Reinstalling Notes App on Mac OS to Resolve Notes Search Functionality Disappearing

After re-installing a recent update (On Big Sur OS Version 11.7.9), my Notes app all of the sudden lost it's Notes search feature. I was able to restore the Search feature by following the steps below. My Notes app has finally restored my Notes Search capability.


Is there a cleaner way to do this in case it happens in future? Are there Notes app re-installation steps that I can follow that will safely remove those app settings for me?


  1. Go to "System Preferences" on your Mac.
  2. Click on "Apple ID" (iCloud) and select "iCloud" from the left sidebar.
  3. Uncheck the box next to "Notes" to disable Notes syncing with iCloud.
  4. Quit the "Notes" app if it's currently running.
  5. Open Finder and press Command + Shift + G to bring up the "Go to Folder" window.
  6. Enter the following path and press Enter: ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.Notes
  7. Create a temporary backup folder inside your Downloads, then backup contents (From previous step) in it.
  8. Delete all files and folders inside the "com.apple.Notes" folder.
  9. Go back to the "Go to Folder" window and enter the following path: ~/Library/Group Containers/group.com.apple.notes
  10. Create a temporary backup folder inside your Downloads, then backup contents (From previous step) in it.
  11. Delete all files and folders inside the "group.com.apple.notes" folder.
  12. Go back to "System Preferences" and click on "Apple ID" (iCloud).
  13. Check the box next to "Notes" to enable Notes syncing with iCloud again. Your notes should start syncing with iCloud once more.

MacBook Pro (3)

Posted on Jul 31, 2023 12:10 PM

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Posted on Apr 16, 2024 12:39 AM

That worked perfectly. I didn't have the same problem but it was similar and it worked perfectly fine. Cheers!

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Reinstalling Notes App on Mac OS to Resolve Notes Search Functionality Disappearing

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