Search not working in Outlook 2019 since updating to Monterey 12.1 on the Mac

[SCSW_2021]

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.

[#2]

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)

[#3]

I have contacted MS support via MS Outlook help yesterday.

They came up with a lot of useless tipps like reindexing and at last they stated this: 

(German original text, even if I think this was machine translated. Will post translation below)

"Danke für die Zeit, Matthias. Ich möchte Sie darüber informieren, dass wir das Problem dem Apple-Team gemeldet haben, da die Suchfunktion nach dem Update von macOS 12.1 unterbrochen wurde. Das betroffene Team arbeitet mit Apple zusammen, um herauszufinden, was das Problem verursachen könnte. Vorerst empfehlen wir Ihnen, manuell nach den E-Mails zu suchen. Schätzen Sie Ihre Geduld und Zusammenarbeit. Danke!"

Translation:

"Thank you for your time, Matthias. I would like to inform you that we have reported the problem to the Apple team as the search function was interrupted after the macOS 12.1 update. The affected team is working with Apple to find out what could be causing the problem. For now, we recommend you manually search for the emails. Appreciate your patience and cooperation.
Thank you. "

At least they have acknowledged the issues and are working with Apple to solve the issue.

[#4]

Switching to the New outlook format fixed the problem...though I don't like this format much. Buy, hey, things are working properly now!

[#5]

That's true, searchs are working in new outlook. However, you can not configure an Exchange account into new outlook, so that solution is still useless for big number of exchange users. 

@witsende 

[#6]

sorry, this is not a solution. .pst folders are not available and our long term archives not accessible. Very much hope the experts are listening and doing something to resolve the issues

[#7]

any update for the fix ?

[#8]

@Matthias_Wagner Hello there... did they contact you further regarding this or you are still waiting some reply?

[#9]

@witsende Just a follow-on comment here. I'm not sure what the difference between a (cloud-)Hosted Exchange and a (cloud-)hosted Microsoft 365 account is, if any, but the search function now works on my Microsoft 365-hosted account when I use New Outlook on Outlook 16.56 on the Mac....

[#10]

@VladanJ75 

Not really ... just that:

My last comment:
"Thanks, I read the last message and hope there will be a solution soon."
The last answer from MS support:
"Thanks for the reply, Matthias. I understand the concern, as this needs to be tested and the fix rolled out, we will not be able to give the time when the issue can be fixed. Please bear with us so we can investigate and fix the issue.

However, I will close this ticket for now. If you need help with Outlook for Mac. Please feel free to contact us through the same channel and we will be more than happy to assist you.

Wishing you a very happy new year."

[#11]

@Matthias_Wagner now i start to rebuilt the main profile if work i will send you upgrade.

[#12]

1. Go to the following location:

~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/Outlook/Outlook 15 Profiles/Main Profile/Data
2. Move the Outlook.sqllite file to your desktop. (This will force Outlook to detect an issue and to do an auto rebuild).
3. When the Rebuild is completed, open Outlook and perform a search.
4. If the search is working then delete the 'Outlook.sqllite' file from your desktop.

[#13]

@Nkubikarg I am sorry to disapoint you but this will not work.

[#14]

Let us be patient a little longer. Thank you For keeping us in the loop

[#15]

@annakorre I tried everything with the same wrong result, the last information from help desk today here in Argentina, from Microsoft, the problem is the data access from Outlook to spotlight app, but now is an objet of disappointment between OSX Apple and Office team.

[#16]

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..

[#17]

@SCSW_2021 

Same issue for me, tried every work around, no reindex or rebuild helped for me . 

Even formatted my MAC, didn't' work. 

It is really a pain and hope a fix will be released soon. 

[#18]

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

[#19]

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.

[#20]

Now you know, why MS did not have time to fix the search bug.
https://thehackernews.com/2022/01/microsoft-issues-fix-for-exchange-y2k22.html

[#21]

@SCSW_2021 Interestingly, Apple Mail (which also has the same account setups for me) works fine and the search finds emails on my exchange mail account as well as my personal account.  So that is one temporary solution if you have both MS Outlook and Apple Mail setup on your Mac system.