Monterey 12.1 update broke my Outlook 365 search function

[yspectre]

My MacBook Spotlight and OUTLOOK Fix

I successfully completed efforts today with Apple support and wanted to share to hopefully assist those others where search functions in OUTLOOK [Version 16.57 (22011101) for me] in my 365 Exchange Account didn’t still work. Below in BOLD are the keystrokes I performed which at a high level were terminal+commands, reboot, terminal+commands, reindex and fixed.

First launch of Terminal:

Last Login: Thur Jan 27 12:22:17 on console
mike@MikesMacBookPro ~ % sudo launchctl load -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.metadata.mds.plist
Password: <ENTER YOUR USER ACCOUNT PASSWORD>
/System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.metadata.mds.plist: service already loaded
Load failed: 37: Operation already in progress
mike@MikesMacBookPro ~ %

Note that the commands for the first terminal concerned Apple support, but since it was 'already running', he pressed on providing assistance.

REBOOT MacBook
log back into user account
launch terminal again.

Second Launch of Terminal:

Last login: Thu Jan 27 12:43:47 on console
mike@MikesMacBookPro ~ % sudo mdutil -Eai off
Password: <ENTER YOUR USER ACCOUNT PASSWORD>
/:
2022-01-27 12:46:16.099 mdutil[635:7102] mdutil disabling Spotlight: / -> kMDConfigSearchLevelFSSearchOnly
Indexing disabled.
/System/Volumes/Data:
2022-01-27 12:46:16.366 mdutil[635:7102] mdutil disabling Spotlight: /System/Volumes/Data -> kMDConfigSearchLevelFSSearchOnly
Indexing disabled.
mike@MikesMacBookPro ~ % sudo mdutil -Eai on
/:
Indexing enabled.
/System/Volumes/Data:
Indexing enabled.
mike@MikesMacBookPro ~ % mdutil -as
/:
Indexing enabled.
/System/Volumes/Data:
Indexing enabled.
mike@MikesMacBookPro ~ %


At this point, the MacBook was reindexing and it took 49 minutes longer than reindexing via efforts (drag and drop in Spotlight/Privacy, or other terminal commands) to rebuild the index. I was asked to launch spotlight and type in the letter A so that the progress of the reindexing bar could be observed. Once indexing was completed, I was able to find files, contacts, emails, etc via Spotlight.

When I relaunched OUTLOOK Version 16.57 (22011101) and searching for emails, contacts and calendar entries all WORKED! I asked what might have caused this issue (user, software update, etc.) as I had recently reloaded Monterey from a fresh build as well as a fresh user account and nothing worked, and Apple support said they didn’t have any indication on the Case escalation as to why this condition would have occurred. So I saved these commands if/when it happens again!

Hopefully this works for those who like myself until this afternoon couldn’t use OUTLOOK search functions.
BTW - I am not a MacBook expert, just passing along what worked for me so I apologize if you have questions that I can't answer.

After trying every fix imaginable, this did the trick. Many thanks!!!

 

[mage68]

My MacBook Spotlight and OUTLOOK Fix

I successfully completed efforts today with Apple support and wanted to share to hopefully assist those others where search functions in OUTLOOK [Version 16.57 (22011101) for me] in my 365 Exchange Account didn’t still work. Below in BOLD are the keystrokes I performed which at a high level were terminal+commands, reboot, terminal+commands, reindex and fixed.

First launch of Terminal:

Last Login: Thur Jan 27 12:22:17 on console
mike@MikesMacBookPro ~ % sudo launchctl load -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.metadata.mds.plist
Password: <ENTER YOUR USER ACCOUNT PASSWORD>
/System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.metadata.mds.plist: service already loaded
Load failed: 37: Operation already in progress
mike@MikesMacBookPro ~ %

Note that the commands for the first terminal concerned Apple support, but since it was 'already running', he pressed on providing assistance.

REBOOT MacBook
log back into user account
launch terminal again.

