Classic Outlook Search is Broken for Shared Mailboxes, Microsoft Shares Temporary Fix

Classic Outlook users are running into a frustrating search bug that can leave mailbox results stuck even after emails are moved. Microsoft has confirmed the issue and says a hotfix is already being worked on, although there is no ETA yet.

Outlook search results are not updating properly

The issue affects Server Assisted Search against online mailboxes. Microsoft says the problem can be reproduced when Outlook is running in online mode. Users can search within a specific folder using the “Current Folder” scope. However, moving one of the search results to another folder does not remove it from the results.

Instead, the email remains visible in the search results. Trying to open the affected item can then trigger errors. Interestingly, the problem is not limited to moving emails. Microsoft says similar behavior may happen after changing a category. Marking an item as read or unread can also trigger the issue.

Microsoft is already working on a hotfix

Microsoft has escalated the problem to the Outlook Team as a hotfix. The company says a fix is currently in progress, but there is no estimated release date. For now, affected users have the following workaround:

Temporarily disable Server Assisted Search, which will fall back to the legacy Windows Desktop Search, with the following registry key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\software\policies\Microsoft\office\16.0\outlook\search
DWORD: DisableServerAssistedSearch
Value: 1

If you are also affected by this issue, make sure to try the workaround for now. If we come across any update regarding the fix, we’ll update you.

via: Neowin