iOS 18.3 SOLVED IT
Hello All, I know surely how frustrating this is as it happened to me months after getting a new phone and like many have said it literally is aggravating, not sure why, but it is.
However I had come back on here to find some solutions, most of which I had attempted. .. I was getting frustrated and wanted to assess if I missed a step going about it the usual, restart or reset or simply update the software.
Luckily I was due for a software update which I did, first thing I try ? search on the Home Screen, worked.
Search on Lock Screen, worked. Now importantly, search in messages, worked. No more aggravation, give that a try as I see a lot of iOS 17 references, however iOS 18 might rectify it. ..
Thank you all for suggestions as I tried to navigate this. Good luck as well
iPhone 16