Second Launch of Terminal:

Last login: Thu Jan 27 12:43:47 on console
mike@MikesMacBookPro ~ % sudo mdutil -Eai off
Password: <ENTER YOUR USER ACCOUNT PASSWORD>
/:
2022-01-27 12:46:16.099 mdutil[635:7102] mdutil disabling Spotlight: / -> kMDConfigSearchLevelFSSearchOnly
Indexing disabled.
/System/Volumes/Data:
2022-01-27 12:46:16.366 mdutil[635:7102] mdutil disabling Spotlight: /System/Volumes/Data -> kMDConfigSearchLevelFSSearchOnly
Indexing disabled.
mike@MikesMacBookPro ~ % sudo mdutil -Eai on
/:
Indexing enabled.
/System/Volumes/Data:
Indexing enabled.
mike@MikesMacBookPro ~ % mdutil -as
/:
Indexing enabled.
/System/Volumes/Data:
Indexing enabled.
mike@MikesMacBookPro ~ %


At this point, the MacBook was reindexing and it took 49 minutes longer than reindexing via efforts (drag and drop in Spotlight/Privacy, or other terminal commands) to rebuild the index. I was asked to launch spotlight and type in the letter A so that the progress of the reindexing bar could be observed. Once indexing was completed, I was able to find files, contacts, emails, etc via Spotlight.

When I relaunched OUTLOOK Version 16.57 (22011101) and searching for emails, contacts and calendar entries all WORKED! I asked what might have caused this issue (user, software update, etc.) as I had recently reloaded Monterey from a fresh build as well as a fresh user account and nothing worked, and Apple support said they didn’t have any indication on the Case escalation as to why this condition would have occurred. So I saved these commands if/when it happens again!

Hopefully this works for those who like myself until this afternoon couldn’t use OUTLOOK search functions.
BTW - I am not a MacBook expert, just passing along what worked for me so I apologize if you have questions that I can't answer.

Worked for me! Thank you so much, this is awesome. Had several contacts with Apple support and they were not able to fix it.

 

[Ivan X]

My MacBook Spotlight and OUTLOOK Fix

I successfully completed efforts today with Apple support and wanted to share to hopefully assist those others where search functions in OUTLOOK [Version 16.57 (22011101) for me] in my 365 Exchange Account didn’t still work. Below in BOLD are the keystrokes I performed which at a high level were terminal+commands, reboot, terminal+commands, reindex and fixed.

First launch of Terminal:

Last Login: Thur Jan 27 12:22:17 on console
mike@MikesMacBookPro ~ % sudo launchctl load -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.metadata.mds.plist
Password: <ENTER YOUR USER ACCOUNT PASSWORD>
/System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.metadata.mds.plist: service already loaded
Load failed: 37: Operation already in progress
mike@MikesMacBookPro ~ %

Note that the commands for the first terminal concerned Apple support, but since it was 'already running', he pressed on providing assistance.

REBOOT MacBook
log back into user account
launch terminal again.

Second Launch of Terminal:

Last login: Thu Jan 27 12:43:47 on console
mike@MikesMacBookPro ~ % sudo mdutil -Eai off
Password: <ENTER YOUR USER ACCOUNT PASSWORD>
/:
2022-01-27 12:46:16.099 mdutil[635:7102] mdutil disabling Spotlight: / -> kMDConfigSearchLevelFSSearchOnly
Indexing disabled.
/System/Volumes/Data:
2022-01-27 12:46:16.366 mdutil[635:7102] mdutil disabling Spotlight: /System/Volumes/Data -> kMDConfigSearchLevelFSSearchOnly
Indexing disabled.
mike@MikesMacBookPro ~ % sudo mdutil -Eai on
/:
Indexing enabled.
/System/Volumes/Data:
Indexing enabled.
mike@MikesMacBookPro ~ % mdutil -as
/:
Indexing enabled.
/System/Volumes/Data:
Indexing enabled.
mike@MikesMacBookPro ~ %


At this point, the MacBook was reindexing and it took 49 minutes longer than reindexing via efforts (drag and drop in Spotlight/Privacy, or other terminal commands) to rebuild the index. I was asked to launch spotlight and type in the letter A so that the progress of the reindexing bar could be observed. Once indexing was completed, I was able to find files, contacts, emails, etc via Spotlight.

