Fix Broken Finder Search Forever!

Finder Search Not Working? Here's How To Fix Finder Search in about 20 seconds!
Get finder search working the way it's supposed to by resetting the spotlight index. It sounds confusing & complicated, but it's actually really simple.
This video tutorial walks you through how to fix finder search & reset the spotlight index
#findersearch #mactutorial #spotlightsearch #macos

[@arielrglaze]

Is it just me, or the Apple support page is just pure garbage.. the kind of stuff that makes you wonder if Windows users ever deal with that.

[@semirdzhyan]

Been running into this issue since January 2024. Finally found your video to address it and before I could, noticed it started working again. . . Your video is magic.

[@Zimmikhan80]

Thank you just purchased the new mac book air and it wasn't finding files in search bar from my external hard drive connected, was going crazy until i tried this and it worked and now it finds all the files when i search for them... thank you so much for this quick solution

[@SignatureEdits]

So glad it helped!

[@miguel0226]

Thank you! this is helpful! I have been looking an answer / fix to this annoying issue. I bought another Mac, a MacBook Air M3 that I always carry around at work. With the MacBook Pro I could easily breeze through the files with a simple search button but with MacBook Air, I found that I could not search anything except on Macbook Air itself. I even thought of just resorting to carrying my MacBook Pro with me instead of MacBook Air but I found with portability-wise, MacBook Airs are the best with the workflow I have. I just could not find the answer to the problem. I tried almost everything, reset, hard reset, created another user (as I found in one of the suggestions), etc. etc. Then I found this and watched the video and it worked!! Thanks for this. 🥰 love you! 🤣❤

[@levelupfinanzas]

Thank u so much!, I've been suffering for months cause this didn't work in my brand new macbook, but now it's fix.

[@johnsteach3962]

Fixed my MacBook Pro 2023 M2 13" in seconds! It also fixed my Outlook search not working that I have spent hours trying everything I could find under that issue. I wish I would have started here!!!! You need to index this for fixing a broken Outlook search on Macs as well.

[@jameskeegans5764]

Thank you!!! This bug was so frustrating. Slightly different setup under System Settings on Ventura 13.0. But quick and easy to do.

[@djnoizemusic]

Saved my life! Thank you

[@SignatureEdits]

Glad it helped!

[@IllusionSector]

@@SignatureEdits On my end this and other solutions (e.g. system restart) only work for a short while and then stop working again. Any thoughts? This is driving me absolutely crazy and I can't get anything done.

[@IllusionSector]

@@SignatureEdits Even when it works, if I just leave the search results alone they would suddenly disappear on their own.

[@SignatureEdits]

Sadly I don't have any other ideas! I've had the same thing... search is way better for a while but then gets funky again. But going in and resetting it doesn't take too long so that's what I do! @@IllusionSector

[@fionnualashenpen2458]

Yes this worked! My problem was not that nothing would appear but finder would be full be full of a long list of files mainly books in my library that were not the precise file name I typed in. The precise file name could appear way down the list. I'm on an M1 2020 running Sonoma 14.0. There was a slight difference in systems preferences Spotlight and Siri are listed together, but I could follow the instructions and they worked! Thanks - I had just accepted that as an unfixable thing about my MAC! delighted that finder search is working properly

[@LasseNørager-b8y]

Worked just as described, also on search in Finder! MacBook Pro M3, mac OS Sonoma 14.4.1

[@philosopherprince339]

Worked. I had to re find my hardrive to place it on the favorites window.

[@geoffrey6672]

MacBook Pro (14-inch, 2021) MacOS Montrey, it worked !!!! thank you !!

[@SignatureEdits]

Great! Thanks Geoffrey!

[@powellfilmmaking]

Ah. Thank you so much. SUPER annoying when mac can't do simple tasks

[@SignatureEdits]

Right?! So crazy. Glad it helped!

[@alexandermckoy6444]

Yes, you solved my big issue! I have been having that searching pain for a year! Some of the readings on web did not help, until I search KZbin to find your help! It fixed the search results in just a few seconds - Gee, you make this a beautiful day!❤❤❤🎉🎉🎉😊😊😊

[@saseen]

Brilliant! I was getting so frustrated with this problem. It fixed like magic. Thanks Buddy🙂👍

[@SignatureEdits]

No problem 👍 Glad to hear!

[@paknotaris7518]

Did the trick for me too. Thank you very much for posting this.

