SOLVED: Outlook 2016 - Search not working (Mac / Office 365)

SOLVED: Outlook 2016 - Search not working on Mac Office 365. EASY FIX to help solve this issue.
Please hit LIKE and leave a comment if this worked for you.
The folder mentioned in the video is located at:
~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/Outlook/Outlook 15 Profiles

[@sbsconsulting]

Toughest part was finding the hidden Library folder. I'd recommend re-editing the video and adding "how to find your hidden library folder" in the beginning of this video. Worked like a gem! Thanks so much Luca!!

[@alextan6479]

Copy and paste the following location into the "Go to the folder:" dialog box and select Go: ~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/Outlook/Outlook 15 Profiles/

[@lovemedicare]

WOW! After 1 year of dealing with this issue, several hours on the phone wi to Microsoft and Apple with no results, your 3 minute fixed it. I’m so happy you have no idea. This video needs to get over to Microsoft and have them pay you a ton of $$. Apples response, you many want to buy another Mac because your version of El Capitan will not work with Office. Unbelievable. Thank you so much for putting this out there.

[@stebarg]

Hi, Thanks for sharing. However, I don't see anything in the video. It's to blurry. Could you add the information in the notes please?

[@yourdjuk]

Forget the video quality as you can see what he is doing, just have to be patient (assuming you have found where the library folder is). After hours of looking this actually works! It took hours to index the files, but its now working on Mojive - Outlook 2019 perfectly! Thanks.

[@NessMeister]

Used Migration Assistant to copy everything from my old to my new Mac. Search was no longer working on the new one. Even in 2018 you're the man!

[@shahjrahman]

For anyone wondering where the Outlook 15 Profiles folder is, you can find it in *Library/Group Containers/**UBF8T346G9.Office/Outlook* If you're wondering how to find Library, you can click the top bar in finder, then GO, press and hold Alt [the option key] and Library will reveal itself like the snake it is.

[@jans2enhongkong694]

thanks for yr help! very Clear

[@trumanwong1024]

Thank you! I migrate my Mac to a new Mac and I had the same problem. Then I followed your steps and it works perfectly now. I just add the whole Outlook folder to the Privacy Tab and then removed it. Then it is okay now. Thanks for sharing!

[@WhatsInAWord]

It worked! This is the easiest fix I have come across and it worked beautifully! Thank you!

[@ianhutchings9712]

Thank you Luca. This fix worked for me. Perhaps Microsoft should pay you for supporting their users.

[@anttiaalto3475]

Worked here as well. I even went through the original MS troubleshooting pages without result (not hugely surprised though) but this one totally worked. Thanks a lot!

[@theguru83]

Thanks a lot!! It worked for me. In my case, I had just re-installed Outlook and created a new profile. So my emails were already indexed in spotlight and I could search them from spotlight. But for some reason Outlook was not showing them when searching them in Outlook. Using your method, I was able to resolve this issue. Thanks again!!!

[@soulsurvivorla]

I had forgotten about doing this as a way to rebuild the index. I was wondering if you are running into issues with items in sub folders not being found using Outlook search.

[@Fireheadman]

worked perfect!!! I also rebuilt my mac, had to do a timemachine restore and ran into this same issue. I'm on SSD's so the spotlight re-index took less than a minute to complete. Was able to launch activity monitor to view the spotlight process running.

[@briangriffin69]

This worked like a charm!!

[@GoZillionProductions]

Happy it worked for you too! Have a great day ;)

[@manuelsalinasruiz6655]

This worked perfect in my case: Mac OS Catalina Outlook Version 16.35 Thank you so much!!

[@jongodwin8780]

It worked! Finally, I can search my emails without banging my head against the wall!

[@GoZillionProductions]

Hahaha, no more headache ;)

[@Dartchy]

THANK YOU! It worked. It was driving me crazy.

[@varvarbarbarianov2121]

thanks. Fixed it for me. i would use less blurry screen as not everyone can navigate through Mac to find folders.

