Forum Discussion
Search not working in Outlook 2019 since updating to Monterey 12.1 on the Mac
There appears from other sites to be a very widespread problem with search not working in Outlook - no results obtained in Monterey- since the latest OS update. Rebuilding spotlight does not work and many people cannot change to the new version of outlook as they are served by older versions of Exchange Server.
It looks like a bug, but any ideas gratefully received.
202 Replies
Not working for me either. Things I tried....
1. My tech guy suggested that I remove my MS Hosted Exchange account in Outlook and then re-add it back to force a search reindex. I did that and it still didn't fix the search issue. By doing this, I also lost my email signature. Ughhhh!
2. I tried to run the "New Outlook" but that version is not compatible with MS Hosted Exchange.
3. I tried to install the Outlook Repair App on my mac and it said it's not compatible with my Monterey OS.
- I did everything socalidude did with the same results. I hope others check here before spending the time on all the solutions proposed online.
- I talked to Apple - implementation can make a difference Monterey on Intel or M1 processor / According of Microsoft Office is ready for M1 (Apple can not confirm - but said it should work) Obviously Microsoft still has to look into Spotlight search
SCSW_2021 I can confirm Outlook search does not in Monterey work if you are using the old version instead of New Outlook, so this is definately an application problem. I am using Outlook 2021 Version 1556 on a Mac running the latest version of Monterey.
1) If you continue to use the old version the Outlook Search does not work and this has been the case for a couple of months now. Many of us cannot upgrade as we are still using local folders, that the new version of Outlook does not currently support.
2) Switching to New Outlook resolves the issue and folders become searchable again, but not, of course, your local folders which are not supported.
3) Spotlight Search only seems to search accounts that have been set up in Apple Mail such as Google Mail (at least on my machine). It does not seem to search Outlook Mail using Oultlook Mail accounts.
4) None of the suggested fixes that used to work (resetting Spotlight privacy, rebuilding the Outlook database etc.) seem to work to resolve this issue.
BG
- Per Microsoft's customer service, they're working on it with Apple and said to use either the new Outlook interface (which is a crappy user interface and has folder limitations) or spotlight search. As said by others spotlight doesn't search Outlook so neither solution is helpful. OneDrive gets screwed up by Monterey as well, in case anyone's experiencing that.
Switch to New Outlook and the search function will work.
Many people like myself cant switch to the New Outlook. It says:
We can't move the following accounts and/or folders to the new Outlook... and then lists my accounts and folders.
I dont know why, as in the past I was able to try it for a while and all was fine, but I reverted to old outlook, with the intention of going back to the new outlook when I had time to learn its differences.
- But one of my email accounts is exchange. And emails in folders will not migrate over so that's another problem for me.
- This did NOT work for me but I am posting it just in case someone wants to try it. This suggestion was provided to me by Microsoft Support via Outlook chat.
***
Kindly follow the steps mentioned below and verify the outcome:
Reassociate Outlook for Outlook email files:
1. Drag and drop any email to the Desktop from Outlook.
2. Right click / Control click on the email you dragged to Desktop and select 'Get Info'.
3. Expand 'Open with' and select 'Other' in the dropdown.
4. In the Finder application, choose 'Microsoft Outlook'.
5. Check the box that says 'Always open with'.
6. Select 'Add', and then choose 'Change All'.
7. Select Continue when asked “Are you sure you want to change all similar documents to open with the application “Microsoft Outlook”.
Once done, Re-index Outlook email files in Spotlight:
1. Open the Apple menu.
2. Select System Preferences, and then choose Spotlight.
3. Select the Privacy tab.
4. In Finder:
On the Go menu choose Go to Folder...
Copy and paste the following location into the "Go to the folder:" dialog box and select Go:
~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/Outlook/Outlook 15 Profiles/
5. Drag the ‘Main Profile’ folder or the folder with your primary profile name to the Privacy tab. Once added, remove the folder, and Spotlight will re-index the folder.
Note: You must perform this step for any additional profile folders you may have. Please note depending on the amount of email you have this could take several hours to fully index your email files.
Let me know how it goes. Thanks!ajmarton Hello... I follow this steps... but it solves the issues just for a while; when I search something it take around 2 minutes to show something and then after 10 minutes the issues back and I can't find anything.
- Search should be pretty instantaneous if you are on Beta 22011201. Maybe you need to wait for Apple to complete indexing of your Outlook folder. Make sure the Outlook folder is not in your Spotlight/Privacy list under preferences
- the file association issue is real issue that seems to be resolved now (the MacOs update decided we should be using Mail? how poor!). But the spotlight re-indexing is not working for me, so no fun!
- UPDATE: THIS LAST SOLUTION WORKS for me!! Now Outlook search is WORKING. BUT you have to wait a minute. The first response is 'No Results" but after around 10 - 30 seconds the field starts to populate with results. And then it keeps going. So this indicates to me that the index is still compiling. SO AFTER YOU PUT IN A SEARCH TERM - WAIT FOR THE INDEX TO WORK IN REAL TIME. Or try several hours later and see what happens. Good luck!
ajmarton You mentioned that following the instructions they gave you via chat (reindexing, etc., etc.) made it work for you? Can you confirm that your search is working fine now?
For me (MacBook Air, Intel, latest Outlook for Mac, POP account), while reindexing, the search seems to show some results (they increase as reindexing progresses). However, once reindexing is complete, I don't see any search results.
For new emails, I am using the Spotlight to search and click and opening them and replying.. but for any emails older than a few days, it's a real pain.
- Same issue here - interestingly it works on the old MacBook Pro (with Intel chip) Apple blames Microsoft • but I am not so sure (installed the latest Office on my MacBook Pro also with Monterey 12.1) For now I send back my MacBook Pro with M1 Pro chip - already spent 2 days trying to solve the Problem (New Outlook no Exchange)
- Hello Guys, I fix my Mac Air M1, Put in the private tab "Spotlight" the Macintosh HD and restart the PC, after power on deleting the Macintosh HD from Private Tab and wait for 20 to 30min to test the outlook search. Important the PC must maintain ON
- using other software packages does not solve the problem unfortunately! (with the large locally stored mailboxes one often needs to search through). Are MS Office products on the latest MacOS not expected to work properly?
annakorre It doesn't solve the problem but it's a workaround as I can search through my old emails (exchange and IMAP) with the Apple Mail App. It took 5 minutes to set it up. Hopefully, in the meantime, Microsoft and/or Apple or a user will figure out a solution that is specific to Outlook for Mac.
agreed and must say the situation is very tiring. It seems a permissions issue.
Surprised it should it take so long to resolve, if only there was good will a patch could be prepared and released and a little note could let us know what to expect
- Same problem here. MacBook Pro Intel. Tried all the ideas posted in various fora and even uninstalled Outlook and reinstalled. Nothing helped so far.
Come on Apple and Microsoft - we are not dealing with a minor piece of software with only a few users. Giv us some info and hopefully a speedy fix.
- I have tried all of the fixes suggested online. Some work for a day or less but then back to no search.
I am a MSFT partner and have been working with macs for around 20 years.
This is definitely a big in the Monterey upgrade. Probably permissions.
I would suggest a few changes but ill let apple release the patch.
Lets all remember, this is a bug that APPLE let slip not microsoft.
But. WHY NO EXCHANGE on the new outlook guys?? Seriously?? That is a fail in my opinion.. - any update for the fix ?
any news on this please? we are struggling a lot and need help to resolve the problem. I have very many years of records that cannot afford to lose and am currently severely disrupted in my work. thank you for your attention.
(switching to new Outlook and back seems to be reindexing but not fully correctly)
