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Mac Mail Search Not Working
Apple’s built-in mail app is known for its efficient functionalities. However, you see multiple problems with its search field with the main reason of software error. In the current macOS, updated version apple worked hard to improve the search results for the users to make the users get accurate and complete results.
But it’s still frequent that apple user starts using it but after some time the updated version also stop the search process and in return, it starts declining in market value. Mac mail search not working is a typical Mac error that often occurs after updating to a newer macOS version. If you came across the error, it means your search mailbox will not be working properly to do any search so you have to take certain steps to fix the error.
For multiple reasons mailbox search option is bugged with almost each new macOS release until and unless the later patches fix the bug. However, there are many more other reasons as well that encounter this error. There is the reason that Mac is using the older version and the new version is available in the market so you see multiple bugs in your way so simply you have to update your Mac to the newer version of macOS.
There are numerous unexpected glitches that may occur shortly even after updating the version because it is already noticed that some of the software bugs seem to plague almost every new macOS release. But the issue is also occurring out of the blue zoon which is even more confusing and frustrating for the users.
When you came across this error then there will be two possibilities your mailbox search is not giving you the result or the result they are providing you are not accurate or the expected results. In many cases, this problem will get fixed automatically after some time and even after you restart your Mac. Or the automatic updates to a later patch will also overcome it.
For all this issue the company had already prepared the instructions on how to troubleshoot this error and most probably fix it. most of the below-mentioned suggestions will help you out in the case of how to fix the bugs of the specific version but in case if you still feel the difficulty then you can contact the support team to resolve the error because over time it will increase and probably block your mailbox search option. Some users of apple mailbox encountered that mailbox doesn’t show all the emails, documents, people, subjects, attachments, flagged messages, and sometimes not at all.
Reasons For Apple Mail Search Not Working:
There are multiple reasons that apple mail search is not giving accurate results or it is completely blocked to do any search. Sometimes the apple mail search filter doesn’t load or the display is just showing a blank screen to the users or there is a possibility of plague in the software. The hardware usually uses an old processor that is not suitable for the current software of apple or for the most part, it can be due to the bugs present in the software. Some of the common reasons are listed below.
- Issues with the spotlight search on Mac.
- An outdated or older version of macOS.
- Software bug issues.
- Software issues in the mail app or the other applications on Mac.
How To Fix The Mail Search Error?
There is one thing that the user must be familiar with before proceeding to fix the issue. Users must have to back up their data because in case if the problem is not solved by any method then we have to reset the system so if the data is saved then you can easily restore it after fixing the error. Make sure that for anything you are searching in the mailbox app, the all mailbox option you have selected is in the upper right corner of the mailbox window.
Log Out And Then Again Log In:
The first and foremost step is to log out of your email account in the mailbox app then restart your Mac system and again log back into your account. Then try to search your mailbox to see if it is functioning properly or not. While you are trying to restart your Mac in safe mode and try to use the mailbox search box again. There are two ways to enter safe mode on the Mac depending on whether it’s an Intel-based model or an M1 model.
Intel-Based Macs And M1 Model:
Shut down the system wait for 10 seconds and press and hold the power button and wait for the start-up screen to show then you can release the power button and select your mac startup disk. You have to hold on to the shift select the continue in safe mode option and then release the shift.
In the usual case you enter the password one time but in this case, might be the server asks you to password twice. If the process will be completed and you entered the safe mode of the system, then it will be written as a safe mode in the upper right corner of your screen.
Once you login in the safe mode and your problem is resolved then shut it down again and restart it in a normal way to check whether the problem persists without safe mode or not.
Shift Launch Mail:
Restart your mac system and go to the folder having all the applications, hold down the shift button and open the mail app. Now directly exit the app folder and wait for several seconds to shift and launch it again. And next, you have to restart your mac again and launch the app normally. Because shift launching any app make it forget its state when it was last used in the normal manner. Hopefully fixing any minor bug that may be causing the search to not function properly.
Rebuild Your Mailboxes:
One thing that may help you with the mail search problem is to rebuild each of your mailboxes. Note that the next steps must be performed for each of the mailboxes in your mail app.
Start your mail app and select from the panel option to the left to search for a mailbox that you want to build
If you find that the panel with the mailbox is not available, then go ahead and select to view it from the main menu bar and click on the show mailbox list option. Parallel to this you can also press shift + command + M.
In this way, you can find the mailbox and select it from the menu bar and click on the rebuild option.
Wait for the whole process of rebuilding and then perform steps 1 and 2 of your mailbox. The time of rebuilding the mailbox depends on the number of emails and the data available in the mailbox (possibly a couple of hours).
Reinstall The OS:
You have to reinstall the OS and if still, the mail search problem occurred after the reinstallation of the latest macOS tries again reinstalling the OS. Because maybe some of the files failed to get updated in the reinstallation procedure. For some of the users and even system the reinstalling is the only option available to fix the problem.
Press and command + R to launch the macOS recovery or you can press shift + option + command + R to enter macOS recovery over the internet.
Select the reinstall option, hit the continue button, and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process.
If you are having an Apple silicon device turn on the computer and hold the power button until the startup option appears on the screen click on the option and hit the continue button.
Rebuild Your Mail And Spotlights Indexes:
The spotlight is a search feature on your mac that overall manages the index of all the items and files within the system. With this feature, you can ensure that all your data and files are tracked properly for future access to the users.
If there is an issue with your spotlight index in the system, then there will be a great chance of an issue with the mail search. You can obtain the option of re-index spotlight search to get rid of any bugs and errors affecting its overall capabilities. To re-index the spotlight you have to follow these steps.
- Press command + spacebar to open spotlight search type terminal and press return.
- Press the command shown on the screen in the terminal app and press return.
- Then enter your mac password and press return to complete the action.
- Now click on the apple logo and tap on the restart option.
- Launch the mail app again after your mac reboot and check if the search bar is working or again there is a bug.
- While you are entering the password it is not visible in the terminal but you can enter your password and press return. Once you entered the correct password then indexing will get enabled.
Reset Mac’s SMC And Reset NVRAM:
SMC is known as the system management controller it is the built-in chip on the intel-based Mac which is used to carry out a specific task in Mac however sometimes this comes in the bug as well and ultimately results in the mac mail not search results. Therefore, you have to consider all the possible scenarios and reset the SMC on Mac.
NVRAM known as non-volatile random access is the small part of Mac memory that stores various settings such as display resolution, brightness, time settings, and start-up disk. The resetting of NVRAM can be an effective solution when getting stuck with a search not working in apple mail.
Additional Solution:
Clear the search criteria by clicking the X in the search field and check whether your mail app shows all your messages.
- Firstly disable and then enable the Gmail account and then scroll to the system preferences > internet accounts> Gmail account and simply uncheck the checkbox that is already checked by mail.
- Close system preferences and reset your mac and then go back to system preferences and select your Gmail account in the mail.
- The last is to launch the activity monitor and quit the core spotlight process by this the process will restart on its own and check if the search bar function properly.
