Why can't Spotlight Search find my apps in IOS 11 anymore?

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Level 1

43 points

Why can't Spotlight Search find my apps in IOS 11 anymore?

In IOS 10, I used the Spotlight Search ability (pull screen down) to quickly locate applications installed on my iPhone. By only having to type the first few letters of an application, it was intuitive and saved a lot of time especially when you have lots of apps installed. Now with IOS11 I'm finding that only some of my apps are being located. Having researched why, it seems that in order for all my apps to be 'found' and listed in the Applications search bar, I now have to go into the Search settings and manually enable ALL my applications in order for Spotlight to find them. What the heck! Why would you deliberately remove a perfectly sensible ability to quickly locate and run an application with a system that now requires me to have to manually update the Search settings each and every time I install an application?

I understand the need to be able to switch off application data from being searched (which was how it worked in IOS 10), but the names of installed applications should always be available for Spotlight. Am I missing something?

iPhone 6, iOS 11.0.1

Posted on Sep 28, 2017 9:08 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Diana.McCall

Level 7

21,297 points

Sep 28, 2017 9:55 AM in response to Storrm68

Hi. You don't need to enable the individual applications. Just enable Suggestions in Search in Settings > Siri and Search. As you type, you'll see possible words (completions). Pick the correct one and it will find the app. It no longer finds the app immediately based on the first few letters of the name.

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Answer 2

Dec 19, 2017 4:34 AM in response to Thamesway

Solved as of IOS 11.2.1

There is a new tick box in Siri and Search > Go into any app. If Search and Siri Suggestions is disabled a new slider appears below with Show App. So I am going through every app and disabling suggestions and enabling Show App. It looks like I once again have a nice simple and clean way to launch apps from Spotlight Search with a partial word match.

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Answer 3

Dec 22, 2017 10:45 AM in response to Storrm68

I was having this same issue and I've just noticed that in Settings -> Siri & Search there is now an option to "Show App" for each app you have. It's a pain to turn it on for each one but afterwards Spotlight works like it used to and I can find all my apps via search again!

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Answer 4

Dec 21, 2017 6:38 AM in response to BobZiggy

See my "Solved as of IOS 11.2.1" post above. I'm now enjoying the old partial search function again, so if I type 'map' in Spotlight Search all 3 of my map apps come up. If I type 'kee' then MiniKeePass pops up.
Yes I did have to go through a list of 30 apps in the "Siri and Search" section and change a setting, but it was worth the effort. Sometimes glass half full is better than glass half empty.

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Answer 5

Dec 21, 2017 7:57 AM in response to nasredin

If I turn Siri and Suggestions for my Documents app OFF, but leave the lower slider Show App ON, the Spotlight Search searches only for the app itself and not it's content. So the contents for my 'Documents' app are no longer indexed. Apart from the need to do this for every important app, it's working perfectly.

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Answer 6

Sep 28, 2017 1:40 PM in response to Storrm68

Please try enabling Suggestions in Search. It will help somewhat. You can tell Apple of their error by posting at this link: Feedback - iPad - Apple.

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Answer 7

Storrm68 Author

Level 1

43 points

Sep 28, 2017 10:55 AM in response to Diana.McCall

Hi Diana and thanks for your reply. The point is that in IOS10, I didnt need to do anything in order to be able to just type the first few letters of an application and it would appear. In IOS11 you either a) type the whole application name or b) enable it in the Search settings for "search and siri suggestions" to be able to go back to being able to search on the first few letters. To give you an example, to open my Amazon application previously, all I did was pull down, type 'Am' and the application would appear. Now I have to enter the whole name or remember to enable it in the Search settings. This is not logical as a) I have approx 95 apps which I would need to manually enable to allow me to search like I used to be able to in IOS10 or b) enter the whole application name which can be sometimes difficult to remember or at the very least require a lot more screen tapping to achieve the same result as before.

This is a huge backwards step and really makes one of the most useful functions I use on a regular basis null and void. I sincerely hope Apple revert this or at least ensure that application names are searchable in Spotlight regardless of settings. For a company that prides itself in its UX, I dont understand why a powerful shortcut like Spotlight used to be for locating applications has been removed 😟

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Answer 8

Nov 1, 2017 4:53 AM in response to Storrm68

I have an app called 'Authenticator' which I often need quick access to to obtain a 2-factor authentication code from.