[@GoZillionProductions]

Great and thanks for the tip!

[@micahdmiller]

Thank you for this video. This worked perfectly and was so much more simple than the fixes I saw recommended by Microsoft, etc. Awesome!

[@GoZillionProductions]

Happy I could help you!! Have a great day 💪🏼💪🏼

[@veronikajuric2521]

OMGGGGG.. I think this just possibly worked.. it is finding a few of key words just after a minute :) THANK YOUUUUU

[@NayanNaik]

Thanks for this video. Followed your instructions and search in Outlook is working again. Great work!

[@kevalshah8915]

Thank you very much, you saved me a lot of hassle. The fix was pretty simple.

[@GoZillionProductions]

Great!! More than welcome, have a great day 🙃

[@igarneau7263]

Once you delete the folder from Spotlight, do you have to wait before opening Outlook? (wait for the indexing to finish?)

[@midgebarnabas6841]

Worked on first try! Thank you!!!

[@ganesanshan]

Worked like a charm..Thank u so much

[@davidmckieyt]

I dragged the outlook 15 folder into the privacy tab on spotlight closed spotlight, reopened, removed outlook 15 and nothing has happened after 2 hours. Sucks cause I've spent a tonne of time on this today.

[@johnathanjasay4719]

Very helpful! This was much easier than rebuilding the whole Spotlight index. Thanks!

[@gregsecomb1901]

Yes! - Worked for me, so please you made this video...and that I found it. Thank you so much.

[@davidmckieyt]

ok, i got it to work. this partially helped me but I had to uninstall and reinstall office 365 first. So glad its working now. Thanks for your video.

[@Jeeper67]

Thank you very much! You saved my time and nerves!👍

[@wwtnetwork7267]

Thanks so much! I called microsoft support to figure this out and they wanted to charge me $69.00 for tech support. Thanks again!

[@davidolsen2455]

Thanks so much, such an easy answer! I've been trying to figure this out for several months since installing a new hard disk and restoring from a backup. This was far easier than trying to reindex via a terminal command.

[@soulsurvivorla]

Hey Lucas, thank you for posting this. I had completely forgotten about this feature.

[@kaustubhnadkarni5289]

Amazing! It worked! Thank you. Just give it some time after your remove the folder from Spotlight

[@surinderled]

hi, am facing the same problems.. tried following your instructions but could not find the folder you are talking about in and after library. could you please guide. thanks

[@ankitlodha89]

Can you help with the location of folder you are talking about in MAC os Mojave 10.14.3. Library is visible but no clue further to that.

[@puiying95]

Thank you so much!! Worked perfectly!

[@aulaymackenzie1850]

Thanks. Worked well. So many IT fixes are still variants of the switch-it-off, switch-it-on-again variety. But knowing what to switch off & on not so easy.

[@aulaymackenzie1850]

Easy way to get to the right folder: In Finder under Go menu, select Go to Folder and type "~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office"

[@jeramybearamy8539]

To find the hidden Library folder you click on your finder icon in your doc or applications folder, then hold down Command + Shift and press "G" Next, enter ~/Library/ or the path included in the description section and click on GO.

[@GoZillionProductions]

Jeramy Taylor Thanks for adding the extra detail. Have a great day!

[@co-shi-comelbourne6824]

life saver!!!! Thank you so much!

[@wandeleenmedina7636]

it worked , Thank you.

[@GoZillionProductions]

You’re more than welcome!! Happy it worked!

[@DuBuBLOOD]

It works perfectly for me. Thank you.

[@joslearnsalot5970]

Hi Luca, perfect very clear. Not the screen but the solution. Thanks alot.

[@robhowen]

Outstanding, thank you. Worked immediately!

[@antheaday5834]

Thanks so much. Worked for me and so grateful.

[@Cheddarswiss21]

wow thank you, this saved my life

[@barbararocha9063]

it worked! thank you so much! :))

[@elizabethmaloy]

This also helped my search functionality issues. Thanks Luca!

