System Settings Search Field not working after update to macos15.1

Thanks @Er Cattaneo!!!

I confirm that executing the following Terminal commands fixed the issue on my end:

sudo mdutil -Eai off 
sudo mdutil -Eai on 
mdutil -as

None of the other solutions had worked.

Perhaps your problem was my problem.

Search broken after Sequoia upgrade - Apple Community

Finally found the fix thanks to @farelli:

Search broken after Sequoia upgrade, top ranking answer

nirumlaw wrote:

I have the same problem since I installed 15.1. I'm on a MacBook Air M1. Bug?

Restart in Safe Mode. This will perform a Disk Repair, clear cache files and only load Apple Software, extensions and fonts.

The boot up will be slow and can take some time - Normal.

Safe Mode will also eliminate Third Party Software, extensions and drivers from loading.

It will only load the Minimum amount of Core Apple Processes to allow the the computer to function at a reduced Level of Performance 

Does the issue present in this mode ?

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.

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 ) <<<<

I have the same problem since I installed 15.1. I'm on a MacBook Air M1. Bug?

Can not say I have this System Setting ( Search ) issue

Not on this M2 machine, nor M1 machine nor on M3 Machine all with macOS Sequioa 15.1

Now, if the machines were running a Beta Sequioa 15.2 as denoted in User Byline " MacBook Pro 14″, macOS 15.2 "

All bets would be Off

Apple Beta — FAQ

" Yes, the beta software is Apple confidential information. Don’t install the beta software on any systems you don’t directly control or that you share with others. Don’t blog, post screenshots, tweet, or publicly post information about the beta software, and don’t discuss the beta software with or demonstrate it to others who are not in the Apple Beta Software Program. If Apple has publicly disclosed technical information about the beta software, it is no longer considered confidential. "

Tested on M2 machine with Sequioa 15.1

I'm having the same issue on an iMac Intel (not an M-processor like @PRP_53) with macOS Sequoia 15.1 (15.0.1 did not have the issue.) Regular Spotlight searches work, though.

What I tried to no avail:

• Rebooting in safe mode.
• Turning off System Settings in System Settings > Spotlight, rebooting and turning it back on.

I have the same problem. Noted today after the last upgrade to Sequoia, 15.1.

I rebuilt the Spotlight index but same problem.

I have noticed the following faults in the system log, when trying to search on the System Settings (around 20 of them):

System Settings (Settings)
Subsystam: com.apple.runtime-issues Category: SwiftUI

Accessing Environment<<private>>'s value outside of being installed on a View. This will always read the default value and will not update.

I tried reindexing and removing the com.apple.systempreferences.plist file, but neither fixed the search function in the System Preferences app. The index progress can be viewed in the Spotlight search bar (CMD + Space).

Quick Question: Do you, by any chance, have Epson software on your Mac ( i.e. printer update software, scanner update software etc. )?

If so: I recently had the same issue and narrowed it down to the Epson Scanner Update Software ( the software responsible for automatic Epson Scanner Updates ).

I removed all Epson Software except for the SmartScan Driver and SmartScan Utility and now the search feature works.

I created a new user, and System Settings search works just fine. So, in my case this issue is user specific.

Eventually I have moved to this new user.

I also kept the original one in the system, and the issue is still persistent there.

I rebuilt the Spotlight index, removed the com.apple.systempreferences.plist, to no avail.

What else can I do to nail down this issue?

Creating a new user account (just create it; no need to even sign out) fixed this issue for me. It worked for me as soon as I hit "Create User" Then, I immediately deleted that new account (once again, I didn't even sing out or quit System Settings).

Here is an article that just came out about Spotlight today

When and how to rebuild Spotlight indexes

The person the wrote it knows more about Mac's than anyone (other than maybe the developers at Apple) and has valuable insights into the inner working of Mac's

Saffran84 wrote:

Thank you! It works. It's been annoying me for the past few days.

I'm glad it worked out for you.

Even with this procedure, though, I still had a few items that couldn't be searched (like the "Unlock with Apple Watch"). I upgraded to macOS Sequoia 15.2 this week and now the search is even more comprehensive (I can find the "Unlock with Apple Watch").

Rebuild the Spotlight index on your Mac

Rebuild the Spotlight index on your Mac - Apple Support (CA)