Outlook Search Not Working? Here’s How To Fix It Fast

Outlook search not working can quickly derail your workflow, especially when you’re trying to dig up an old email or attachment. Whether the search bar shows no results, behaves oddly, or just freezes up, the cause usually comes down to indexing issues, outdated settings, or a corrupt profile.

Luckily, most fixes are simple, and you won’t need to mess with anything too technical to get Outlook searching properly again.

Why is my Microsoft Outlook search not working?

There are various reasons the Outlook 2007 search is not working on Windows 10. Below are the two popular causes:

• Issues with the indexing feature: If the instant search feature is not working on Outlook 2007, with might be because of problems with the Indexing options. You need to rebuild the search index to fix this.
• Faulty Office installation: Sometimes, issues with your Office installation might be why you can’t search in Outlook 2007. The solution to this is to repair Microsoft Office.

What can I do if Outlook search is not working properly in Windows 10?

1. Initiate a quick fix

If you need a simple method to quickly fix the Outlook 2007 search not working error, you may try the repair option from your Windows PC.

1. 1. Access Control Panel – click on the Search Icon (the one located near the Windows Start key) and type Control Panel.

   

2. 2. From Control Panel go to Programs and click on Programs and Features.

   

3. 3. Select your Office client and from the top section of that page choose Change.

   

4. 4. Next, pick Quick Repair and wait while this process is running. Reboot your PC in order to fix the Outlook 365 search not working in Windows 10 issu

2. Add Outlook to indexing

1. Exit Outlook, click the Start icon, type index, and choose Indexing Options.
   

   

2. Now, check if Microsoft Office Outlook is in the Included Location section.
   

   

3. If it is not there, click the Modify button.
   

   

4. Check the box next to Microsoft Outlook to add it and click OK.
5. Now, go back to the Indexing options window and click the Advanced button.
   

   

6. Choose the File Types tab at the top.
7. Scroll down till you find the msg option in the Extension section and select it.
   

   

8. From here, tick the radio button for Index Properties and File Contents.
9. Finally, click the OK button.
   

   

To make the Outlook 2007 search work on Windows 10, you need to include it in the indexing option on your PC. Following the steps above should help you do this.

Read more about this topic

• Outlook Inbox Repair Tool Keeps Popping Up: How To Stop It
• Find Address Book in Outlook: 4 Easy Ways on Windows PC

3. Rebuild the search index

1. Close the Outlook program, press the Windows key, type index, and select Indexing Options.
   

   

2. Click the Advanced button.
   

   

3. Finally, click the Rebuild button under the Troubleshooting section.
   

   

Sometimes, the Outlook 2007 search might not work on Windows 10 because of a broken search index. This is not a serious problem and only requires you to rebuild the index.

4. Run the built-in troubleshooter

1. Press the Windows key + I and select the Update & Security option.
   

   

2. Click Troubleshoot in the left pane and select Additional troubleshooters.
   

   

3. Now, select Search & Indexing and click Run the troubleshooter.
   

   

Sometimes, this Outlook 2007 search not working on Windows 10 issue might not be limited to the app alone. It can be a general issue with Windows search.

To fix any underlying issue, run the Search & Indexing troubleshooter.

5. Restart the Windows search service

1. Press the Windows key + R, type services.msc, and click OK.
   

   

2. Double-click the Windows Search service to open its properties.
   

   

3. Now, set the Startup type to Automatic (Delayed start) and click the Start button.
4. Finally, click the Apply button, followed by OK.
   

   

Sometimes, the Outlook 2007 search feature is not working because the service is disabled. This will not affect only Outlook but all the search features on your PC.

There you have everything you need to fix the Outlook 2007 search issue on Windows 10. All you need to do now is to follow the instructions to the letter, and things should be back to normal.

If Outlook won’t open on Windows 10, check our detailed guide to fix it quickly.

Feel free to let us know the solution that helped you fix this issue in the comments below.