Infinite loading screen and broken spotlight search problems on Tahoe 26.1

Part 1 of 3

Restart the computer in Safe Mode 

Do the issues persist ?

Sometimes a Safe Boot followed by a Normal Boot will just put things right.

If not - there could be something in the main User Account playing up. To further isolate this - Set up users, guests, and groups on Mac. Then log out of the Main User account and log into the dummy account and test again if the issue persists.

If the issue is present in the dummy account - then, this appears to be a System Wide issue on the computer.

Part 2 of 3

To Drill Down further and to avoid a session of Q&A, Q&A  and Q&A  

Download the Application Etrecheck  ( External Link ) directly from the Developer.

The Application is Not a " Silver Bullet "  and is  only a tool to examine the Hardware / Software used on this computer 

This is a Diagnostic Tool that makes no changes to the computer Hardware / Software used on this computer 

The application is free or paid from added features. 

The Report will Not Reveal Any Personal Information. 

Post back the Full Report - copy and paste - >>>> using the Additional Text Icon ( 3rd Icon to last ) <<<<

Part 3 of 3

There are 4 Categories of Third Party Software / Services that are not needed 

Get rid of them via the Developers Instruction 

In no special order 

1 - Third Party 2 Way Firewalls 

2 - Commercial VPNs 

3 - Third Party Security Software 

4 - Third Party Disk Cleaners / Optimizer 

Try a SafeBoot Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support will sort many anomalies

Login and test. Reboot as normal and test. Caches get rebuilt automatically.

Hello.

I had tried steps 1-3, then I've stumbled upon an interesting development:

Initially after restarting the computer, Spotlight settings are stuck on loading - two spinners as per the initial screenshot.

Then if i go to Users and Groups > Add User > I enter my password and click Unlock > then click Cancel (I do not create a new user)

NOW when i return to Spotlight settings, they are no longer stuck on loading.

If I restart the computer, Spotlight settings are stuck again, until I repeat the steps above.

So this is a kind of workaround for accessing the settings.

_tornike_ wrote:

It has no effect

What has not effect

Have you run the Etrecheck application

Have you considered posting the report

If you do decide to post the report or at a later time

Someone may have a look at it and offer suggestions

Just saying it is your choice

I have the same problem; a new mini M4 Pro, Tahoe 26.1.

Spotlight had worked for about a day (before upgrading to the latest version of the OS) enough to limit its scope of indexing in the settings, which are now completely unavailable, i get only the two spinners that are on the screenshot above.

Rebooting in safe mode did nothing.

Nor did disabling and enabling indexing.

_tornike_ wrote:

Have you fixed it? I tried everything but with no luck :(

I hope next update will fix this problem

From your original image

The user has yet to Login Into an account

Without setting your preferences for Spotlight

It would seem it may not index whatever is in your account

Another update:

Until I unlock Users & Groups as stated above, Spotlight does not work. When i go throught the procedure, it starts working until next time the computer gets locked or restarted.

_tornike_, does the workaround above work for you too, or is this just some fringe behavior on my computer?

Not being logged in is not the problem - I am logged in and still have the same issue.

A few days ago for no aparent reason it started working for a few hours, then went catatonic again.

The response was directed to the Author of this question

If you do not like, ignore it

Hello,

This is a common but frustrating issue after a macOS update (like your update to Sequoia 15.1 — "Tahoe" is the internal code name). The fact that Spotlight works on another user account confirms the problem is with your user's specific preferences and index files, which is good news. It means a full system reinstall is unlikely to be needed.

Here is a step-by-step guide to fix this. Please follow the steps in order, as each method increases in thoroughness.

Step 1: The Quick Reset (Forces Spotlight to Restart)

This is the fastest and often most effective first step.

Open Activity Monitor (you can find it using Finder > Applications > Utilities, or press Command+Space and type it, if Spotlight partially works).

In the search bar of Activity Monitor, type "mds" or "md".

You will see processes like mdworker, mds, or mds_stores. Select each one and click the Stop button (X) in the toolbar, then choose "Force Quit". Do this for all related processes.

Now, open Terminal (also in Applications > Utilities).

Copy and paste this command, then press Enter:

sudo mdutil -E /

You will be asked for your administrator password. Type it (you won't see characters as you type) and press Enter again. This command tells Spotlight to re-index your entire drive.

Restart your Mac.

Check if it works: Go to System Settings > Siri & Spotlight and see if the loading screen is gone. Try a Spotlight search (Command+Space).

Step 2: The Deep Clean (Resets All Spotlight Preferences)

If Step 1 didn't help, the preferences files for your user are likely corrupted. We'll delete them so macOS creates fresh ones.

Open Finder.

Press Command+Shift+G to open the "Go to Folder" window.

Enter this exact path and click Go:

~/Library/Preferences/

n this folder, find and move the following files to your Desktop (for safekeeping, in case you need to put them back):

com.apple.Spotlight.plist

com.apple.LaunchServices.plist

Any file starting with com.apple.launchservices (e.g., com.apple.launchservices.secure.plist)

Now go back to "Go to Folder" (Command+Shift+G) and go to this folder:

~/Library/Caches/

Find and move this folder to your Desktop:

com.apple.Spotlight

Restart your Mac.

After restarting, go back to System Settings > Siri & Spotlight. The system will now generate brand-new preference files. Wait a few minutes, then test Spotlight again.

Step 3: The Nuclear Reindex (Forces a Complete Rebuild)

If the problem persists, the main search index for your user is corrupted. We need to delete it and force a full rebuild. Note: This will make Spotlight unusable for 30 minutes to a few hours while it rebuilds, depending on your drive size.

1. Open Terminal.

2. First, turn indexing OFF:

sudo mdutil -i off /

3. Enter your password when prompted.

4. Now, we delete the entire index database for your volume. Paste this command:

sudo rm -rf /.Spotlight-V100/*

5. Turn indexing back ON:

sudo mdutil -i on /

6.Finally, initiate the reindexing:

sudo mdutil -E /

7. Restart your Mac.

After restarting, you will see a small dot (●) in the magnifying glass icon in your menu bar. Do not interrupt this process. Let your Mac sit, preferably plugged in and awake, for a few hours. You can check progress by clicking the Spotlight icon and seeing if it says "Indexing..." at the top.

Step 4: Last Resort (Create a New User Account)

If, after all the above, only your user account is broken, the final step is to create a new user account and migrate your data.

Go to System Settings > Users & Groups.

Click "Add Account...", set it as an Administrator.

Log out of your current account and into the new one.

Test Spotlight there. It will almost certainly work perfectly.

If it does, you have confirmed the issue is isolated to your old user folder. You can now use Migration Assistant (during setup) or manually move your files (Documents, Desktop, etc.) from the old user folder (/Users/YourOldUserName/) to the new one.

Summary of Steps to Try:

Force quit mds processes and reindex.

Delete your user's Spotlight preference and cache files.

Manually delete the main Spotlight index and force a full rebuild.

Create a new user account and migrate your data.

Start with Step 1. It resolves the issue for many people. If that fails, proceed to Step 2, which is the most likely fix for a user-specific problem. Step 3 is the deep fix for the index itself.

Please reply back and let us know which step worked for you. Good luck

[Edited by Moderator]