Why is a keyword search result sorted by 'top results' rather than strictly sorted by date and time when 'Received' is clicked?

Question

Search inbox for a name, e.g. smith, and click 'received' header to sort by date/time, and some 'top results' emails will be above the most recent emails, even though they should be chronologically earlier.

Answer 1

Dear @Kenneth A Shackel,

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Q&A forum. I’m happy to assist you.

To turn off the Top Results feature, please follow the steps below:

For Classic Outlook (desktop):

File > Options > Search > uncheck “Show most relevant search results on top.”

Restart Outlook to ensure the updated settings are applied.

For the new Outlook:

Select the Settings (⚙️) icon in the upper-right corner > General > Search > uncheck “Show top most relevant results.”

Restart Outlook to ensure the updated settings are applied.

I hope this information is helpful. If you need any further assistance, please feel free to reach out. We are here to help. Thank you very much for your understanding and cooperation.

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