[@collinsvisual]

Thank you! This worked on my 16" 2019 MBP running MAC OS SONOMA 👍🏾

[@jaspercook5090]

Brilliant! Worked on Ventura 13.2.1

[@SignatureEdits]

YES!

[@xnutnut97x]

Thank you so much have been struggling with this for months, I have so many files and need to find them fast and it wasn't working in any folder.

[@SignatureEdits]

So glad it helped!

[@zaycoleandroify]

Very helpful! Thank you soooo much! You saved my life!🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

[@martinadamsson3028]

Worked really good on Ventura 13.3.1 (MacBook Pro). Thanks! and like 332 is my hit ;)

[@MarcusSheeran-n2v]

Thanks, much appreciated. I couldn't search my OneDrive files in finder (Ventura 13.4.1) - follow your steps and it's now working perfectly.

[@petermller9857]

Thanks;-) Solved my problem on Mac Air M2 2022 with Ventura 13.3.1

[@SignatureEdits]

AWESOME! Glad it worked for you!

[@DomingoMontesdeoca-te1ih]

Thanks, my spotlight now goes super fast, it used to take a long time before it would take a long time to remove and search for something.

[@jerameelcabautan7917]

Worked on M2 Pro Macbook Pro! Thanks!

[@JohnJones-bq6jm]

This has been a MAJOR problem for me. Thank you!

[@SignatureEdits]

So glad! Thanks for the comment :)

[@Jenluistro]

When I choose my hard drive and confirm that I want to remove it a "Privacy List Error" pops up that states "The item couldn't be added or removed because of an unknown error" - is there a fix for this?

[@georgejurukovski]

IT WORKED :) Thank you so much!

[@AXXXXA]

This worked for me on my M2 Air. Thanks !

[@TheSHIFT-Reality]

You're MacFinder JESUS!

[@joandrea]

Thank you! Still working until today. I was going crazy for a while there.

[@amargaandsvabhavo6150]

Thank you! YES, works for me with Macbook 2020

[@KESSTHEMC]

Thanks for this worked fine on my 2019 Mac book Pro

[@ליאייזיקוביץ-ק6ט]

I have the same problem with the search but it does find files that are located on my mac but not files that r located on my remote drive. I have tries your fix and it didn't work (and not while using safe mode). can you help?

[@fourex59]

You must delete the external drive if it shows up in the preferences pane with the minus sign. Once it is not there or if it wasn’t there to begin with, then hit the plus sign locate the external dive as an additional location to search. That should take care of the problem.

[@sharkzf6]

The steps are different for Ventura which may not have this problem, only seen it on my iMac with Catalina where this tip definitely works! 😊

[@blueapple9135]

It works, thanks so much, you saved me a ton of time.

[@cocotherealtor]

Gosh, I totally thought it would work. It's not likely your info that's the issue, something I may be doing wrong altogether. I like your style though. thanks

[@staceem]

It worked. Thanks so much!

[@SignatureEdits]

Glad it helped!

[@MichelleStevens-f7o]

Wow! That totally worked!! Thank you!!

[@WeissSalles]

It worked! Thanks, man

[@SignatureEdits]

Glad it helped!

[@OriginalLoudTree]

I've been looking for this fix -- it seems like forever. I worked perfectly on Mac mini M2 Pro running Sonoma 14.4

[@SignatureEdits]

awesome!

[@jlfcastillo]

Thanks! Saved me from insanity

[@todivetoday]

Thank you. Very short and to the point. And yes, it worked in my case (MBP M3 16") Cheers

[@SignatureEdits]

You're welcome!

[@maboelnourbadran]

very helpful thank you so much it is working like magic

[@taylordoyle5054]

God bless you! Worked on my MacBook Pro 2021 using Mac OS Ventura 13.4

[@SignatureEdits]

Glad to hear it! Thanks Taylor

[@thebannon]

AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I will now keep my hair.. thanks

[@SignatureEdits]

😂👌🏻

[@CODFrostdelicas]

Thank you, works on April 2024

[@waterandicefactory]

I wasn't able to search the external drive attached to my new M1 Ultra. Added drive, removed it and Wham! thanks for your assistance.

[@SignatureEdits]

GREAT TIP! Thanks Brian!

[@vl4781]

Such simple steps to sort out a problem that really bugged me, thanks

[@ae7121]

Problem solved! THANK YOU SO MUCH! 🙌

[@SignatureEdits]

You're welcome!

[@balarajamlakkanna4553]

It really worked and helped, thank you :-D

[@SignatureEdits]

You're welcome!

