Mail+Spotlight Search Not Working in Lion

I've been dealing with this problem for over a month and have not been able to fix it. Search works fine in Lion on several computers, but on my laptop it still won't do a complete search. It will only pull up emails from people in my contacts list..... no subject key word searches or people outside my contacts searches..... very frustrating! The searches also don't work in Spotlight, so I can't use spotlight as a backup.
I've tried rebuilding my mailbox.... deleting and recreating the account.... tossing out the Envelope Index folders in the Mail library... Deleting and re installing my search window, etc...... I see lot's of other people with the same issue. It's frustrating when your running your business on your computer and have to deal with a flaw in a new OS..... it was working fine in Leopard..... whats up APPLE? Please help!
Other Info:
Macbook Pro 2008 Version with 2.5 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo
Running 10.7.4

Glenn,
Regarding adding and deleting the System Drive from the Spotlight Privacy Tab...... I'm following your sequence, but when I come back to Spotlight Search in the menu bar it just works the same.... no mention of indexing. What's interesting is that "Mail" dosn't appear anywhere in search results when a keyword search is performed via spotlight.
Regarding the "enevelope Index Files" ..... I followed the instructions and quit and re-opened mail as instructed. When I re-opened Mail I selected "continue" and the program began to index the contents of mail for about 30 minutes. I thought that would would fix the issue, but it's still not working.
I've tried to compare the account setup from my IMAC which works fine to see if I have something setup wrong in the account, but everything looks the same.
I guess I can try to re-index again? Don't know what else to do?
Thanks,
Bill

Similar Messages

10.9.1 Mail spotlight search not working!!!!! APPLE HELP!!!!!!

10.9.1 Mail spotlight search not working!!!!!

When you type in a search term in Mail, does it drop down a list of search criteria like People, Subjects, Mailboxes?
Or does it just offer "message contains"

Spotlight search not working on ios7

Spotlight search not working on iPhone 5 updated to ios7. I can access the search bar, but nothing happens when I enter a search term.

I'm having the same issue with an iPad 2 and iPhone 5. As mentioned by Nick if you reboot it seems to resolve the issue. Note that after a reboot it can take several seconds for spotlight search to return the first results. After this first slow response it seems to be quicker.
If it helps I have a few hundred apps and about 24K songs so the search has a lot to go through!

Has anyone had a problem with the spotlight search not working sometimes?

Has anyone had a problem with their "spotlight search" not working? If I restart the phone it will work for a few days then not work again.

It's more likely the OP's router. I have a wifi only iPad 2, yet location services work just fine on my iPad. If I open maps, my location is found quite nicely. I have seen that some routers do not provide location services and I suspect the OP has such a router.

Music, Podcast, Spotlight Search not working iOS 7

Since upgrading my iPhone 5 on Wednesday, I haven't been able to listen to music or podcasts, because when I open those apps, they crash within a minute. While I am able to access spotlight search, telling it to search does absolutely nothing. Is anyone else having these problems?

I am experiencing the same issue. My email accounts are fine. There is no issue with that. The issue appears to be between the Mail app and the Spotlight Search feature. If the Mail app is running then the spotlight search works fine. However, when the Mail app is closed it fails to work.
This is such a pain. I use the feature a TOn and to have it not work is a joke. I wish Apple would address all of the issue associated with iOs 5. Upgrading to a iPhone 4S along with iOS 5 has been a complete nightmate. I have seriously considered returing my phone and switching to an Android based phone. Apple is losing their edge by putting out shotty products coupled with poorly developed software.
Time is running short Apple. Fix the issues or you may have larger problems ahead.
It appears as if the operating system is becoming too complex for Apple to manage. The demise of the great phone and software combination if immenent. Apple reigh of supremecy is begining to diminish.

Spotlight search not working properly : IOS 5.0.1

Hello, hope I can find some help here...
My partner is having some issues on her 4S since the IOS 5.0.1 update : when she does a spotlight search (swipe left on first home screen) and starts typing, nothing appears. Not as she's typing, not after she's finished typing for what she's looking for.
A restart of the phone fixes the problem for a while, but it just comes back.
I don't seem to be having the same issue on mine, but I don't use the search as much as she does.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
Rob

I am experiencing the same issue. My email accounts are fine. There is no issue with that. The issue appears to be between the Mail app and the Spotlight Search feature. If the Mail app is running then the spotlight search works fine. However, when the Mail app is closed it fails to work.
This is such a pain. I use the feature a TOn and to have it not work is a joke. I wish Apple would address all of the issue associated with iOs 5. Upgrading to a iPhone 4S along with iOS 5 has been a complete nightmate. I have seriously considered returing my phone and switching to an Android based phone. Apple is losing their edge by putting out shotty products coupled with poorly developed software.
Time is running short Apple. Fix the issues or you may have larger problems ahead.
It appears as if the operating system is becoming too complex for Apple to manage. The demise of the great phone and software combination if immenent. Apple reigh of supremecy is begining to diminish.