When I relaunched OUTLOOK Version 16.57 (22011101) and searching for emails, contacts and calendar entries all WORKED! I asked what might have caused this issue (user, software update, etc.) as I had recently reloaded Monterey from a fresh build as well as a fresh user account and nothing worked, and Apple support said they didn’t have any indication on the Case escalation as to why this condition would have occurred. So I saved these commands if/when it happens again!

Hopefully this works for those who like myself until this afternoon couldn’t use OUTLOOK search functions.
BTW - I am not a MacBook expert, just passing along what worked for me so I apologize if you have questions that I can't answer.

I just cannot express how grateful I am to you for working this out and posting it. I had actually given up hope that this was fixable.

 

[robopager]

My MacBook Spotlight and OUTLOOK Fix

I successfully completed efforts today with Apple support and wanted to share to hopefully assist those others where search functions in OUTLOOK [Version 16.57 (22011101) for me] in my 365 Exchange Account didn’t still work. Below in BOLD are the keystrokes I performed which at a high level were terminal+commands, reboot, terminal+commands, reindex and fixed.

First launch of Terminal:

Last Login: Thur Jan 27 12:22:17 on console
mike@MikesMacBookPro ~ % sudo launchctl load -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.metadata.mds.plist
Password: <ENTER YOUR USER ACCOUNT PASSWORD>
/System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.metadata.mds.plist: service already loaded
Load failed: 37: Operation already in progress
mike@MikesMacBookPro ~ %

Note that the commands for the first terminal concerned Apple support, but since it was 'already running', he pressed on providing assistance.

REBOOT MacBook
log back into user account
launch terminal again.

Second Launch of Terminal:

Last login: Thu Jan 27 12:43:47 on console
mike@MikesMacBookPro ~ % sudo mdutil -Eai off
Password: <ENTER YOUR USER ACCOUNT PASSWORD>
/:
2022-01-27 12:46:16.099 mdutil[635:7102] mdutil disabling Spotlight: / -> kMDConfigSearchLevelFSSearchOnly
Indexing disabled.
/System/Volumes/Data:
2022-01-27 12:46:16.366 mdutil[635:7102] mdutil disabling Spotlight: /System/Volumes/Data -> kMDConfigSearchLevelFSSearchOnly
Indexing disabled.
mike@MikesMacBookPro ~ % sudo mdutil -Eai on
/:
Indexing enabled.
/System/Volumes/Data:
Indexing enabled.
mike@MikesMacBookPro ~ % mdutil -as
/:
Indexing enabled.
/System/Volumes/Data:
Indexing enabled.
mike@MikesMacBookPro ~ %


At this point, the MacBook was reindexing and it took 49 minutes longer than reindexing via efforts (drag and drop in Spotlight/Privacy, or other terminal commands) to rebuild the index. I was asked to launch spotlight and type in the letter A so that the progress of the reindexing bar could be observed. Once indexing was completed, I was able to find files, contacts, emails, etc via Spotlight.

When I relaunched OUTLOOK Version 16.57 (22011101) and searching for emails, contacts and calendar entries all WORKED! I asked what might have caused this issue (user, software update, etc.) as I had recently reloaded Monterey from a fresh build as well as a fresh user account and nothing worked, and Apple support said they didn’t have any indication on the Case escalation as to why this condition would have occurred. So I saved these commands if/when it happens again!

Hopefully this works for those who like myself until this afternoon couldn’t use OUTLOOK search functions.
BTW - I am not a MacBook expert, just passing along what worked for me so I apologize if you have questions that I can't answer.

I add my name to the growing list of those that found this fix worked. If I ever meet you in person, Mike, dinner is on me!

 

[PatrickZJD]

I'll put it to you like this: I just registered on this site simply to thank mikeusry and his super-helpful Apple Support tech BIG-TIME for this fantastic fix! (This showed up on a Google search.) And let me tell you, it also works well with Outlook v16.61 and Monterey 12.4 on a 2017 Retina 5K iMac. Thanks again, mike, and FYI, this one is being saved as a PDF so I can access it offline as well!!

