Big Sur Mail Search is completely broken, doesn't find anything

[macuros]

1. Save your work and close all of your apps
2. Close Mail app
3. Hold the Shift key and open the Mail app
4. Close the Mail app (don't search or perform any other actions)
5. Hold the Shift key and open the Mail app (repeat of Step 3)
6. Close the Mail app (repeat of Step 4)
7. Restart your Mac
8. Open Mail app like you normally would
9. Try searching your mail

Let us know if this works

A faster way:

1. Quit Mail app
2. Go to MailData folder in Library>Mail>V8>
3. Delete the Envelope Index file in the MailData folder
4. Start the Mail app and wait for the rebuilding process to finish. For around 60.000 emails it took about 2 minutes for me.
5. Open the Mail app and try to search for mail. It works for me, but I assume it will break soon again... Still hoping for a fix for this vital part of the Mail system.

 

[jlevi]

A faster way:

1. Quit Mail app
2. Go to MailData folder in Library>Mail>V8>
3. Delete the Envelope Index file in the MailData folder
4. Start the Mail app and wait for the rebuilding process to finish. For around 60.000 emails it took about 2 minutes for me.
5. Open the Mail app and try to search for mail. It works for me, but I assume it will break soon again... Still hoping for a fix for this vital part of the Mail system.

Trying this now

If it works, I might just set an automation on Hazel.prefpane to delete that every day or something LOL!

Update: It didn't really work. Changed the search results, but still not enough of them.

 

[macuros]

It works for me, but for a few days only. Currently, the mail search stops working again. Not a single mail is found. Ahhhhh!

I've deleted the Envelope Index file and waited for the import process to finish. For some reason, it will not work on my side too. It worked that way till now. I've done it several times.

Disappointed. Really.

 

[macuros]

The funniest part is that Mail works as expected on my MBA, just not on iMac, which is my main computer.

 

[GylesM]

I've linked these issues with Fast User Switching on my iMac:
- Mail searches
- Smart mailboxes in Mail
- unlocking with my Apple Watch.

I don't have any of these issues with my MBP (I'm its only user). After logging out/in on my iMac, these features work. After another family member uses the iMac while my account is logged in but locked, I then unlock my user account and those features no longer work again (until I log out and then back in).

 

[msvadi]

1. Save your work and close all of your apps
2. Close Mail app
3. Hold the Shift key and open the Mail app
4. Close the Mail app (don't search or perform any other actions)
5. Hold the Shift key and open the Mail app (repeat of Step 3)
6. Close the Mail app (repeat of Step 4)
7. Restart your Mac
8. Open Mail app like you normally would
9. Try searching your mail

Let us know if this works

I tried that, but unfortunately the problem came back after a few days.

 

[msvadi]

I've linked these issues with Fast User Switching on my iMac:
- Mail searches
- Smart mailboxes in Mail
- unlocking with my Apple Watch.

I don't have any of these issues with my MBP (I'm its only user). After logging out/in on my iMac, these features work. After another family member uses the iMac while my account is logged in but locked, I then unlock my user account and those features no longer work again (until I log out and then back in).

Intersting. I have a problem with Mail search only on the machine with multiple users. The other computer running Big Sur has a single user, and search in Mail works fine

 

[mollyc]

I only have one user on my Big Sur MBA and search doesn’t work well for me. It’s what is holding me up from upgrading my iMac honestly.

 

[jlevi]

I rebuilt the mailboxes, which didn't seem to work, then overnight my computer finally upgrade to 11.1 (been putting it off), and that seems to have fixed it for now.

Anyone else?

 

[macuros]

I've linked these issues with Fast User Switching on my iMac:
- Mail searches
- Smart mailboxes in Mail
- unlocking with my Apple Watch.

I don't have any of these issues with my MBP (I'm its only user). After logging out/in on my iMac, these features work. After another family member uses the iMac while my account is logged in but locked, I then unlock my user account and those features no longer work again (until I log out and then back in).

Nice catch! On my MBA (a single account) it works normally. On my iMac with multiple accounts, it does not work on account switch. If I log out and then login again it starts to work (for now - I'll monitor it). As you described. Thank you for sharing. I'll keep that in mind.

 

[timotheem]

Hi, I just registered to this forum as I had the exact same issue. In addition to this my "Recent" folder was not showing any files.
I also use Fast user switching, and logging in and out worked ! Prior to this I reinstalled Bigsur which fixed the issue for a short time only.
Thanks a lot for understanding that Fast user switching issue! I hope that it will be fixed by Apple soon.

 

[pdxhaole]

Props to daza4 for post #23. That worked for me after trying... oh, I dunno, maybe 10 other things? Many thanks! And BTW, I was looking to search my Outlook (for Mac) email folders for archived email on a MBP after upgrading from Air to Pro. The Outlook search bar returned ZERO results for any and searches. Reindexing and rebuilding the Spotlight search via his method was the only thing that worked. Now I can find all my important emails! Woohoo!

