How to Fix Search Not Working in Windows 11 – Guide

When Windows Search is not working, there are a number of symptoms you may encounter. You may not be able to type in the Windows 11 search bar or your files or apps are not showing up in the results. It is also possible that the search button doesn’t answer anything, which means you can’t even try to do a survey.

Why is Windows 11 search turned off?

To use anything on your computer, you first need to search for it. The Windows search bar (or search box) is a one-touch utility that helps you quickly access your File Explorer, apps, records and documents. Windows 11 search bar error is a widespread bug where the search bar is disabled, not allowing you to type anything. Also, the Windows 11 Start menu (with its own new search box) does not respond to your clicks. You can’t even access Shutdown and Restart buttons! The issue has recently affected users who have migrated from Windows 10 to Windows 11. It is unlikely to affect any PC or laptop that came pre-installed with Windows 11. There’s no reason for this other than Microsoft’s own bugs. So, a few corrective steps are all you need to get your search back on your computer. However, it is different with Windows 10: the problem can be traced back to your device, due to many errors accumulated over time. If you’re experiencing this issue on Windows 10, try one of our version-specific solutions.

activate search Button on the taskbar

On Windows 11 devices, the search function is merged with the taskbar options. You need to first verify that the Search menu has been disabled. Try using search button with your Windows 11 device again. If it doesn’t work, try the next steps.

Check Windows Updates

Sometimes an update and restart in Windows 11 is all you need to fix the search bar error.

Use the Search and Indexing Troubleshooter in Windows 11

Windows devices have a built-in troubleshooter for all major and minor faults. Using the search and indexing troubleshooter should fix the search bug issue for most users. Follow the steps below:

Restart Windows Search Service

Adjust touch keyboard and handwriting panel service

This should fix the search issues right away. If you don’t see Start button grayed out, skip to the next solution.

Using “Ctrl+Alt+Del”

Before trying the main solution for Windows search problems, try using Ctrl+Alt+Del option of Task Manager once. In the “Details” tab, scroll down to find the “SearchUI.exe” or “SearchApp.exe” application. End this process and restart it again. This will restart your search services immediately. If items are invisible, go to the last solution.

Reset Windows 11

This mainly means that you can no longer use your Windows 11 system settings to “go back” to Windows 10. However, you can always downgrade to Windows 10 whenever you want.

Final note

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