I used to be able to type 'auth' and it would appear in the list in Spotlight. Now I have to type the whole word 'authenticator' every time. A pain!
Also the Keepass app, one forgets it's called Minikeepass and the whole word needs typing in...

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Answer 9

Storrm68 Author

Level 1

43 points

Nov 14, 2017 9:45 AM in response to Thamesway

Thamesway - there are other reasons to update to IOS 11, the biggest of which is fixes for vulnerabilities such as Broadpwn among others. This would be far more worrying to me than the lost functionality in Spotlight. As Diana (above) has suggested, you can apparently use 3rd party applications to act as a program launcher, but the point I'm making is that no where did Apple say they were changing the way Spotlight works, and there is no way to restore to IOS 10 once you've jumped to 11. In addition, it should be clear to any logically minded person that the way Spotlight works in IOS11 cannot be thought of as an improvement over the IOS10 version with respect to being able to quickly locate apps installed on your phone.

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Answer 10

gagagogo

Level 1

4 points

Nov 18, 2017 2:32 AM in response to Storrm68

Have the same issue. Running iOS 11.2 public beta 3. I have no solution, but an example of how I get to use Sonos app installed on my phone.

1. Search for Sonos in spotlight (pull down screen).

2. App not found...

3. Move down screen to App Store icon (under safari)

4. App Store opens correctly to Sonos app

5. From there I select to Open (the already installed app)

This is of course irresponsible, and indicates a level of apathy towards their customers. It also is at odds with their motion of building better software because the focus is always a person using their device.

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Answer 11

BobZiggy

Level 1

4 points

Dec 21, 2017 6:26 AM in response to Storrm68

SPOTLIGHT SEARCH IS BROKEN: instead of just typing in the search “am” for any “Amazon” app to pop up to open, I now have to type in “Amazon” and scroll to the bottom and tap on Apple Store. It then opens the app Amazon Store and searches it there. I then have to scroll to find the one I want...Amazon, Amazon Music or Amazon Prime. This is a HUGE waste of time and a MAJOR BUG! I want my easy to search apps function back. I have hundreds of apps and now I am forced to use the App Store to simply find what’s on my phone. Plus, using the App Store to find apps on my phone also is a major burden because if the app needs updating it only gives the option to Update before you can Open it. So, many times I’ve had to sit there and also wait for the app to update it (using cell data) so I can just freaking open it.

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Answer 12

Oct 5, 2017 2:32 PM in response to Diana.McCall

Thank you, Diana. What you suggested does help a tiny bit. I can find my apps now but it's an extra step and I also hate what Apple has done by making it impossible to search for the first few letters of an app and have it show up. Their new spotlight search is horrendous compared with the old one.

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Answer 13

Oct 7, 2017 7:20 AM in response to iphone_6_plus_user

Came to this thread as affected by exact same issue. It’s as if the IOS developers don’t use an iPhone themselves! I still am unable to find apps based on first few letters (suggestions are ON) but can find folders linked to those apps - not very useful. Just hoping that this gets fixed very promptly rather than Apple going into a state of denial that it’s a real problem.

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Answer 14

Storrm68 Author

Level 1

43 points

Oct 7, 2017 7:39 AM in response to Diana.McCall

Thank you again Diana. Search Suggestions has always been enabled for me but unfortunately it doesn't fix the core issue here which is apps are not showing up by typing the first few letters of the app name unless you remember to manually enable them under the Siri & Search settings . I know this may seem trivial to some people, but for me its a total headache as I have lots of apps on my phone and finding them individually is a waste of time coming from a situation that used to work perfectly.

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Answer 15

Oct 7, 2017 10:34 AM in response to Storrm68

So if you enable an app in Siri and Search, or maybe it's after your first typing in of the entire correct app name and jumping to it from Spotlight Search, it seems that app icon now resides in Spotlight (permanently or temporarily I wonder?). But it is still not searchable using first characters of the app name. Functionality has changed/worsened for me then. In the past, enabling an app in Siri & Search has meant that Spotlight searches for files inside the app, that's all. Is this change with IOS 11 - no installed app search suggestion anymore based on initial characters typed - documented anywhere?

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