your deleted emails, attachments, contacts, and calendar with the same tool.
• The software has a selective folder option that allows you to repair specific email folders.
• Data integrity is maintained during the complete repair process, and the original formatting, like metadata and folder structure, is preserved.
• Application can repair batch OST files at once, and allow export efficiently without any errors.
• Software is user-friendly, which is why non-tech users can easily use it without any risk.

Final Thoughts

Using Microsoft Outlook with its dynamic features for daily conversation is a great way to improve your work performance. In this blog, we explained the reason why your Outlook search not working. We tested both manual and automated solutions to address the Outlook search function not working. When manual solutions are limited, take a long time for large mailboxes, and methods are difficult for non-tech users, mistakes can corrupt accounts. However, the automatic solution solves the Outlook search bar not working issues without any limitations, with complete data integrity. Non-tech users can also use this automatic method, and they can fix the Outlook search option not working issue easily.