Search function is not working

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Search function is not working

McDill, Scott 0

my search function is not working. I'm trying to search my inbox for emails when I type a name or word in the search box, it says it is searching but does not show any emails. This just started happening a week ago.

Moved from: Microsoft 365 and Office | Microsoft Forms | For business

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Jeanie H 11,920 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Dear @McDill, Scott,

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

As a moderator, I don't have the tools to investigate your specific account directly. Because this is a user-to-user support forum. Moderators, contributors including external Microsoft employees cannot directly intervene in Microsoft product features or access back-end systems. Our role is limited to providing technical guidance on reported issues, requests, or ideas. However, I will try my best to guide you as clearly as possible.

To provide you with better support, could you please help me answer a few questions below:

If you try to find the email manually, are you able to locate it?

Which version of Outlook is this issue occurring in (Outlook on the web, New Outlook, or Classic Outlook)? Have you checked all three?

Regarding your mention of searching by 'name or word', could you please help me clarify? It would be very helpful if you could send a screenshot of the email you are looking for, along with the specific keyword you typed into the search box.

Since this is a public forum, please send those two images via private message for your privacy.

Note: To access your private messages, there will be a notification at the top of your post; please click on 'view message'.

With your help, I will try to pinpoint the exact issue you are facing.

I look forward to your support and response!

McDill, Scott 0 Reputation points

2026-02-22T05:48:43.6933333+00:00

using 16.78 Classic Outlook
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Jeanie H 11,920 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-02-23T23:47:33.2766667+00:00

Dear @McDill, Scott,

Could you help me check whether search works normally in both the New Outlook app and Outlook on the web, so I can know whether this issue is happening with the app or with the account?

Additionally, may I ask: when you search, are you searching by sender, recipient, or emails that contain that content, or by the subject containing that content?
McDill, Scott 0 Reputation points

2026-02-23T23:51:51.4733333+00:00

Hey,

It's the program on my computer, I guess that would be on my account, not 365.

Up until a few weeks ago I could just type the sender or receiver or any word and it would show all the emails in my inbox associated with that word.

I like to leave emails in my inbox and just search as I need to reference them.
Jeanie H 11,920 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-02-24T05:10:23.7333333+00:00

Dear @McDill, Scott,

I’m not sure if you have helped me check whether Outlook on the web and the New Outlook have a similar issue yet.

Also, I found this article that describes a similar issue, which you can refer to: FYI - Mac MS365 Outlook Search not working - Solved : r/Office365

However, this page is not supported by Microsoft, so please take that into consideration when referring to it.
Jeanie H 11,920 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-02-24T23:18:40.38+00:00

Dear @McDill, Scott,

Please feel free to let me know more details or share any updates, I’ll be happy to continue assisting you.

Thank you again, and I look forward to hearing from you.

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