IPhone 4S ios 6.1.2 Spotlight Search not Working!!!

Hi Guys,
I recently upgraded by iphone 4s to ios 6.1.2 and now i found out that the spotlight search is not working.
when i try to search a contact and press search the keyboard slides down and the screen is empty does not show anything.
Pls help what do i do?

thanks for replying !!
I checked it all the tabs are selected but still i cant see any thing i searched.
Deafult if the one i am searching for it should display search the web even thats not being displayed !!
Can you think of some thing that will solve my issue?

Spotlight Search Not working on iPhone 6 plus (VZW)

I have VZW iPhone 6 Plus and when I try to use Spotlight Search feature (by swiping down on the screen) no results show. It will only pull up items after I've tapped the icon to open the app, Then the next time I search it shows. However, if I search for an app I haven't used in a while no results show. It won't even provide any suggestions any more. I like this feature so I won't have to swipe several screens to find an app. It also allows me to put apps in folders and only have 2-3 screens. What's the fix?

This is a widespread issue and resetting the phone, as many people experiencing this issue have tried, does not resolve it. Restarting does, but only temporarily. Please leave feedback with Apple so that they can work on a fix for this very irritating bug.

Spotlight search not working on external hard drive

Hi all,
The spotlight search doesn't seem to be working on my external hard drive.
It is also not working as part of Time Machine, I cannot retreive anything via the spotlight search that has been backed on on the external drive.
I know I have the files on there but it's not picking it up like it used to.
Any ideas???

Solution:
1. System Preferences > Spotlight > Privacy
2. Drag and drop or add your external hard drive in the Privacy window. This will reset the old preference.
3. Then remove the external hard and close the System Preferences.
4. Wait for 30 seconds. Spotlight will start indexing of your external hard drive.
Update: It's supposed to scan for 8 hours but it took only 15 minutes and stopped. I tested the search and it's still not working. It's strange that it works on my other two external hard drives (USB and Firewire) but not this particular one (USB). I have three external hard drives.

Spotlight search not working well

I hve the 4S phone (just got it). the Spotlight search works only once, and then it stops working. when using it the second time, I can type but nothing shows up as results. Does anyone has this problem? any ideas how to fix it?
I don't have any apps loaded, tried to reoboot many times and it doesn't seem to help. Looks like a bug.

Unchecking the Spotlight options don't work.
However, I have removed my Works Exchange account as per the last post, and BINGO :-)
Spotlight is back up and running.
Many thanks @ mike from dollars des ormeaux

Spotlight Search Not Working

I am using MBP retina running on OS X 10.10.1. Whenever I try to search on spotlight it does not search on the internet . Is there any bug?

Hi _mac6294,
I apologize, I'm a bit unclear on the exact nature of the issue you are describing. Spotlight in Yosemite is primarily for searching items located on your Mac. In certain regions, there is certain limited Internet functionality in Spotlight via Spotlight Suggestions, which pulls information from various Internet sources. For more information about Spotlight, Spotlight Suggestions, and where you can check to make sure Spotlight Suggestions is enabled (if available in your region), you may find the following articles helpful:
OS X Yosemite: Search with Spotlight
OS X Yosemite: Spotlight Suggestions
Regards,
- Brenden

Mail find/search not working

I have found that Mail has gone a bit bonkers. First I lost a bunch of important emails when moving the messages to a different mailbox (they are simply gone). Now the find/search function is completely erratic. The same search terms will sometimes turn up messages, sometimes nothing.
I have deleted the preferences, rebuilt the mailboxes multiple times, even deleted the envelope file so mail would rebuild the entire index from scratch. Also I've repaired permissions. The search function is simply erratic still.
I even had an issue after deleting the preference files where the custom tool bar would revert back to the default one when starting up Mail again... a reboot (and perhaps running various scripts through Onyx seemed to have nipped that one in the bud).
What is going on here? Anyone else havinfg these issues? How to fix it?
I am running Mavericks, OS X 10.9.1

... no fix for this problem?

Apple Mail Search and Spotlight do not work for locating email messages after upgrading to Lion 10.8.3.

Apple Mail Search and Spotlight do not work for locating email messages after upgrading to Lion 10.8.3 on my 27" iMac.
When searching in Apple Mail, sometimes a get a few results (with many missing), and sometimes no results at all.
I had absolutely no problems before with Snow Loepard.
I have reindexed mail and my startup drive. I have followed discussions regarding this matter and tried everything - a waste of time.
This is VERY serious for me - I have many thousands of messages that I archive and need to reference for work and clients, and now I cannot find them.

