How to Outlook Search Not Finding all Emails?

You are searching for emails that you know you received, but Outlook search is not finding all emails. Yes, it is a common and frustrating issue. It disrupts the workflow, causing important emails to be lost. Not being able to find the emails is more than frustrating. The comprehensive guide will cover all the reasons that are causing this Outlook search to act upon.

Several factors can contribute to the malfunction in the Outlook Search. At times, it could be because of the indexing issues, or the search criteria you are using might be too narrow or incorrectly specified. And the Outlook Add-ins might interfere with the functionality or even the issues with the Outlook profile itself, also hindering the performance of the search options. Since there is are wide range of reasons, it is essential to understand the potential culprit as the first step and then resolve and regain control over the emails.

We will explore everything from simple fixes to advanced solutions, ensuring you can once again rely on Outlook’s search functionality to efficiently manage your inbox.

Understand Why Outlook Search Fails

Before we go into the solutions, it is important to understand the causes behind “Outlook search not finding all emails”. This usually includes.

• Incorrect Search Scope: You might be searching the wrong folder or the mailbox. Outlook allows users to specifically search within folders and therefore incorrection selection will lead to missing emails.
• Indexing Issues: Outlook relies on the index to locate emails, and if the index is incomplete, outdated, or corrupted, the search results will be incomplete. Usually, this is the major reason why Outlook search is not working.
• Add-in Interference: If there is an add-in within Outlook, some might interfere with the search functionality.
• Outdated Outlook Application: Using the older version of Outlook might have bugs that could be affecting the functionality of the search feature.
• Corrupted Outlook Profile: Outlook profile consists of all the settings and data files that are associated with the account. If the profile is corrupted, it would cause issues like Outlook not receiving emails, Outlook search not working, Outlook closing automatically after opening, etc. The list goes on.

Troubleshooting Measures: Steps to Fix Outlook Search Not Finding All Emails

Here’s a step-by-step guide to address the “Outlook search not finding all emails” problem:

1. Double-check the Search Scope

It is a very simple and yet overlooked cause. It means that users are searching the emails in the wrong location.

How to check your search scope:

• Click on the Search bar in the Outlook Window.
• Now, look for the menu that appears.
• Select the appropriate scope based on where you expect the missing emails to be.

2. Verify the Searching Terms

While it might be obvious, double-checking the search terms is very crucial.

Try using the specific keywords if your initial search is too short or broad. For example, instead of “report”, try writing “report Aliya”.

• Typos: Ensure that there are no spelling errors in the keywords you’ve entered.
• Search within quotation marks to search for the exact phrase.

3. Rebuild the Outlook Search Index to Resolve Outlook Search Not Finding All Emails

As mentioned earlier, an outdated or corrupted index is the primary reason for Outlook search failure. Therefore, we can rebuild it to make Outlook recatalog all the data.

Steps to rebuild the search index

• Open Outlook
• Go to File>Options.
• Under the User Interface Option, ensure the “Optimize for best appearance” is selected.
• Go to Search from the left panel and select the Indexing Options… button.
• Ensure Microsoft Outlook is under “Included Location” If not, click on Modify and check the box next to MS Outlook. Then click Ok.
• Now, select the Advanced button and select the Rebuild Index button.
• Click OK for the warning messages to proceed.

The indexing process may take some time based on the files that are present. Outlook will notify you after completing the process. Then, after rebuilding the search index, try again with the search options.

4. Check if Windows Search Service is Running

Outlook relies on the Windows Search Service for its indexing and search functionality. We have to check and ensure that this service is running correctly to fix “Outlook search not finding all emails” issues

Here are the steps to check the Windows Search Service

• Press Windows Key + R to open the Run dialogue box.
• Enter service.msc and press Enter.
• In the Services window, scroll down and locate the Windows Search service.
• Alongside Windows Search, it should be “Running”. If not, right-click and select Start.
• Also, check the Startup Type column. It should be set to “Automatic. If not again, right-click on Windows Search, select Properties, and change it to “Automatic”.
• Click Apply and press the Ok button.

5. Disable any Add-Ins

Sometimes, the third-party add-ins can interfere with Outlook’s functionality, including search. Try disabling them and see if it resolves the issue:

Steps to manage Outlook add-ins:

• Open Outlook.
• Go to File>Options
• In the Outlook options, click Add-ins.
• At the bottom, select Manage Add-ins. Select COM Add-ins and Click Go…
• In the COM Add-ins, uncheck the boxes next to the Add-ins you want to disable.
• Click the Ok button and restart Outlook.
• Now, try searching again. If it is working, re-enable add-ins one by one to identify the culprit.

6. Repair the Outlook Data and Resolve Outlook Search not Finding all Emails

One of the major causes of issues with Outlook is the corrupted data file, of which the Outlook search failure is also one of them. Therefore, Outlook itself has a built-in tool called the Inbox Repair Tool (SCANPST.EXE) to diagnose and repair these files.

Steps to run the Inbox Repair Tool:

• Close Outlook if it is open.
• Locate the SCANPST.EXE file. The location varies depending on the Outlook version.
• Double-click SCANPST.EXE to run it.
• Click Browse… and select the Outlook file.
  • PST: C:\Users\<your username>\Documents\Outlook Files
  • OST: C:\Users\<your username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook
• Click the Start button.
• Enter the path and name of the file you want to scan.
• Click on the start button and scan the file.
• Once the scanning is complete, it will display any errors if it detects.
• Then, press Repair.

This would most probably resolve Outlook’s Search not working issue as it repairs the entire Outlook data.

7. Create a New Outlook Profile

If repairing the Outlook data file did not help, then try creating a new Outlook Profile if it is corrupted.

Steps to create a new Outlook profile:

• Ensure that Outlook is closed.
• Go to the Control Panel on the system.
• Search for Mail. Click on Show Profile.
• Select the current Outlook profile.
• Click on the Remove button.
• Now, click on the Add button.
• Enter the name of the new profile.
• Enter all the required details to create a new Outlook profile.

8. Update Outlook to Fix “Outlook search not finding all emails”

Using the outdated Outlook version can lead to many issues, including search functionality. Ensure have Outlook is updated.

• Open Outlook.
• Go to File > Office Account.
• Under the Product Information, click Update Option and then press Update Now.
• Further, follow the on-screen instructions to install any available updates.
• Restart Outlook after completing the update.

8. Check the Size of the Outlook Files

If the Outlook files are considerably large, it could affect the Outlook functionalities, including the search. Consider archiving the older emails to reduce the emails. Use the built-in archive options for the same. Else, the user can utilise the PST Splitter tool.

Conclusion

Dealing with the “Outlook search not finding all emails” issues is equally frustrating and distracting to productivity, but if you systematically work through the aligned causes, we can fix this effortlessly. Remember to start from the simple solutions and then gradually move to the complex methods. The article has all the possible methods to overcome the Outlook search not working issue.