Did February 2017 Office 365 update break Outlook Search?

Hi All,

Thanks for your updates and sharing.

The related team is investigating it, and we will post back when there is any news. Your patience is appreciated.

Regards,

Larry

So I´m now back at version 1612 (Build 7668.2074) again (the last version where search function works).

I think, there´s no hurry, the old 1612 version works fine for me.

I rolled back only to Version 1701 (Build 7766.2060) and that fixed the search problem for me.  That fits with the problem having started after I updated from 1701 to 1702 a week ago.  I recognize, however, that this thread might include people with more than one underlying problem, but for at least some of us, 1701 worked.

@Mickey, please temporary consider rolling back your Outlook client.

I rolled back both Windows 10 64 bit computers to Version 1701 (Build 7766.2060).  Searching now works fine again.  As noted previously, it did not work with Version 1702 (Build 7870.2020).

I followed the directions at https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2770432/how-to-revert-to-an-earlier-version-of-office-2013-or-office-2016-click-to-run

Please note that the directions are confusing as far as the distinction between version number and build number.  The command that rolled back Office 2016 to the version described above was 

officec2rclient.exe /update user updatetoversion=16.0.7766.2060

It appears that none of my customizations were lost.

The Microsoft people can decide whether this should be considered the answer to my original post (in any event, original posters can't designate their own responses as the answer).   But it would be great if this thread could be left open so we could be told when the problem is fixed.

To summarize my configuration and diagnostic steps that may be useful in reproducing this problem at Microsoft:

• All my email accounts are POP.
• All messages are downloaded from the server and deleted from the server.
• I use iCloud to sync addresses and calendar with iOS, but I don't store messages on their servers and don't sync messages among computers.
• Swapping-in a PST file from before this problem began didn't fix the problem with Version 1702 (Build 7870.2020) and rebuilding the search index didn't help.  So the problem seems to be in the software, not the data.
• My PST files are in a standard location and hadn't changed.

Hi Pete, 

I'm sorry it didn't work for you. 

I mentioned earlier that I had already done an online repair and an indexing rebuild before I decided to throw up my hands and revert. It's possible those are prerequisites to the solution that worked for me.

I should probably mention that I use ScanPST regularly because I've found it keeps Outlook running smoothly for me most of the time. Also, the only add-on I have enabled is OneNote Notes for Outlook items. I have particular trouble with the VBA add-on, and it seems to turn itself back on with every update, so I'm careful to make sure its box is unticked each time.

I can't think of anything else that might have contributed. I'm sure all the invective I threw at Outlook had nothing to do with it.

As to the releases...well, as part of the Insider program, I expect frequent updates and minor bugs. (Admittedly, I never expected Outlook to eat half my contacts, but that's not a problem for this thread.) The price for using new features earlier is dealing with minor annoyances, and I'm okay with that. Mostly. Now and then, though, Microsoft manages to release an update with a huge problem like this one. 

If you want fewer updates and bugs, you might want to change your channel.

Hope you get a fix soon.

Rhonda