6 Fixes for Spotlight Search Not Working on Mac

Parth Shah is an evergreen freelance writer covering how-tos, app guides, comparisons, listicles, and troubleshooting guides on Android, iOS, Windows, Mac, and smart TV platforms. He has over five years of experience and has covered 1,500+ articles on GuidingTech and Android Police. In his free time, you will see him binge-watching Netflix shows, reading books, and traveling.

Shachi is a law student with a curiosity for consumer technology. Being a fanatic of the Apple ecosystem, you can often find her hustling for solutions for Apple-related issues. If you have any issues with your iPhone or Mac, she’s the go-to troubleshooter. When not engrossed in writing or her thick law textbooks, you can find her snapping away brilliant portraits of people on her iPhone 15 Pro.

Basic Fixes

Fix 1: Check Spotlight Keyboard Shortcuts

You need to ensure you are hitting the right keys to fire up Spotlight Search on Mac. Here’s how.

Step 1:Click on theApple iconat the top left > selectSystem Preferences.

Step 2:Now, go to theKeyboardmenu.

Step 3:Slide to theShortcutsmenu. Then, selectSpotlightfrom the sidebar. After this, check the box forShow Spotlight search.

Fix 2: Restart Spotlight Services

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

Step 1:Hit theCmd + Space, typeActivity Monitor, and hitEnter.

Step 2:Click on thesearch barand typespotlight.

Step 3:SelectSpotlightand hit thex(cross) mark at the top.

Fix 3: Check Categories to Search Through Spotlight

Spotlight allows you to search through all the folders on Mac. If you have disabled a specific category on Spotlight, the service can’t search through it. Follow the steps below to enable relevant categories for Spotlight.

Step 1:Click on theApple iconin the top-left corner and selectSystem Preferences(orSystem Settings).

Step 2:SelectSpotlight.

Step 3:From theSearch Resultstab, enable all categories and close the app.

Step 4:If you have excluded a specific folder on Mac, you need to remove it. Switch to thePrivacytab.

Step 5:Select thefolderand hit the–(minus) icon at the bottom.

We had previously excluded the Downloads folder from the Spotlight Search and kept getting confused about why Spotlight did not search through the Downloads. This fixed the issue for us.

Fix 4: Troubleshoot Disk Errors

If your Mac disk has issues or errors, Spotlight will have trouble finding files on it. To fix such errors, you can use the default Disk Utility tool.

Step 1:OpenDisk Utility.

Step 2:SelectFirst Aid iconat the top and run the tool to repair the disk.

There is no direct way to reindex Spotlight Search on Mac. We will exclude Macintosh HD from the Spotlight Search and delete the rule. Here’s how.

Step 1:Click on theApple logoat the top left and selectSystem Preferences(orSystem Settings).

Step 2:Go toSpotlight.

Step 3:SelectPrivacy.

Step 4:Select+ iconat the bottom and select yourMacfrom the sidebar.

Step 5:SelectMacintosh HDand click onChoose.

Once you ask Spotlight not to search through Macintosh HD, click on it and select the minus (-) button.

Fix 6: Reactivate Spotlight Index

You have an option to reactivate the Spotlight index from Terminal. Let’s use it and fix Spotlight Search not working on Mac. To do so, openTerminalon your Mac. Run the following command and hitEnterto authenticate.

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Last updated on 02 September, 2024

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