Bing search bar issue when using with Microsoft Edge

Question

Bing search bar issue when using with Microsoft Edge

Chris B 20

Have just checked this issue in Google chrome and it doesn't happen so the issue is clearly with Microsoft Edge. Just wondering if anyone has a fix? The issue is this.

Open Microsoft Edge home page. For this example I'll click on the dropdown menu and click Donald Trump as he is trending. This opens up Bing.

If I then click in the search bar another set of dropdown menu options appear. Again for the sake of this example "Donald Trump age" appears with a little magnyfying glass next to it. Usually if you click "Donald Trump age" you get sent to the page with your answer, but in the last few days if you click any of the dropdown entries nothing happens, not even if you click "Related Searches". Even the TAB option is not working.

If you try a manual search by writing in "Donald Trump Age" again if you click dropdown options, nothing happens. Also usually if you manually write something in to the search bar and hit ENTER that usually works. All that happens now is the cursor moves to the next line in the search bar like it would whislt writing on a document.

The only way you can search is by writing manually into the search bar and then clicking the magnyfying glass next to it, but it's a pain when for years you can just use drop down options or by hitting enter. If you place a search into the address bar the dropdown works on that.

Any ideas what is going on? Have tried resetting Bing, Edge, but issue still occurs.

Thank you

0 comments

Answer accepted by question author

Hendrix-V 19,470 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi Chris B,

Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A forum.

Thank you for reaching out and sharing the details of your experience. We understand how frustrating it can be when the search bar doesn’t behave as expected.

Please let me clarify on the troubleshooting recommended by Q&A Assist, here are the steps you can try now:

Clear Cache and Cookies: Go to Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Clear browsing data.
Disable Extensions: Type edge://extensions in the address bar and turn off all extensions.
Update Microsoft Edge: Navigate to Settings > Help & feedback > About Microsoft Edge and install any pending updates.
Reset Edge Settings: Go to Settings > Reset settings > Restore settings to default values.

Here are some additional steps that you can try if the issue is persistent:

Repair Edge app (on Windows): Go to Settings > Apps > Microsoft Edge > Advanced Options > Repair or Reset (if needed).
Create a New Profile: Under Settings > Profiles, add a new profile and test the search functionality.

In the meantime, using the address bar for searches would be the most reliable workaround for your situation.

I look forward to receiving your update. Let me know if you need further assistance, feel free to ask me by clicking "Add Comment" or "Add Answer" if you cannot add comment so your response will be visible. Thanks for your effort.

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have additional questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

Chris B 20 Reputation points

2026-01-07T09:22:01.53+00:00

Aha, Thank you thankfully I only needed toget to number 2 to find the issue. I have two extensions from the Microsoft Edge Store. Absolute Enable Right Click & Copy and Adblock Plus - free ad blocker.Turned off both and after a bit of an experiment found that it was Absolute Enable Right Click & Copy. Turn that off and all works. Great that I have found the issue, thank you, but strange that it's only started the last few days and will have to try and find another of those tools as they are a great help, will see if deleting and re adding it helps.
Hendrix-V 19,470 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-01-07T23:31:11.9833333+00:00

Hi Chris B,

I'm relieved to know that you made a great decision and everything is good to go on your side. I hope the insights shared in the forum help address your concerns effectively. And thank you for accepting my answer since accepting it helps others with similar concerns find useful information.

Extensions like Absolute Enable Right Click & Copy can interfere with page scripts, and Bing’s dropdown relies heavily on JavaScript event handling. When those scripts are blocked or modified, features like click-to-search or Enter key actions can break. What you should do now is to keep both Edge and extensions updated.

If you have any updates or further questions, please feel free to share them with us. Thanks for your effort and time.
Chris B 20 Reputation points

2026-01-08T10:08:22.08+00:00

Thanksagain. I have now downloaded a new copy and paste tool from the Microsoft Edge store and all seems ok. Strange how one can work for serveral years the affect things?
Hendrix-V 19,470 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-01-09T05:16:36.98+00:00
Hi Chris B,

It might feel odd when something works perfectly for years and then suddenly causes issues. This usually happens because:

Browser updates: Edge updates can change how scripts and permissions are handled, which may conflict with older extension code.

Extension updates: Even a small tweak by the developer can introduce unexpected behavior.

Web changes: Bing’s interface or underlying scripts may have been updated recently, making the old extension incompatible.

Your approach of reinstalling and trying an alternative was spot-on. What you should do now is to keep both Edge and extensions updated.

If you have any updates or further questions, please feel free to share them with us. Thanks for your effort and time.
Jan Dynnesen 0 Reputation points

2026-02-09T22:42:32.1133333+00:00

This comment won't be popular, but it probably should be addressed anyway.

I use 3 browsers: Edge (Primary), Chrome and Firefox (+ also a Norton Safe browser, which is just an extension of Edge)

I only had issues in Edge with random 5-7 seconds and sometime 20-25 seconds delays even on direct webadresses (URLs) - since Edge and other browsers routes even URLs typed in the address bar through the search engine for statistics. Chrome, Firefox (and Norton Safe) responds in less than a second for the same searches/URLs.

I tried deactivating all extensions, clearing caches and cookies, tweaking Edge using YouTube guides, with minimal effect.

Then I changed the search engine from Bing to Google, and this fixed the problem immediately and completely, extensions activated or not.

