On iOS 18.4.1, Spotlight search is not working correctly. Some apps can be found, but others don’t appear in the search results — even though they are installed on the phone. However, if I swipe left to the App Library, I can find those same apps through the search there. This issue didn’t exist before. How can I fix it?
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
iPhone 12 Pro Max, iOS 18
I am experiencing the same issue after the latest iOS update a couple weeks ago.
Using spotlight to locate apps does not work even though I can locate them in the App Library.
attempted the reindex suggested and it still does not function.
I am experiencing the same issue after the latest iOS update a couple weeks ago.
Using spotlight to locate apps does not work even though I can locate them in the App Library.
attempted the reindex suggested and it still does not function.
The iOS update seems to have corrected my issue. It stills lag a bit but does provide recommendations which it was not doing previously.
If Spotlight search isn't working on iOS 18.4.1, try a force restart of your iPhone. If that doesn't work, check if the "Show App in Search" setting is enabled for the apps you want to search. You can also try clearing the Spotlight search history. If the issue persists, consider updating your iPhone to the latest iOS version or resetting your iPhone's home screen layout.
If Spotlight search isn't working on iOS 18.4.1, try a force restart of your iPhone. If that doesn't work, check if the "Show App in Search" setting is enabled for the apps you want to search. You can also try clearing the Spotlight search history. If the issue persists, consider updating your iPhone to the latest iOS version or resetting your iPhone's home screen layout.
1. Force Restart: Press and release the volume up button, then press and release the volume down button, and then press and hold the side button until the Apple logo appears.
2. To clear Spotlight search history on an iPhone, swipe down on the home screen to open Spotlight search. Then, tap the "Clear" button next to "Recent Searches" to remove your search history. If you don't see a "Clear" button, you can disable Spotlight suggestions altogether by going to Settings > Search > and turning off "Show Recent Searches" and "Show Related Content"
Your first suggestion didn’t help. The second one didn’t work either: I don’t have a "Clear" button. I also disabled "Show Recent Searches" and "Show Related Content," but that didn’t help.
PS Looks like I found the solution - this issue happens when my region is Russia at the region settings. If I change the region to a different one, the Search works fine. If I change back to Russia this issue happens again:(
I agree with you. Spotlight not working properly when the region is set to Russia. Changing the region from Russia to Great Britain or France fixes the search problem. After changing you can search apps with Russian names and apps with names, localized in Russian language.
Changing the region back to Russia is not the working solution.
Spotlight search is not working properly without changing the region in iOS 18.5 too.
Have you updated your iPhone recently? If so, this is normal. Your iPhone is indexing, which is creating and sorting all your data to be searchable by you. During this post-update time, you will notice some things that haven't loaded or shown up yet. But little by little they should all appear.
Zachyy wrote:
Have you updated your iPhone recently? If so, this is normal. Your iPhone is indexing, which is creating and sorting all your data to be searchable by you. During this post-update time, you will notice some things that haven't loaded or shown up yet. But little by little they should all appear.
No, I haven’t updated my iPhone recently. The issue has been happening for more than 5 days. For example, I have the app "2GIS". When I type "2", Spotlight finds it, but if I type "2G", nothing shows up in the search results.
the same situation in my case. Moreover, "Search" doesn't show some contacts at top results while they perfectly found at contacts app search but shows some others contacts
There is something wrong with search function
That did not seem to work for me either. There’s a new iOS update coming this week. Hopefully it fixes the glitch.
Ecapote817 wrote:
That did not seem to work for me either. There’s a new iOS update coming this week. Hopefully it fixes the glitch.
That’s just rumored. There’s no confirmed date.
iOS 18.5 did not resolve this issue. The problem is still persist
+1. Even after recent 18.5 update. Nothing helps except changing the Region.
Search in Spotlight doesn't work on iPhone 12 Pro Max running iOS 18.4.1