 

[Newfiejudd]

Well Outlook Search in Ventura (Mac OS 13) is having the same "No Results" fate as before. Only this time Mike's fix no longer works.

Any other suggestions?

Cheers

 

[ssmed]

Well Outlook Search in Ventura (Mac OS 13) is having the same "No Results" fate as before. Only this time Mike's fix no longer works.

Any other suggestions?

Cheers

Which version of OUTLOOK are you using please?

 

[Newfiejudd]

Which version of OUTLOOK are you using please?

I have tried release at 16.61, and beta all the ways up to 16.63. Search is broken in all of them.

 

[SMR9999]

I have tried release at 16.61, and beta all the ways up to 16.63. Search is broken in all of them.

I have the same issue. What I do find interesting (compared to the issue we had with Monetary beta time) is that in Spotlight itself it is not finding the emails. With the Monterey issue we could still find the emails via spotlight search.

 

[samehzaki]

My MacBook Spotlight and OUTLOOK Fix

I successfully completed efforts today with Apple support and wanted to share to hopefully assist those others where search functions in OUTLOOK [Version 16.57 (22011101) for me] in my 365 Exchange Account didn’t still work. Below in BOLD are the keystrokes I performed which at a high level were terminal+commands, reboot, terminal+commands, reindex and fixed.

First launch of Terminal:

Last Login: Thur Jan 27 12:22:17 on console
mike@MikesMacBookPro ~ % sudo launchctl load -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.metadata.mds.plist
Password: <ENTER YOUR USER ACCOUNT PASSWORD>
/System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.metadata.mds.plist: service already loaded
Load failed: 37: Operation already in progress
mike@MikesMacBookPro ~ %

Note that the commands for the first terminal concerned Apple support, but since it was 'already running', he pressed on providing assistance.

REBOOT MacBook
log back into user account
launch terminal again.

Second Launch of Terminal:

Last login: Thu Jan 27 12:43:47 on console
mike@MikesMacBookPro ~ % sudo mdutil -Eai off
Password: <ENTER YOUR USER ACCOUNT PASSWORD>
/:
2022-01-27 12:46:16.099 mdutil[635:7102] mdutil disabling Spotlight: / -> kMDConfigSearchLevelFSSearchOnly
Indexing disabled.
/System/Volumes/Data:
2022-01-27 12:46:16.366 mdutil[635:7102] mdutil disabling Spotlight: /System/Volumes/Data -> kMDConfigSearchLevelFSSearchOnly
Indexing disabled.
mike@MikesMacBookPro ~ % sudo mdutil -Eai on
/:
Indexing enabled.
/System/Volumes/Data:
Indexing enabled.
mike@MikesMacBookPro ~ % mdutil -as
/:
Indexing enabled.
/System/Volumes/Data:
Indexing enabled.
mike@MikesMacBookPro ~ %


At this point, the MacBook was reindexing and it took 49 minutes longer than reindexing via efforts (drag and drop in Spotlight/Privacy, or other terminal commands) to rebuild the index. I was asked to launch spotlight and type in the letter A so that the progress of the reindexing bar could be observed. Once indexing was completed, I was able to find files, contacts, emails, etc via Spotlight.

When I relaunched OUTLOOK Version 16.57 (22011101) and searching for emails, contacts and calendar entries all WORKED! I asked what might have caused this issue (user, software update, etc.) as I had recently reloaded Monterey from a fresh build as well as a fresh user account and nothing worked, and Apple support said they didn’t have any indication on the Case escalation as to why this condition would have occurred. So I saved these commands if/when it happens again!

Hopefully this works for those who like myself until this afternoon couldn’t use OUTLOOK search functions.
BTW - I am not a MacBook expert, just passing along what worked for me so I apologize if you have questions that I can't answer.

many thanks, After trying outlook Search function is okay

 

[bwreynolds72]

Maybe someone wrote this before but if not I'll chime in. Within Outlook, in the upper right hand corner is an option to switch to "New Outlook"....I also preferred the legacy look. I clicked on this and once switched over to the new look, the searches starting working within Outlook.