[@wilmalongman6491]

It WORKED on my MacBook Pro!! Mind blown

[@SignatureEdits]

Awesome!

[@WalrusRiderEntertainment]

I know the trick but didn't work on this occasion

[@vsjha18]

Superb !! This works ! And let me tell you, this is the only trick which works.

[@SignatureEdits]

Happy to help!

[@radaworld8137]

Omg thank you, this problem was driving me crazy!

[@Col_Fragg]

The issue I have is all my data is stored on external hard drives. No matter what I have tried, my iMac refuses to index my external hard drive. I have the latest iMac running the latest version of Ventura and my external hard drives are formatted exFat. I've been using an iMac for ten years and this has always been an issue. If there's a way to fix this, that would be awesome.

[@pierre-yveslabreche7383]

works on Ventura. WOW!!!!! AMAZING!!!

[@SignatureEdits]

Great to hear! AMAZING!

[@marvinfok65]

Hi, it works on my MacBook Air Ventura 13.6!

[@SignatureEdits]

Awesome!

[@nikittyworkshop]

Thanks! This worked for my 16" macbook pro.

[@SignatureEdits]

Great!

[@sombrerobeach]

It really worked. Thank you so much.

[@SignatureEdits]

You're welcome!

[@nilnilx]

Sadly this doesn't work on my M1Pro Monterey. I could hear the processing noise after removing as if the laptop was indexing the external disk anew, but after it went quiet, searching still didn't yield any results from the disk.

[@SignatureEdits]

Weird... I thought I did it with Monterey! Sorry it didn't work for you!

[@joegrundy3861]

At last a solution. It works on my 2011 iMac. Thank you.

[@ChristopherDillman]

I had hope for this video - Search has been a LONG TIME issue for my Mac. I have the latest superpower Mac - M1 Pro, macOS Monterey. Went through this video. Still doesn't work for me. I have both my Macintosh HD and an external drive. It will index my external drive, but not my Macintosh HD. Why? Maybe the OS? The mystery continues.

[@ChristopherDillman]

So updating my own technote here if anyone cares but me, lol. Turns out I had two instances of my Macintosh HD. One at the Volume level, and another at the User level. I tried to indexed what I think was the User level HD, and nothing was indexed. So I went back and selected the System/Volumes/Macintosh HD. Indexed that one, and voila. 30 minutes later I was in business. I thought Macs were supposed to be easier than PCs? 🤦‍♂

[@SignatureEdits]

Oh man! what a saga. So glad you got it sorted Christopher - and thanks for sharing for anyone else with this issue!

[@delianaalan6917]

OMG this blew my mind just add then remove thats all

[@SignatureEdits]

So simple, so happy :)

[@tp3176]

great! worked for my external HD, thanks !

[@SignatureEdits]

Glad it helped!

[@joecruz2297]

Thank you so much! I was starting to believe there was a bigger problem but it was just this!

[@ZiljianPacific]

I can't thank you enough. My work computer always pulls up random files from the work system I would never use and rarely shows the files that Im working on. It has been the most frustrating thing and I thought it was hopeless. This instantly fixed my issue and even with my work computer locked down with administrative permission to make changes, I was able to do all of your steps easily without issue!

[@SignatureEdits]

RIGHT?! So. ANNOYING. Haha. Glad it helped you out!

[@SteveHolmesPorn]

Thanks a lot for this quick and easy and super helpful tip.

[@LStokesEsq]

It worked on my MacBook Air ! Thank you! 🎉

[@SignatureEdits]

Great! Glad to hear :)

[@rr7firefly]

Please do a new video to deal with newer OS on my computer. There is no System Preferences on my apple icon. Only a System settings. And if I go in there the Spotlight is combined with Siri (which I do not use). Any suggestions on what to do? Where to go?

[@Lewis-x8d]

worked for me setting up my new M2 mac mini. Moved from a 10 year old macbook air that searched perfectly fine then was bummed when i saw my new mini wasn't finding what it should. Solved a big problem for me!

[@frankdes97]

My Finder Search is not working even more basically : when I try to type in the field next to the magnifying glass icon NOTHING appears. No text AT ALL in the box.

[@fabricedefay3298]

Same

[@h2kso476]

it works on m1-Monterey , Thanks..