The issue is clearly with Bing. Possibly a Bing-Edge combination.
Matthew 0 Reputation points

2026-06-01T14:28:01.87+00:00

This does not work for me. I make Edge clear history, cache, cookies, and site data upon closing. I manually clear cache and cookies when I open Edge. I repaired Edge through settings. Then I search Google.com in the search bar. Nothing works. This is really pissing me off. Absolutely no reason for this to happen. I have to open which is not attached to my work account to search things that Edge doesn't want to load. I need to continue to use Edge for work purposes. This needs to be fixed.

2 additional answers

Your answer

Chris B 20 Reputation points

2026-01-07T09:22:01.53+00:00

Aha, Thank you thankfully I only needed toget to number 2 to find the issue. I have two extensions from the Microsoft Edge Store. Absolute Enable Right Click & Copy and Adblock Plus - free ad blocker.Turned off both and after a bit of an experiment found that it was Absolute Enable Right Click & Copy. Turn that off and all works. Great that I have found the issue, thank you, but strange that it's only started the last few days and will have to try and find another of those tools as they are a great help, will see if deleting and re adding it helps.
Hendrix-V 19,470 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-01-07T23:31:11.9833333+00:00

Hi Chris B,

I'm relieved to know that you made a great decision and everything is good to go on your side. I hope the insights shared in the forum help address your concerns effectively. And thank you for accepting my answer since accepting it helps others with similar concerns find useful information.

Extensions like Absolute Enable Right Click & Copy can interfere with page scripts, and Bing’s dropdown relies heavily on JavaScript event handling. When those scripts are blocked or modified, features like click-to-search or Enter key actions can break. What you should do now is to keep both Edge and extensions updated.

If you have any updates or further questions, please feel free to share them with us. Thanks for your effort and time.
Chris B 20 Reputation points

2026-01-08T10:08:22.08+00:00

Thanksagain. I have now downloaded a new copy and paste tool from the Microsoft Edge store and all seems ok. Strange how one can work for serveral years the affect things?
Hendrix-V 19,470 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-01-09T05:16:36.98+00:00

Hi Chris B,

It might feel odd when something works perfectly for years and then suddenly causes issues. This usually happens because:

Browser updates: Edge updates can change how scripts and permissions are handled, which may conflict with older extension code.

Extension updates: Even a small tweak by the developer can introduce unexpected behavior.

Web changes: Bing’s interface or underlying scripts may have been updated recently, making the old extension incompatible.

Your approach of reinstalling and trying an alternative was spot-on. What you should do now is to keep both Edge and extensions updated.

If you have any updates or further questions, please feel free to share them with us. Thanks for your effort and time.
Jan Dynnesen 0 Reputation points

2026-02-09T22:42:32.1133333+00:00

This comment won't be popular, but it probably should be addressed anyway.

I use 3 browsers: Edge (Primary), Chrome and Firefox (+ also a Norton Safe browser, which is just an extension of Edge)

I only had issues in Edge with random 5-7 seconds and sometime 20-25 seconds delays even on direct webadresses (URLs) - since Edge and other browsers routes even URLs typed in the address bar through the search engine for statistics. Chrome, Firefox (and Norton Safe) responds in less than a second for the same searches/URLs.

I tried deactivating all extensions, clearing caches and cookies, tweaking Edge using YouTube guides, with minimal effect.

Then I changed the search engine from Bing to Google, and this fixed the problem immediately and completely, extensions activated or not.

The issue is clearly with Bing. Possibly a Bing-Edge combination.
Matthew 0 Reputation points

2026-06-01T14:28:01.87+00:00

This does not work for me. I make Edge clear history, cache, cookies, and site data upon closing. I manually clear cache and cookies when I open Edge. I repaired Edge through settings. Then I search Google.com in the search bar. Nothing works. This is really pissing me off. Absolutely no reason for this to happen. I have to open which is not attached to my work account to search things that Edge doesn't want to load. I need to continue to use Edge for work purposes. This needs to be fixed.

Answer 1

Matthew 0

Found an answer that seems to have worked (at least for the time being):

In search bar, type "edge://flags
Find "Compression dictionary transport"
Select drop-down box to "Disabled"
Restart Edge

This is working for me right now.

0 comments

Answer 2

It seems you are experiencing issues with the Bing search functionality in Microsoft Edge, particularly with dropdown options and the search bar not responding as expected. While the context provided does not specifically address this issue, here are a few general troubleshooting steps you might consider:

Clear Cache and Cookies: Sometimes, clearing the browser's cache and cookies can resolve unexpected behavior. You can do this by going to Edge settings > Privacy, search, and services > Clear browsing data.
Disable Extensions: Certain browser extensions may interfere with the functionality of the search bar. Try disabling any extensions you have installed to see if that resolves the issue.
Update Microsoft Edge: Ensure that you are using the latest version of Microsoft Edge. Updates often include bug fixes and improvements.
Reset Edge Settings: If the problem persists, you can try resetting Edge to its default settings. This can be done in the settings menu under "Reset settings".
Check for Known Issues: Occasionally, specific versions of Edge may have known issues. You can check the Microsoft Edge known issues page for any reported problems related to your version.

If these steps do not resolve the issue, it may be beneficial to report the problem to Microsoft support for further assistance.

References:

Microsoft Edge known issues