 

[ssmed]

Maybe someone wrote this before but if not I'll chime in. Within Outlook, in the upper right hand corner is an option to switch to "New Outlook"....I also preferred the legacy look. I clicked on this and once switched over to the new look, the searches starting working within Outlook.

This only works with certain account types (mostly 365) and in house servers running exchange are not supported.

 

[Rekcin]

My MacBook Spotlight and OUTLOOK Fix

I successfully completed efforts today with Apple support and wanted to share to hopefully assist those others where search functions in OUTLOOK [Version 16.57 (22011101) for me] in my 365 Exchange Account didn’t still work. Below in BOLD are the keystrokes I performed which at a high level were terminal+commands, reboot, terminal+commands, reindex and fixed.

First launch of Terminal:

Last Login: Thur Jan 27 12:22:17 on console
mike@MikesMacBookPro ~ % sudo launchctl load -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.metadata.mds.plist
Password: <ENTER YOUR USER ACCOUNT PASSWORD>
/System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.metadata.mds.plist: service already loaded
Load failed: 37: Operation already in progress
mike@MikesMacBookPro ~ %

Note that the commands for the first terminal concerned Apple support, but since it was 'already running', he pressed on providing assistance.

REBOOT MacBook
log back into user account
launch terminal again.

Second Launch of Terminal:

Last login: Thu Jan 27 12:43:47 on console
mike@MikesMacBookPro ~ % sudo mdutil -Eai off
Password: <ENTER YOUR USER ACCOUNT PASSWORD>
/:
2022-01-27 12:46:16.099 mdutil[635:7102] mdutil disabling Spotlight: / -> kMDConfigSearchLevelFSSearchOnly
Indexing disabled.
/System/Volumes/Data:
2022-01-27 12:46:16.366 mdutil[635:7102] mdutil disabling Spotlight: /System/Volumes/Data -> kMDConfigSearchLevelFSSearchOnly
Indexing disabled.
mike@MikesMacBookPro ~ % sudo mdutil -Eai on
/:
Indexing enabled.
/System/Volumes/Data:
Indexing enabled.
mike@MikesMacBookPro ~ % mdutil -as
/:
Indexing enabled.
/System/Volumes/Data:
Indexing enabled.
mike@MikesMacBookPro ~ %


At this point, the MacBook was reindexing and it took 49 minutes longer than reindexing via efforts (drag and drop in Spotlight/Privacy, or other terminal commands) to rebuild the index. I was asked to launch spotlight and type in the letter A so that the progress of the reindexing bar could be observed. Once indexing was completed, I was able to find files, contacts, emails, etc via Spotlight.

When I relaunched OUTLOOK Version 16.57 (22011101) and searching for emails, contacts and calendar entries all WORKED! I asked what might have caused this issue (user, software update, etc.) as I had recently reloaded Monterey from a fresh build as well as a fresh user account and nothing worked, and Apple support said they didn’t have any indication on the Case escalation as to why this condition would have occurred. So I saved these commands if/when it happens again!

Hopefully this works for those who like myself until this afternoon couldn’t use OUTLOOK search functions.
BTW - I am not a MacBook expert, just passing along what worked for me so I apologize if you have questions that I can't answer.

I signed up just to say thank you. I had the same issue, and found that if I switched to the N"New Outlook" search would work, but I also need access to several old .pst files in my daily work, and the "New Outlook" doesn't allow them to be imported. Anyway, I didn't reboot, I ran the the first terminal instruction and got the same result, then ran the second, and it only took a few seconds to complete, then the search was working. THANK YOU SO MUCH for posting this!!!!

 

[Rekcin]

This only works with certain account types (mostly 365) and in house servers running exchange are not supported.

I found this as well, however I also need access to several old .pst files in my daily work, and the "New Outlook" doesn't allow them to be imported or seen.

 

[bwreynolds72]

What I finally had to do, in order to use the search function within the legacy Outlook, because IMO the New Outlook is hot garbage. I pulled my Macintosh HD into the "Privacy" section of spotlight. Then got out of the settings app, went back in and then remove it from "Privacy".

