Mac Finder Search Not Working on Sequoia, Sonoma, Ventura

How do you locate a file on Mac? If you know approximately where the file is, you can browse from folder to folder until you find it. However, if you're uncertain about a file's location or prefer a faster retrieval, firing up Spotlight search or Finder search is a better option.

With Finder search, you can specify whether to search the whole Mac or the currently active folder and narrow down the results with different filters. Useful as it may appear, it's not immune to issues. In fact, many posts are complaining about Finder search not working on Sequoia, Sonoma, Ventura, and other macOS versions.

Fortunately, it's not hardware problems but software-related reasons that render Mac search not working, and we'll outline the proven methods to resolve the issue.

Finder search not working on Reddit

The discussions of MacBook Finder search not working can be seen in multiple forums, including Reddit. Typically, users can't find the ideal or any results at the top when searching in Finder even with the exact file name.

For instance, when they search for a file in the Downloads folder with the first half of the file name, Finder doesn't show any results, even though they can see the file sitting in the folder themselves.

Or, instead of seeing the folders and files that match the keywords best at the top, they have to browse the list of results to find what they're looking for!

Similar to internal hard drives, users can also experience Finder Search not working on external hard drives. The post below is a perfect example of how frustrated people feel when the search doesn't work on Mac.

Why is search so bad in Finder?
by u/shaunakgokhale in MacOS

Why is my search not working on Mac Finder?

The primary reason for the search not working on Mac is due to index issues. Finder search relies on Spotlight. If Spotlight has trouble indexing files on Mac, Finder search won't return good results. Or, if the file you're looking for is excluded from the Spotlight index, a search won't find it.

Other causes of Finder search issues include system bugs and that Finder isn't set to search in the correct location. For example, searching for a file in the Documents folder while inside the Applications folder.

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How to fix Finder search not working on Mac?

If the search is not working on Mac, troubleshoot it with the solutions outlined below.

Before heading to the solutions, we highly recommend optimizing your Mac by deleting unwanted files with iBoysoft DiskGeeker for Mac. This can remove unnecessary and junk files on your Mac, improving its performance and reducing the time needed for search indexing and retrieving. In other words, your internal hard drive will have more free space and become faster in finding the files you're searching for.

After your Mac is optimized, follow the tips below to resolve the issue of MacBook Finder Search not working.

Fix 1: Ensure you're searching in the correct location

When you start a search in Finder, it defaults to the location set in Finder settings. If you're looking for a file outside of the current folder but Finder is set to perform a search in the current folder, it can't locate the right result.

To fix Mac Finder Search not showing files, you need to click on "This Mac" after starting the search to expand the scope to the entire computer.

Or you can modify Finder settings and change the default location to "Search This Mac."

Fix 2: Check Spotlight settings

Finder search will only find files that are indexed by Spotlight. If Spotlight is configured to exclude the file you're searching for, Finder will find no results despite the fact that you know it exists.

Open System Settings/Preferences, then launch Spotlight and ensure the category of the file you want to search is configured to appear in Spotlight search results.

As we mentioned before, Finder leverages the same underlying technology as Spotlight. So, when you search in Finder, you're effectively using Spotlight's search capabilities, except that it only targets files on local drives.

One more place to look is Search Privacy. Hit the "Search Privacy" button and check if any files or folders are listed here to be excluded from searches. If you find some folders that shouldn't be excluded, select them and click the remove button ( - ) to include them, then tap Done to save the change.

Fix 3: Deselect and reselect all search categories

If it's not a configuration problem, try deselecting all search categories and then reselecting them. Simply go to System Settings/Preferences > Spotlight and uncheck the box before each category, then select them again.

Fix 4: Relaunch Finder

Like regular apps, Finder can be restarted to resolve various issues or refresh its functionality. If the search in Finder continues to produce bad results, relaunching Finder may help.

To do this, hold down the Option key, then right-click on the Finder icon on the Dock and select Relaunch.

Fix 5: Rebuild the search index

Another solution is to rebuild the search index on your internal or external hard drive. Follow the steps below to fix Finder Search not working on external hard drives and internal Mac drives:

Spotlight will reindex the files on the drive you targeted. This can be time-consuming, depending on the amount of information needed to be indexed. If you want to accelerate the process, use iBoysoft DiskGeeker for Mac to delete the unnecessary files.

Fix 6: Disable and reenable Spotlight

After going through previous fixes, you've likely resolved the issue. In case you're still struggling with it, try disabling and reenabling the search function in Terminal to fix the search not working on Mac.

Share this guide to help others fix search not working on macOS 15 Sequoia and earlier systems!