Search function no longer working.

Question

My search function has ceased to work. Whether I put in a phone number or a person's name, the search comes up empty.

Answer 1

Hi @Renee Yeager,

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum.

To better understand the nature of the problem, may I kindly ask you to provide the following details:  

• Are you signed in using a personal Microsoft account (e.g., outlook.com or hotmail.com), or a work/school account?
• Are other members of your organization experiencing the same problem?
• Which platform are you using when the issue occurs—desktop app, web version, or mobile app? If you're encountering the issue on the desktop version of Teams, please try signing in via the web version to see if the problem persists there.
• Do you receive any error messages when attempting to search in Teams? If so, could you share a screenshot of the error?

In the meantime, here are a few steps you can try to potentially resolve the issue:  

1/ Clear the Teams cache:   

This forces the Teams client to reload fresh meeting and app data.   

• For classic Teams:   

You need quit Teams completely (right-click the icon in the taskbar => Quit).   

Press Windows + R to open the Run dialog and then enter: %appdata%\Microsoft\Teams 

Delete all files and folders inside and restart Teams.

• For new Teams:

Type settings in the search box, and then select the Settings app from the results.

Select Apps > Installed apps and then type Microsoft Teams in the search box.

Locate the New Microsoft Teams app from the results, select the More options button (...) on the right, and then select Advanced options.

In the Reset section, select Reset.

Restart Teams.

2/ Uninstall and reinstall Teams:

To uninstall Teams, you need to uninstall two items. Follow the steps below to fully uninstall Teams.

• Quit Teams by right-clicking the Teams icon in the taskbar and choosing Close window.
• In Windows, click on the Start button > Settings > Apps.
• Under Apps & features, search "teams".
• Highlight Microsoft Teams, then select Uninstall.
• A box will appear, then again select Uninstall to confirm. A new box will appear, asking "Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device?" > Select "Yes".
• Now select Teams Machine-Wide Installer, click Uninstall. Then follow the same process described in the previous step

• Now you can reinstall Teams via this link: Download Microsoft Teams Desktop and Mobile Apps | Microsoft Teams

3/ Contact Microsoft support

If the problem continues after these steps, it may require backend investigation. In that case, I recommend reaching out to your organization’s IT administrator to open a support ticket with Microsoft. A technical support engineer can perform a remote session, verify backend configurations, and run necessary diagnostics. If needed, they can escalate the issue to a specialized team.   

Note: If you’re an end-user, please coordinate with your IT administrator to handle the steps below.   

If you’re unsure who the IT administrator is within your organization, you can find guidance on locating them here: How do I find my Microsoft 365 admin? - Microsoft Support.  

If you are an admin of your organization, please follow the steps below to contact support:

• Submit a service request:  The Global Admin should create a service request with Microsoft support to get advanced technical assistance and diagnostics. For detailed instructions on how to get support, please refer to Get support - Microsoft 365 admin.        
• Call Microsoft support via phone: For additional assistance, use this link to find the appropriate contact number: Global Customer Service phone numbers - Microsoft Support    
• Contact a reseller (if applicable): If your subscriptions are managed through a federated partner or reseller and the Global Admin cannot open a service request, they should contact the reseller’s support provider. The reseller can assist with initiating the request and coordinating with the Office 365 support team.  

Note: Please understand that our initial response does not always resolve the issue immediately. However, with your help and more detailed information, we can work together to find a solution.

I hope this information is helpful. Please follow these steps and let me know if it works for you. If not, we can work together to resolve this.

Thank you for your patience and your understanding.

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