 

[bomsom]

Hi all, I had exactly the same problem and tried all the methods mentioned above and none of them worked – so I had an online chat with Apple and I think it's now resolved it...

Basically, in System Preferences > Spotlight if Mail & Messages are ticked, untick them and close Preferences. Reopen and recheck the box – this then allows Spotlight to reindex the mailbox, although it could take up to an hour to complete, so just leave it for a while and come back see if it works – it has for me, so fingers crossed for you guys. Let me know how you get on... 🤞🏻

Disable/enable Spotlight for Mail did the trick for me too. Thanks for the tip @daza4.

 

[am2am]

Update to 11.2 did NOT fix the problem.
As soon as you switch between accounts / logout out another account on your machine your mail search fails. The only viable solution in my case is to logout and login again.
Really annoying.

 

[macuros]

I agree, this is annoying. I ended up removing the second login account, which really was not needed that much.

But that is not the solution, of course.

 

[jlevi]

I don't have any secondary accounts, and Guest account is disabled - and this still happens to me.
Wondering also if mail plugins (MailButler) may be causing issues.

 

[Silverstring]

I'm on 11.3 Public Beta 2 (20E5186d), and the problem is still there. Bummer.

 

[macuros]

I don't have any secondary accounts, and Guest account is disabled - and this still happens to me.
Wondering also if mail plugins (MailButler) may be causing issues.

Hmm, since I've removed the second account I haven't noticed the issue. My mail search still works since then.

But yes, this shouldn't be a solution if the issue is still there for you.

 

[seangator]

And yes, I've tried most all of the suggested fix I could find.

Who else has this problem (anything and everything I search for now comes up with zero results), and has anyone managed to fix it?

Have tried every single thing on this forum -- thanks for all the tips and creative problem solving -- to no avail. Reindexing spotlight worked when this initially happened a few months ago, but now it's back. Can't search emails, can't search contacts, can't replace hair I've pulled out as a result of all the frustration and wasted time. Will report back if I find a miracle.

 

[diehardpatriot]

the open and close mail then restart method worked for me. I hope its not just temporary like the others. anyway, hope it gets fixed as it shouldn't happen at all

 

[seangator]

Simply shutting Outlook and then reindexing (and waiting until that finished before reopening Outlook), worked for me. Bizarre, I know, and hard to imagine I hadn't had that configuration before, out of the dozens of times I've reindexed and attempted the other tactics here, all to no avail. And while, inexplicably, it seems Mac OS (Big Sur) provides no ready way to track reindex status, I did stumble upon a trick. After you've set off the reindex, click on Spotlight icon and, without hitting return, type "reindex" into the Spotlight Search window -- for me, this prompted a status bar to display.

 

[joebonthuys]

1. Save your work and close all of your apps
2. Close Mail app
3. Hold the Shift key and open the Mail app
4. Close the Mail app (don't search or perform any other actions)
5. Hold the Shift key and open the Mail app (repeat of Step 3)
6. Close the Mail app (repeat of Step 4)
7. Restart your Mac
8. Open Mail app like you normally would
9. Try searching your mail

Let us know if this works

So Ive got the issue with search not working, I done this earlier in the week that fixed the problem and now its gone back to not being able to search. I've repeated the steps again but it doesn't seem to be working now. Extremely annoying as I use this machine for work! Having a few other issues recently with bugs in the system, very un-Apple like imo.

 

[DougKnowles]

1. Save your work and close all of your apps
2. Close Mail app
3. Hold the Shift key and open the Mail app
4. Close the Mail app (don't search or perform any other actions)
5. Hold the Shift key and open the Mail app (repeat of Step 3)
6. Close the Mail app (repeat of Step 4)
7. Restart your Mac
8. Open Mail app like you normally would
9. Try searching your mail

Let us know if this works

This works for me, but only lasts one or two searches. Then searches are broken again. "Smart" mailboxes are also affected.

I'm re-booting multiple times per day, and it's getting old fast.

 

[madmax45]

1. Save your work and close all of your apps
2. Close Mail app
3. Hold the Shift key and open the Mail app
4. Close the Mail app (don't search or perform any other actions)
5. Hold the Shift key and open the Mail app (repeat of Step 3)
6. Close the Mail app (repeat of Step 4)
7. Restart your Mac
8. Open Mail app like you normally would
9. Try searching your mail

Let us know if this works

Worked! Thanks a lot

 

[bmot]

This worked for two weeks and then the search stopped working again. Rinse and repeat. Quiet a terrible way Apple is going with macOS. I have more and more bugs in basic OS functions that where unheard of ten years ago. The system is slowly but steady moving into Windows territory.