Windows 11 bug breaks Outlook searches (again)

Windows 11 bug breaks Outlook searches (again)

Windows 11 users have occasionally found themselves struggling with a bug that interferes with Outlook search results.

As detected by Bleeping Computer (Opens in a new tab), the email client may not return recent mail results when performing a search in Outlook on Windows 11 PC. It occurs with offline POP, IMAP and Exchange accounts, scenarios in which Outlook uses local mail. Windows Search Service to index emails (in most cases).

Exchange Online and Microsoft 365 accounts are not affected as they use search services for most searches, and this is not affected by the gremlin in question.

Microsoft says it's investigating the issue and is "currently working on a fix" with an update to fixes to be provided in the support document (opens in a new tab) reporting the issue.

In the meantime, this article provides a temporary solution for affected users who are frustrated with unstable search results in Outlook.

Analysis: Search error reappears, hopefully with a quick fix?

Bugs are to be expected, albeit unwelcome, and far too frequent since the advent of Windows 10, but the situation with this one is a bit more embarrassing for Microsoft, as the same type of Outlook bug occurred last year when it was released. Windows 11 for the first time. back (before being patched in January 2022). Therefore, it does not seem good for Microsoft that the problem has reappeared.

It's also no good that the provided workaround involves the registry, an area of ​​the system that requires a lot of care when handling and making changes (small slips can wreak havoc here). If you want to apply the workaround, be very careful when following the troubleshooting steps Microsoft outlines (and also note that the workaround involves disabling Windows Desktop Search, which essentially forces Outlook to use its own research) .

It was the exact same fix that Microsoft released when this issue first surfaced last year, you may recall. Hopefully, given previous experience in resolving this bug, a remedy should be available shortly, though there's always the chance that this is a seemingly more complicated flaw in Outlook than expected, given its reappearance.

We'll see, but it's worth keeping an eye on this support page where a notification will be sent regarding any fixes that are implemented.

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