This triggered everything to be re-indexed and a few hours later it was all back to normal within Outlook. I'm assuming results will vary on this one as far as how fast it goes, currently using the M1 Max.

 

[moonishashmi]

My MacBook Spotlight and OUTLOOK Fix

I successfully completed efforts today with Apple support and wanted to share to hopefully assist those others where search functions in OUTLOOK [Version 16.57 (22011101) for me] in my 365 Exchange Account didn’t still work. Below in BOLD are the keystrokes I performed which at a high level were terminal+commands, reboot, terminal+commands, reindex and fixed.

First launch of Terminal:

Last Login: Thur Jan 27 12:22:17 on console
mike@MikesMacBookPro ~ % sudo launchctl load -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.metadata.mds.plist
Password: <ENTER YOUR USER ACCOUNT PASSWORD>
/System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.metadata.mds.plist: service already loaded
Load failed: 37: Operation already in progress
mike@MikesMacBookPro ~ %

Note that the commands for the first terminal concerned Apple support, but since it was 'already running', he pressed on providing assistance.

REBOOT MacBook
log back into user account
launch terminal again.

Second Launch of Terminal:

Last login: Thu Jan 27 12:43:47 on console
mike@MikesMacBookPro ~ % sudo mdutil -Eai off
Password: <ENTER YOUR USER ACCOUNT PASSWORD>
/:
2022-01-27 12:46:16.099 mdutil[635:7102] mdutil disabling Spotlight: / -> kMDConfigSearchLevelFSSearchOnly
Indexing disabled.
/System/Volumes/Data:
2022-01-27 12:46:16.366 mdutil[635:7102] mdutil disabling Spotlight: /System/Volumes/Data -> kMDConfigSearchLevelFSSearchOnly
Indexing disabled.
mike@MikesMacBookPro ~ % sudo mdutil -Eai on
/:
Indexing enabled.
/System/Volumes/Data:
Indexing enabled.
mike@MikesMacBookPro ~ % mdutil -as
/:
Indexing enabled.
/System/Volumes/Data:
Indexing enabled.
mike@MikesMacBookPro ~ %


At this point, the MacBook was reindexing and it took 49 minutes longer than reindexing via efforts (drag and drop in Spotlight/Privacy, or other terminal commands) to rebuild the index. I was asked to launch spotlight and type in the letter A so that the progress of the reindexing bar could be observed. Once indexing was completed, I was able to find files, contacts, emails, etc via Spotlight.

When I relaunched OUTLOOK Version 16.57 (22011101) and searching for emails, contacts and calendar entries all WORKED! I asked what might have caused this issue (user, software update, etc.) as I had recently reloaded Monterey from a fresh build as well as a fresh user account and nothing worked, and Apple support said they didn’t have any indication on the Case escalation as to why this condition would have occurred. So I saved these commands if/when it happens again!

Hopefully this works for those who like myself until this afternoon couldn’t use OUTLOOK search functions.
BTW - I am not a MacBook expert, just passing along what worked for me so I apologize if you have questions that I can't answer.

I created an account on this forum just to express my eternal gratitude to mikeusry. I was extremely frustrated for several days after many workarounds offered by microsoft customer support, none of which worked. It almost came to a point where I lost all joy in using my new M2 MacBook Air. I am indebted to you.

 

[Hairyg33k]

Hello,

A user faced exactly this issue today at work, and the post #417 from @mikeusry worked immediately.

Thanks a lot.

 

[Change Agent]

defaults write com.microsoft.Outlook EnableNewOutlook -integer 1

I tried defaults write com.microsoft.Outlook EnableNewOutlook -Integer 1 on a Intel MBP and it does not work. I did sucesfully use defaults write com.microsoft.Outlook EnableNewOutlook -int 0 on two M1 MBP' but nether your code or mine works on the Intel. Any tips?

PS the Intel runs 12.7.1 the highest OS it can do. And Outlook is 16.7.9.

PS 2 the message I get in Terminal is Unexpected argument 1 leaving defaults unchanged. Or command not found for my argument.