Did February 2017 Office 365 update break Outlook Search?

Anonymous
2017-03-14T00:36:33+00:00

I upgraded 2 computers to the Office 365 February update: https://support.office.com/en-us/article/What-s-new-and-improved-in-Office-2016-for-Office-365-95c8d81d-08ba-42c1-914f-bca4603e1426?ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US

Ever since then search is broken in Outlook on both computers - any search returns no results.  Windows 10 search outside Outlook works fine.  I've rebuilt the index, used ScanPST.exe and tried other things at https://lookeen.com/blog/how-to-fix-outlook-2016-search-problems and https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Reset-indexing-by-rebuilding-your-Instant-Search-catalog-213a2728-0ef4-427a-9bb2-aed329a59b17 but the problem remains on both computers.  

Did February 2017 Office 365 update break Outlook Search?

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Anonymous
2017-03-28T14:37:06+00:00

Hello everyone,

There is an updated build that was just released. Please turn auto updates back on, install the latest build & confirm that it fixed the issue.

Gen

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  1. Anonymous
    2017-03-15T19:43:10+00:00

    There is now an update from Version 1702 (Build 7870.2020) to Version 1702 (Build 7870.2024) but that doesn't fix the problem.

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-03-15T17:38:58+00:00

    Based on your description, the issue may be related to specific client side. To troubleshoot it, please firstly try the steps below and see if the issue can be fixed.

    1. How to fix Outlook Search problem.

    The URL you gave in the boilerplate text you pasted in as quoted above was the one I listed in my original post as not having helped.

    I've swapped in an old Outlook pst file and the problem is still there, suggesting the problem is in the software, not the data.  The fact that it occurs on both Windows 10 computers tested and started at the same time after an Office update suggests that the problem is with the Office update.

    Based on past experience, I'd suspect that the problem occurs for people syncing with iCloud.  Two such problems have been:

    https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/msoffice\_outlook-mso\_win10/after-anniversary-update-outlook-cant-find-icloud/8f127bbd-35f1-49d8-a250-5835608090fa  (fixed)

    https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/msoffice\_outlook-mso\_win10/icloud-kills-touch-scrolling-for-outlook-messages/3f085788-c0a4-446e-a3e9-85522d055adf  (not fixed)

    Please test the Outlook + iCloud configuration quickly so this problem doesn't go months or years with no fix, as with those listed above.  These recurrent iCloud problems have been a key factor in why people should beware of Office 365, and the fact that one remains unfixed after several years reflects badly on Microsoft, Apple, or both.

    In response to the other questions:

    1. May I know if the email account you provided via private message is the affected account? Did you configure it onto Outlook via POP?  All accounts are POP, and all messages using all accounts are affected.  The address with 4 characters before the domain name is a forwarder to one of those accounts.  The onmicrosoft account has never been functional; it was created in the original registration in which Microsoft tried to get us to switch our email to using Microsoft servers, but we never did that.  We don't use Microsoft servers at all.
    2. I noticed “I use iCloud to sync with an iPhone. That has screwed up Outlook in the past”, could you please share more details about this?  See above.
    3. In the Outlook client, navigate to File > Office Account, please let us know the detailed version of your Outlook.  Microsoft Office 365 Business Version 1702 (Build 7870.2020)
    4. Can you manually search out those items in your Inbox? No search in any folder works.
    5. Some screenshots of the symptom.  There is not much to show.  It says "Searching..." and then seconds later says "No results".

    In the private messages a phone number was requested and provided.  That may be a more efficient means of figuring out the cause of this problem.  I'm willing to wait a few days as you work on this problem, but it has been a major inconvenience to have Outlook search broken on all my computers and the alternate strategy is to revert to the January configuration and try to help others from being snared by this problem.

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-03-15T09:47:14+00:00

    Hi Mickey,

    The incident Erick mentioned above mainly affects Outlook online mode and OWA(Outlook Web App). You can use your Office for Business account (Microsoft.yourdomain.onmicrosoft.com) to log into OWA(Outlook Web App) and see if the search function works fine there. If yes and the search issue only affects the Outlook desktop client from your side, the issue you’re encountering is not related to the incident and we apologize for delivering it in the first reply.

    If the issue only affects the Outlook desktop client, please refer to the troubleshooting steps I mentioned above and please also share with us the requested information for troubleshooting.

    However, if you really want to revert to an earlier version of Office 2016, you can refer to the article to do it. Reverting may cause data, settings and customizations losing, so we truly recommend you back up your mailbox data and Outlook settings before reverting Outlook.

    Best Regards,

    Aaron

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  4. Anonymous
    2017-03-15T02:10:06+00:00

    The February 2017 version of Office 365 breaks searching of emails, as detailed at https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/msoffice\_outlook-mso\_other/office-365-outlook-search-not-working-help/17bd8fca-0308-4c6e-9fb4-06d12e2bd0c1

    How can you revert to the January 2017 version to get rid of this problem until Microsoft comes up with a solution?  It seems you need a specific code for the version to which you want to return.

    And does reverting lose your settings and customizations?

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