Spotlight search is one of the most useful features on iPhone. You often rely on this to quickly find and access contacts, text, or other content across your device. But if Spotlight search doesn’t work on your iPhone, you’re not alone. Some users report that they are facing the same issue. So what is the cause and how to fix it in the first place? Please read and find out together!
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Why doesn’t iPhone Spotlight search work?
There are two reasons why Spotlight search doesn’t work on iPhone. It can be either old hardware or buggy software. IPhones with older processors can struggle to keep up with new iOS releases and slow down the iPhone. On the other hand, in most cases, it is the software that causes problems when searching on the iPhone.
How to fix Spotlight Search on iPhone?
- Restart your iPhone
- Disable Spotlight search for iOS apps
- Change language setting
- Remove shortcut widget
- Update iPhone
- Reset iPhone
1. Restart your iPhone
It’s the simplest solution, but restarting your iPhone often resolves the issue. Therefore, please try it before proceeding with other fixes.
- For iPhone X and later: Press and hold the volume and side buttons and swipe the slider to shut down the device. Then press and hold the side button to turn on the device after 2 minutes.
- For iPhone 8 and earlier: Press and hold the side button and swipe the power off slider to the right to shut down the device. After a while, hold down the side button to turn on the device.
2. Disable Spotlight search for iOS apps
Disabling and then enabling this feature may help fix bugs. Here’s how to disable Spotlight search for your app:
- Open iPhone Configuration..
- Tap Siri & Search.
- Scroll down and application From the list.
- Toggle the following options off.
- Learn from this app
- Show in search
- Show app
- Suggest a shortcut *
- View Siri suggestions *
- repeat Above for all applications in the list.
- Next, check if Spotlight search works.
- If not, enable Search with Siri For some apps, test Spotlight search until you find the app that is causing the problem with Spotlight Search on your iPhone.
*Note: Suggest Shortcuts and Show Siri Suggestions may not be visible in some apps.
3. Change the language setting
If you see a blank screen instead of Spotlight Search, your language file may be corrupted. Changing the language setting will help fix an issue where Spotlight search isn’t working. Here’s how.
- Open Configuration..
- select Universal → Language and region..
Make sure the language is set to English.. - Tap now iPhone language,Change to Canada..
- Then go back and select Universal → shut down..
- Turn on your iPhone, iPhone language Restore the default.
- Reboot device.
Now try using Spotlight search. If you still have problems, proceed to the steps below.
4. Delete the shortcut widget
Many users have reported that Spotlight search has stopped working after adding a shortcut widget to their home screen.
To remove, swipe to see the home screen widget → scroll down and tap edit → Tap the red icon next to it Shortcut Delete it.
Next, check if Spotlight Search is working. If the problem persists, proceed to the next step.
5. Update iPhone
This issue may be due to a recent update. Apple usually fixes these bugs in the resulting updates. Check if there are any pending software updates on your device. If yes, please proceed to install.
- Open Configuration..
- Now tap Universal → Software update..
- Tap Download and install..
6. Reset iPhone
- Open iPhone Configuration On your iPhone.
- Tap Universal → reset → Reset all settings..
- Then enter your passcode and tap Reset all settings..
The troubleshooting steps above should fix your iPhone’s Spotlight search. However, if you continue to have problems with iPhone search, we recommend contacting Apple Support.
Let us know in the comments below which method works best.
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