Spotlight not working as usual post Sonoma 14.1 update

Fixed:

sudo mdutil -i off /

sudo rm -rf /.Spotlight*

sudo mdutil -i on /

sudo mdutil -E /

Reboot

Long pause after logging in, but then spotlight functioned as normal

Note:

I also added my account to the wheel group but not sure that was necessary. Was troubleshooting a MS AD type of managed user account.

Background:

I had a 2018 Air that I transferred to my new 2022 Air. Everything seemed fine, except that Spotlight would only search my entire Mac, and not the individual folder I wanted to search.

I tried the Terminal fix mentioned by mjvandecreek without any luck. In my case, it didn't work.

Solution:

So this is how I made it work, on both my Air and my wife's identical Air, with the same issue.

I went to System Settings > Siri & Spotlight > Spotlight Privacy. Hit the + symbol and added my entire HD and hit done and saved all preferences. As expected, I opened a random folder and tried a spotlight search and nothing came up - because I was blocking my entire hard drive.

I then repeated the steps above and removed my HD from the list and hit done and saved all preferences. I opened another random folder and tried a spotlight search again. This time both the HD and individual folders showed results. I was able to repeat this process with the same successful result on my wife's Air.

Conclusion:

I am only left to think that the indexing of our computer folders was corrupted - maybe from the transfer. When I blocked everything, it erased the index, and when I unblocked it, it re-indexed everything properly and began functioning again.

I don't know if this is a real fix, but it worked for me on two computers - so it was repeatable. I hope it works for others as well. Please reach out to me if it works for you also, so we can pass the word on to others.

I'm afraid the I cannot find or delete the .Spotlight file

XXX@YYY ~ % sudo rm -rf /.Spotlight*

zsh: no matches found: /.Spotlight*

and

XXX@YYY ~ % sudo rm -rf /System/Volumes/Data/.Spotlight-V100

rm: /System/Volumes/Data/.Spotlight-V100: Operation not permitted

Any recommendation? Spotlight doesn't not work properly and randomly (e.g. if I rebuild everything, it does work for a moment but then bugs again, with e.g. the documents or the contacts not showing). Thanks

Thanks for posting however this is not a resolution on a Mac mini running Sonoma 14.1.1. Spotlight works fine on 14.0 but in 14.1.1 the spotlight icon in the menu doesn't respond and you cannot open Spotlight using CMD + SPACE. Both are working on my MacBook Air running 14.0.

Fixed: Hi Guys, if you are still having issues, the solution is simple. Under Sonoma, system settings, Siri & Spotlight, by default the Siri keyboard shortcut is "Hold Command Spacebar" which conflicts with Spotlight. Change it to something else, e.g. "Hold Option Spacebar" and continue using "Hold Command Spacebar" for Spotlight. Enjoy your new Apple OS. Cheers, Mac_Minder.

SOLUTION THAT WORKED FOR ME (after trying several suggested on this page)

*The operations were all done in normal mode, not recovery mode*

This command did not work for me, in fact it did not find .Spotlight*

sudo mdutil -i off /

sudo rm -rf /.Spotlight*

sudo mdutil -i on /

sudo mdutil -E /

then replaced .Spotlight* with .Spotlight-V100

(I know, technically they should be the same thing, but I can't tell you why Spotlight* doesn't work and .Spotlight-V100 does)

So this is the set of commands I typed in my Terminal:

sudo mdutil -i off /

sudo rm -rf /.Spotlight-V100

sudo mdutil -i on /

sudo mdutil -E /

And Spotlight is finally back! No reboot was needed.

I repeat, I did it in normal mode not recovery mode.

Mine is a macbook pro 14" chip M1

With Sonoma 14.3.1

I hope it will work for someone else in here.

I think Apple definitely needs to put its attention on this problem, they are unacceptable for any Operating System in general, let alone Apple.

The bug is actually slightly different:

• Spotlight works when I restart my computer
• But spotlight stops working properly each time my computer goes on standby (meaning if I stop using it for a while or close the lid)

Any ideas?

On a 2019 Intel Macbook Pro, after upgrade from Ventura direct to Sonoma 14.1.1, Spotlight still works, but command-space does not. I tried rebuilding the index. I tried turning off "Click wallpaper to reveal desktop." I tried turning on and off the keyboard shortcuts in settings. I tried clicking and holding on the magnifying glass control at the top right in the menu bar. The spotlight menu appears when I click the magnifying glass, and it finds files and apps correctly. However, command-space does not work. Command-option-space does not show the Finder search window either. I rebooted into safe mode and it started working again. It continued working after rebooting normally.

Thanks. Unfortunately, that maybe solves the problem of ZorkNation but not mine.

I seem to have a problem with the spotlight file. Even when rebuild, it rapidly stops working again. It is also preventing TimeMachine to work properly with the TM reporting that it "Failed to acquire device lock assertion" on the file:  /Library/Metadata/Assets/com.apple.MobileAsset.SpotlightResources.plist

Any idea, except reinstall everything? (which is not great if I don't have a working TM ;-)). Thanks

I just updated to 14.1.2 and.. it worked again when I logged in. And then, AGAIN, stopped working a few hours later. Super frustrating, knowing that none of the solutions proposed does work. Apple, please fix this, it makes it impossible to backup via TM (the spotlight file is locked) and difficult to use (I cannot search documents).

Taking a shot in the dark here to see if your problem is the same as the one I finally identified (unfortunately no fix that I've found yet).

You mentioned Spotlight doesn't work well after standby. Do you happen to log in with Touch ID? If so, can you try logging in by password to see if it works normally?

I've found that Spotlight doesn't work when I log in with Touch ID but works just fine after a password login. Really obnoxious...

Indeed, starting in Recovery (and not safe mode, as I initially understood), I could delete the folder /Volumes/Data/.Spotlight-V100. Thanks Barney-15E for that.

However, after I did re-enable the indexing, it only worked... for a few hours. Then, I got the same issues than before. The reindexation works, but doesn't last. And now, I am able to start an application from spotlight but I'm again unable to search for contacts/files. Really frustrated and I guess a bug still unfixed with the new macOS Sonoma (other cases mentioned MacOS Sonoma: Spotlight Issues - A… | Apple Developer Forums, except that the latest MacOs update did not solve the issue).

Same issue here. Spotlight is completely broken, as is the search functionality in other apps. I am running version 14.1 on a system managed by a university and Microsoft Active Directory for the user login.

When Spotlight opens, the UI freezes, and then attempting to type, it will freeze about four seconds per letter, and even dismiss spotlight, with escape or clicking away, takes four or five seconds for the UI to dismiss. Spotlight shows no results for any input, even 1+2=

A beachball appears if I hover over the magnifying glass icon for spotlight in the system menu bar.

While spotlight is opening or closing, some other apps' UI will not work.