I found out that I needed a $100 mini displayport to dual-link dvi adapter to make my $30" cinema display work with my macbook pro
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB571Z/A/mini-displayport-to-dual-link-dvi-ada pter?fnode=51
When I found out that solved the problem, I took it back because that was too expensive for a stupid adapter, and it still didn't work perfectly.

Mail search not working + Spotlight keeps indexing

I have an old problem that has resurfaced after creating a new user on my Mac. Mail search brings no results and Spotlight is constantly indexing - day in, day out. It never seems to get there. I tried turning my hard drive to private in Spotlight settings and then taking it out. Previously Spotlight seemed to get bogged down with external drives now it's stuck indexing my Mac.
Any advice? Is there a way I get unstick this?

I can't believe that Apple have STILL not sorted this out. I haven't created a new user (so it's nothing to do with that), but Mail.app won't find anything when searching "Entire Message" in the current Mailbox or in "All Mailboxes". This has been ongoing since Leopard was first released, and we are now up to 10.5.8 without this being fixed.
Here are some of the reports:
Topic : Spotlight does not search Mail messages
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1366101
Topic : Search "Entire Message" returns "0 Found" in mailboxes
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1341832
Topic : Spotlight died on me
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1226645
Topic : I can't search through my inbox!
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1387827
Topic : Leopard's Spotlight doesn't search Mail messages
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1219030
Topic : Mail Search
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1347387
Topic : Mail Won't Search
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1204827
Topic : Search does not work
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1254966
Topic : Mail search not working
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1289253
Topic : Unable to Search Mailbox
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1232504
Topic : Why is Search in Mail.app busted?
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1403758
Topic : Mail Search comes up empty
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1378473
Topic : Search "Entire Message" not working with Smart Mailboxes?
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=6548355&#6548355
Topic : Mail searches yield no results! Smart mailboxes also yield no results!
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1395508
Topic : 10.5.2 Mail.app search still not working (Entire Message)
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1389466

In OS Yosemite the search function in Mail, Finder, Spotlight- does not work

MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Late 2013)
2,6 GHz Intel Core i7
16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3
NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M 2048 MB
OS Yosemite,
Finder versión 10.10.1
Mail Versión 8.1 (1993)
In OS Yosemite the search function in Mail, Finder, Spotlight… does not work. Messages or documents with the search criteria are there and one could find them manually, but the search function fails to find them. Following advice from Apple Support (728965377):
1. I applied an Apple protocol for adware removal (Remove unwanted adware that displays pop-up ads and graphics on your Mac); I had none, because I had formally utilized a similar protocol that I had found in Internet, actually an app that implemented automatically Apple's adware removal protocol.
2. I rebuild the post boxes in Mail (Mail (Yosemite): Reconstruir buzones); It took a while but it functioned properly
3. I re-install the System (OS X Yosemite: Reinstalar OS X); It took about 4 hours but there was no problem whatsoever with the installation.
Afterwards I searched for messages in Mail, and documents in Finder and Spotlight, without any difficulty. The search function in all of them was working properly. But the next time that I needed to search messages or documents, an hour later or so, the problem reappear and a couple of new issues occurred:
1. in app RagTime 6.5.2 (Build 1821), www.ragtime.de, the menu bar disappears (it is invisible), when one performs certain operations, e. g., calculating a value with a formula, whether it is in a spreadsheet or some other component (text, drawing, etc.). After touching with the cursor the menu bar is visible again.
2. after reading an e-mail in Mail or copying an address, this is seeing as a floating object in the finder and over every application. There is no logical way to get rid of the floating object and neither copying or deleting or cutting it. It is not a big issue but nonetheless bothersome.
3. In Mail, messages with Flag or in VIP contacts cannot be seen in the appropriate folders, only in the Incoming mail folder, together with other messages. It seems to me, this issue is part of same search function problem.
4. The preview function within Mail does not show the attached documents to a message, whether it is in the IN, OUT or Draft boxes.

Launch the Console application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad and start typing the name.
The title of the Console window should be All Messages. If it isn't, select
SYSTEM LOG QUERIES ▹ All Messages
from the log list on the left. If you don't see that list, select
View ▹ Show Log List
from the menu bar at the top of the screen.
Click the Clear Display icon in the toolbar. Then try again to re-index Spotlight. Select any messages that appear in the Console window. Copy them to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C. Paste into a reply to this message by pressing command-V.
The log contains a vast amount of information, almost all of which is irrelevant to solving any particular problem. When posting a log extract, be selective. A few dozen lines are almost always more than enough.
Please don't indiscriminately dump thousands of lines from the log into this discussion.
Please don't post screenshots of log messages—post the text.
Some private information, such as your name or email address, may appear in the log. Anonymize before posting.

Mail+Spotlight Search Not Working in Lion

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for