How to Fix “Apple Mail Search Not Working”?

Jamie Kaler Contribution

Rollins Duke Approved By

Published On May 13th, 2025 • 6 min read

Not being able to find the emails in the Mac Mail or any other email client is frustrating. You know the email is somewhere in the account, but can’t find it due to various reasons. The guide will walk you through a systematic approach to troubleshoot and resolve “Apple Mail search not working”.

Apple Mail is a widely used email client for macOS and iOS users that offers robust functionality and effortless integration with Apple’s ecosystem. However, one of the major issues faced by the user is that the mail search does not find emails properly.

Table of Contents Hide

Understanding the Reasons: Apple Mail Search Not Working

First, we need to understand the potential reasons behind this issue. Several factors can contribute to the malfunctioning of search functionality.

Indexing Issues: Apple Mail relies on the index of emails to perform quick searches. If this index becomes corrupted, outdated, the search result will not be accurate.
Software Glitches: Like any application, Mail encounters temporary glitches or bugs that interfere with its normal functioning. It can be eradicated simply by restarting the device.
MacOS bugs: Sometimes the operating system might have a problem, which would affect the Mac applications’ functionality, including Apple Mail. Keeping the device updated is crucial.

These are the common causes why the mail search is not finding the emails. Corresponding to these, we can resolve this issue among the others.

Step-by-Step Guide to Apple Mail Search Troubleshooting

We will work on all the possible methods to fix the Mac Mail search option. Here we will go through steps for both macOS and iOS.

Simple and Quick Fixes

1. Force Quit Mac Mail: The classic approach to any issues related to Apple Mail is to use the force quit option. As it can resolve all the temporary glitches.

macOS:

Press Command + Option + Esc to open the “Force Quit” Apple.
Else, select “Mail” and click on Force Quit. Then again, start the Mail.

ios/iPadOS:

Open the Add Switcher. Swipe up the Mail app preview to close it.

2. Restart Device: Simply restarting the device can usually resolve all the minor glitches within any application, along with issues like “Apple Mail Search Not Working”.

macos: Go to the Apple menu and select “Restart”.
iOS/iPadOS: Press and hold the volume button and side button until the power-off slider displays. Drag the slider and wait for the device to turn off. Press and hold the side button again until the Apple logo appears to restart.

3. Check Internet Connection: To run any application properly, we need a stable internet connection, as it needs to sync and the search to function correctly. Ensure that you are connected to the internet.

4. Try Different Search Scope: Ensure you are using the correct search keywords, which must be in the emails that you are searching for. Try different keywords that might be in the email message in Apple Mail.

5. Verify Account Status: Here, we need to check whether the issue lies in the email account itself. Check if the accounts are active and not experiencing any server-side issues. In macOS, go to “Mail”>” Preferences”>” Account” and check the status.

Note: Non-functional search can be frustrating, however, it is important to ensure that you are receiving emails in the first place. Check out the guide to fix Apple Mail not receiving emails, as it might resolve more fundamental problems.

Advanced Fixes to Apple Mail Search Not Finding Emails

1. Rebuild / Reindex Mailbox: The common troubleshooting step for issues like the organisation, searching or displaying of email messages correctly. Here we are manually deleting the Envelope index files for the reindex process. This will force Mail to recreate the entire search index.

Quit Apple Mail
Go to Finder.
Click on the “Go” menu and select “Go to Folder…”
Enter ~/Library/Mail/V9/MailData and press Enter.
Locate and delete the following files:
- Envelope Index
- Envelope Index-shm
- Envelope Index-wal
Empty the Trash
Now, relaunch Apple Mail.

It will automatically rebuild the mailbox index

2. Re-add Apple Mail Account: Removing and re-adding the email account can sometimes resolve synchronisation issues.

macOS:

Go to Mail > Preferences> Account.
Select the account and click the “-“ button to remove it.
Click the “+” button to re-add the account.

iOS:

Go to Settings> Mail > Accounts.
Select the affected account and tap on Delete Account.
Restart and add the account again to Apple Mail.
Go to Settings>Mail>Accounts>Add Account.

3. Update OS to fix Apple Mail Search Not Working: Ensure that you are using the latest version of macos or ios. Software updated often does bug fixes that address Mail search issues.

macOS: Go to Apple Mail > System Settings>General>Software Update.
iOS: Go to Settings>General>Software Update.

How to Safeguard Apple Mail Emails?

Get the Email Backup Tool to save the vital information from the account. With this, users can protect their emails and ensure they never lose their email data again. As we have discussed all the possible ways to get the missing emails, it is advised to backup Apple Mail to external hard drive for future use.

Download Now Purchase Now

Final Step: What to Do When Nothing Works

Create New User Profile: In very rare cases, the issue might be with the user profile. After creating a new profile, if the Apple Mail search works properly, then you might need to migrate the data to the new profile.
Contact Support: After implementing all the above troubleshooting steps, if the issues persist, reach out to Apple support for further assistance.

Conclusion

We often search for the emails within an account, and not being able to find that specific emails is frustrating. Therefore, here we are with the complete measures to fix the “Apple Mail Search Not Working” issue. The write-up has covered all the possible causes of where the search function is broken.