[@NazeehMohammed]

Awesome!! This works compared to the Outlook Repair Tool by Microsoft. Thanks a lot!!

[@breneidt2704]

Just waiting for indexing. Looking forward to results! Woot! Thanks

[@breneidt2704]

It worked amazing!!!!

[@RonohKibetEan]

Amazing. Works perfect. Thanks Mate!

[@bernovanderwal]

Heb jij enig idee waarom Outlook 2016 niet verschijnt maar een uitgeklede versie van Outlook? De reguliere 2016 versie heef uitgebreidere opties... zoals zoeken maar ook het aanmaken van email templates (vaak gebruikte teksten bijv.)

[@adriantan3434]

Works well to me, thanks !

[@PauleBecker]

@zillionProductions This worked for me a month ago with Outlook on Mac, but now that I have upgraded to Catalina, I can't even find the folder to move over to Spotlight Privacy...it's just disappeared. Any advice?

[@GoZillionProductions]

Oh, I tried this on Catalina too and it still seems to fix the issue. Were you able to fix it?

[@victoriawojciechowski8836]

Hi Luca, I just purchased a MacBookPro (late 2016) and installed my Mac Office 365. Now after 3 weeks, my Outlook has stopped searching my Outlook. I followed your tutorial but I can not find the Outlook 15 Profile. I have searched and can not find it either. I am on Sierra (10.12.2) so maybe it is different. Any suggestions? Thanks! V

[@aliciavtaylor]

Very helpful video and this comment was helpful as well, as I had no idea how to find the Library! It worked for me, thank you so much!

[@marcgold2006]

Worked for me. Thanks!

[@akshayshah980]

Great work luca & Sacazzi! it worked for me! fantastic! thanks a lot sir

[@alekscardenas7258]

Luca, thanks for this tip it worked out perfect.

[@k4krystal112]

Thanks for the help - it worked!

[@AlternaTVSA]

You sir, have just saved my sanity! Thank you, it seems to have worked.

[@christinedlgRGV]

Luca, I don't have anything past UBF8, etc. that you have. Mine just goes to User Content and then shows Add Ins and Startup folders and then Word and Link Creation... weird. I access Outlook via the net. Not on my desktop. Maybe that's why? I'll check that out.

[@rhym0]

Yes, if you access outlook on the web (at office365.com, for example) there's nothing local on your machine for Spotlight to utilize. This is for people who use the Outlook app.

[@mohammadomar3776]

Hi Luca, thanks for the video , I tried all the possible solution there but no change , btw , I am using mac 2011 , my issue because of email size 25 gb every single try is taking very long time . and till now no change any reply or help would be highly appreciated

[@billbrown1953]

Luca this worked perfectly!

[@Nova_3636]

Perfect, thank you so much!!!

[@GoZillionProductions]

More than welcome!! 💪🏼

[@hollywoodmansion1]

Thank you, however now when I search for a particular email within a folder, it searches every folder. This is hectic, I used to be able to search in one folder only? Any idea, or is it just me? Thanks for your great effort

[@suzannechapman4861]

Worked great. Thank you!

[@josejose2100]

It didn’t work for me and the solution was, instead of moving that file into the privacy list and then removing it, move your MacHD drive on that list, close the window, restart computer, then remove it from the list. I waited an hour or so (leave laptop on) then I tried it and FINALLY! search on outlook works!

[@huseyincelik8360]

i dont have "Group Containers" folder :( how can i solve

[@libeedoo]

The outlook 15 profiles folder disappeared after I removed it from spotlight. Help!

[@salimsalman5392]

How can I buy you a thank you note. You just saved me for such a mess. Thanks.

[@robharradine3978]

cheers dude! worked perfectly

[@watzullenwenoukrijge]

Tx! Worked like a charm!!

[@tomrege3508]

How do I know the progress of the spotlight re-index? Or verify it is working?