[@SignatureEdits]

Good to hear! Glad it worked for ya :)

[@drbobopt]

Didn't work on my M1 Mini running Big Sur. It can sometimes find files with the search term embedded in the document and not in the name, but often will not find files with the search term actually in the name. For example, everything I've scanned for tax season starts with "2022 Tax". If I sort by name, I get 20 or 30 documents starting with that string. But if I search for that string, I get 2 documents starting with "2022 Tax" and 6 other documents that have, in separate places the strings "2022" and "tax". But based on that criteria I should have hundreds with those two strings in them. Aargh!

[@xole]

thx bro!

[@SignatureEdits]

No problem! Thanks for watching

[@KColetteHill]

Just did this today on Macbook Pro 2022. Works perfectly. Thank you!

[@forktongue]

Thanks, the search function is useful again!

[@SignatureEdits]

HURRAY!

[@EstebanMontoya-z8l]

it worked in my MBP M2 - thanks heaps

[@SignatureEdits]

Glad to hear it!

[@KingMinosxxvi]

works for all these people but not me WTF

[@ryan18462]

It actually worked for me second time. Try adding the folder twice perhaps

[@icepicknz]

Thanks so much, new MacPro M1 Max

[@SignatureEdits]

Great to hear!

[@sagar.design]

Thank you sir 🙏

[@SignatureEdits]

Most welcome!

[@BrianRodgersJr]

Awesome, thank you! Works on an M1 Ultra Mac Studio! This was driving me crazy

[@mariodavin5015]

Been puzzled by this problem for several months. Finally I found this, and it works. Thank you!

[@allaboutjones]

Much LOVE. THANK YOU!!!!!

[@SignatureEdits]

Any time!

[@colintesla]

Thank you so much! You just made it so I can program again! 😀

[@joffieberkowitz9845]

Worked on MB Air 2017

[@carolreimer9554]

New M3 Macbook - fixed. This has been bugging me ever since I received my new "precious" a couple of weeks ago. THANK YOU!!! To all who try this, it only worked for me when I selected the full hard drive.

[@JekabaKapnes]

Still working perfect on Sonoma 14.3.1! Many many thanks!

[@jesseross8645]

Sorry to say broken finder search didn't work for me. It's when i go into finder and Click Go/Click Go to Folder. The search box comes up Blank with a location of "/library/Chaches/

[@LearningMediaSkills]

This is helpful, but how lame of Apple not to update the index in the background! I had nearly lost my mind thinking I had lost files! I have resorted to Disk Catalogue Maker for fast indexing and easy searches. Get it together Apple! We shouldn't have to go to third-party apps to do something as simple as a search! Coming recently from PC, this just blew me away. I am not about to go back, but come on Apple! Really???

[@SignatureEdits]

Totally agree! I think its actually gotten worse for me in the recent OS than older ones 🤷 but at least with this trick the fix isnt too hard

[@rickypickles5046]

This DOES NOT fix it forever! Every time you reboot you have to do it again! If you add files to that drive you have to do it again. THIS SUCKS!

[@ChefAlexChase]

Sometimes I think the machines are trying to win by driving us slowly insane. Thank you.

[@SignatureEdits]

So true! 😂

[@patsimrell9845]

I "think" this fixed it. I have to fiddle with it a bit more to be certain. First issue I had was Apple has gotten rid of "System Preferences" and it's just "System Settings" now. I took a leap of faith and it's definitely better, but things are still a little sticky in the way Finder quickly changes the folder you are searching, You need to watch it like a hawk. I ditched MicroSoft years ago because I got sick of constant changes to the look and feel of what I was doing. I certainly hope Apple isn't going that route. Anyway - thanks for your help. I"m a subscriber now and will be back!

[@jmontgue6431]

I know this video is a year old BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!

[@rollofffrank2008]

Great Info!

[@DavidAKZ]

Brilliant - thanks. Indexing got corrupted when I synced some folders with Google drive.

[@tylerborn9275]

Worked right away! Thanks a ton.

[@centuryblack1929]

After adding and removing the external drive from Spotlight Privacy, it worked for some time, but then it stopped working again. Now I have to do the same thing repeatedly. This is so frustrating. Can anyone please help?

[@SamuelMendes_fotografia]

Hi! Thanks for this handy information! My "Sandisk Extreme SSD" is still showing up as "Indexing and searching disabled" on Monterey. No matter what I try in Terminal, or Spotlight privacy, or deleting Spotlight files inside it. Do you have a clue for that tough issue? Thanks a lot!

[@VibeWalker]

Tried this quick fix and received an error message:. PRIVACY LIST ERROR The item couldn’t be added or removed because of an unknown error. HEEEELP!