Top 10 Ways to Fix Spotlight Search Not Working on Mac

Spotlight Search is one of the best additions to macOS. Press Command + Spacebar, and you're ready to find apps, files, media, and more on your Mac. Spotlight Search not working or opening on your Mac can be frustrating. Here's how to fix Spotlight Search not working on your Mac.

Instead of finding files and apps manually (which can also take a long time) on your Mac, you can use the tricks below and get Spotlight search up and running in no time.

Most users don't shut down their Mac often. We often put it in sleep mode so it's ready to use in seconds.

We recommend that you restart your Mac to get Smooth jobs. Click Apple icon in the menu bar and select Reboot.

After restarting your Mac, authenticate yourself and try using Spotlight Search.

You need to make sure you are pressing the correct keys to launch Spotlight search on Mac.

Step 1: Click Small Apple icon In the menu bar in the upper left corner.

Step 2: Locate System Preferences.

Step 3: go to the Keyboard menu.

Step 4: Pass to Abbreviations list.

Step 5: Locate Spotlight from the left sidebar.

Step 6: Enable Show Spotlight search option.

You can force-close the Spotlight service on your Mac and restart it. Here's how.

Step 1: Click on Cmd+Space , And type Activity Monitor And press Enter.

Step 2: Click Search bar And type spotlight.

Step 3: Locate Spotlight And press "x" mark (cross) above.

Repeat the same with CoreSpotlightSearch After pressing Cmd + Space keys.

Spotlight allows you to search all folders on your Mac. If you disable a specific category in Spotlight, the service won't be able to search through it. Follow the steps below to enable relevant categories for Spotlight.

Step 1: Click Apple قائمة menu In the upper left corner and select System Preferences menu.

Step 2: Click Spotlight in System Preferences window.

Step 3: of Search Results tab Enable All categories And closed application.

Step 4: If you exclude specific folder On a Mac, you need to: Remove it. Go to Privacy tab.

Step 5: Locate Vol And press “-” (minus) symbol At the bottom.

We've excluded the Downloads folder from Spotlight search before and were still confused as to why Spotlight wasn't searching Downloads.

turn on Spotlight Search Check if it can search apps and files on your Mac.

If your Mac's disk has any problems or errors, Spotlight may have difficulty finding files on it. You can use the default Disk Utility to fix such errors.

Step 1: Open disk Utility From a list Launchpad.

Step 2: Locate First Aid symbol At the top and run the tool To repair the disk.

There's no direct way to reindex Spotlight search on a Mac. We'll exclude the Macintosh HD from Spotlight search and delete the rule. Here's how.

Step 1: Click Apple قائمة menu In the upper left corner and select System Preferences.

Step 2: go to the spotlight.

Step 3: Locate Privacy.

Step 4: Locate + icon at the bottom and select Mac Your sidebar.

Step 5: Locate Macintosh HD And click Selection.

Once you order from Spotlight Do not search through Macintosh HD , click on it and select Minus (-) button.

Restart your Mac Spotlight search should start working as expected.

may lead Corrupt and fake files on your Mac This can disrupt Spotlight search functionality. You can either remove these files manually or use a third-party tool called CleanMyMac X to do the job.

Step 1: Get CleanMyMac X On your Mac. It costs $29 as a one-time purchase.

Step 2: Open البرنامج and select Clear button.

The application will start scanning your Mac system for irrelevant files and ask you to remove them with one click.

You have an option to reactivate the Spotlight index from Terminal. Let's use it and fix Spotlight search. Doesn't work on Mac.

Step 1: of Launchpad , Open Terminal.

Step 2: Run the following command and press Enter to authenticate.

sudo mdutil -Ea

Step 3: Run two commands to disable and enable Spotlight.

sudo mdutil -ai off

sudo mdutil -ai on

Close Terminal and start using Spotlight search.

9. MACOS Update

Spotlight search may not work with buggy macOS software on your Mac. Apple is quick to fix such issues with quick updates.

of System Preferences menu , Locate upgrade softwareInstall. Latest version of macOS Try your luck with Spotlight once again.

10. Check the space bar on your MAC

This solution is most suitable for MacBook users with a butterfly keyboard. Apple has announced a free keyboard replacement program. For MacBooks dating back to 2016. If you're a MacBook with Butterfly keys, the spacebar may not work all the time. Sometimes, it may register a double spacebar. This can cause Spotlight search to not work on your Mac. If you experience this issue, read our guide on how to fix it. Fix spacebar on Mac.

Search like a PRO on MAC

Spotlight elevates your Mac experience. We use it all the time to switch between apps on our Mac. Spotlight is an essential part of macOS, and a feature that doesn't work can be frustrating. What trick helped you fix Spotlight search not working on your Mac? Share your results in the comments below.