[@kilianpalis6158]

If you search something in Spotlight and type a letter, a indexing-progress-bar underneath my search-field appears.

[@gwendolinemensah907]

thank you soooo much! I was literally freaking out:-)

[@farzandehmoubed7924]

DUDE Thank you!! you saved me :)

[@burdine26.120]

I can barely see the names of the folders and files that you are discussing. When you make a screen recording, can you please zoom in on what you want to show us? This way we can follow along. 95% of the screen that is showing is not relevant. Just the items, process and steps you want to show us relevant. Otherwise, this is very good. Thank you very much.

[@mrclaytontodd]

I went to Library and Group Containers wasn't even in there. Can't get anywhere on this. Please help.

[@patrickgallagher528]

You're probably looking at the Library folder in the root directory, which doesn't have a Group Containers folder. Navigate to the Users folder, expand your user ID, and find the Library folder there. You should be able to get to the Group Containers from there.

[@jpkelso2654]

It worked! Halle-freaking-lujah! Thank you!

[@thehollywoodnorm1404]

Helpful this is actually what Microsoft Support is telling us to do but you didnt tell us how to get to the Library Folder and the Video Quality is really bad cant see anything...

[@liligu371]

Thanks a lot, works for me

[@blutsvente3001]

Thanks men...!

[@bucketlistthings1901]

Very well presented

[@glennbelfiore5776]

Just waiting - Followed your steps but I guess its gonna take some time to index. I searched for "Outlook 15 Profiles" using spotlight. The hidden folder trick is very helpful as well. BTW - ever since Apple moved to Spotlight my Apple experience has sucked simply due to difficulty in searching for files. Things would come up instantly prior to Searchlight. If you ask me Search light is the equivalent to the Windows idiot too called the Wizard.

[@warrenmcknight3822]

Will see if it works, I need to search Office 365 archive folder that online from outlook 2016 for mac desktop client

[@AntonioBorba]

Hello Luca. Your video is very nice, it's practically the only approach to this solution I have found. However, after reinstalling Office and doing exactly what you suggest, I am still not able to perform my searches inside Outlook, despite being able to locate the e-mails via Finder (that suggests they are being indexed, it's a problem with Outlook not finding the way to the messagens locations, it sseems). Is there any possibility you could help me with this? I can pay for your time, even. I'm stuck between Microsoft and Apple Support with no solution on the horizon.

[@AntonioBorba]

Lucca, an update! I rebuilded indexing via mdutil in terminal, waited several hours and it worked out fine!!!!

[@alejandrogalindo8404]

Hi Antonio, Sorry but I am really bad in these things. Could you explain how to do that? Because I did what Luca explained in his video, but it didn´t work. Many thanks

[@AntonioBorba]

Well, to be honest, when I first did, it didn't work out. Then, I used Luca hint to copy Outlook directories from out of the container, uninstalled Office, reinstalled Office and moved Outllook directories back to the container overwriting stuff. That worked wonderfully, all, e-mails, all rules, all accounts. Then I rebuilt the index via Terminal, using: sudo mdutil -Ea sudo mdutil -ai off sudo mdutil -ai on Luca video was essential to preserve my Outlook container.

[@alejandrogalindo8404]

Hi Luca, Thank you very much. I have done exactly how you explained in your video, but it doesn´t work.

[@alejandrogalindo8404]

Many Thanks Luca and Antonio!!!! Finally it works!!!! It was a great help!!!

[@carlosvalencia4183]

Muchas gracias! funcionó a la perfeccción, :)

[@MegaCreativestudios]

Thanks a looooot it works for me

[@starwilli]

You save me!!! Thanks

[@scottanderson6241]

Brilliant!

[@cursedbycreativity]

thanks!!!!

[@RimonAli]

not work for me...

[@nationalcommunication8231]

I have spent months studying Mac speed ups and discovered a great resource at Achak Speed Plan (google it if you are interested)

[@kaicross2355]

Brilliant!!!