Spotlight search always quits itself when typing.

So on my 2015 MacBook Pro running Sierra, whenever I try to search something using Spotlight search(by the hot keys that summons up Spotlight anywhere), when I was typing in letters, after 3 or 4 letters it always suddenly quits itself , and the top right magnifying glass also disappears for a very short time(like .3 sec) and shows up again. I can summon up Spotlight again and type in and the same happens.

I tried force quit it via Activity Monitor, reset NVRAM, reset SMC, reindexing Spotlight, none of these worked.

This only happens after I successfully upgrade to Safari 12.

And looks like there are many complaints about couldn't upgrade to Safari 12 due to Spotlight app. I'd suppose there's something to do with the Safari upgrade, too.

MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015), macOS Sierra (10.12.6)

Posted on Sep 19, 2018 5:58 PM

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sparky67

Level 2

421 points

Posted on Sep 22, 2018 1:25 PM

None of this matters. I forced Spotlight to re-index several times and it briefly works until the indexing is done and then the problem returns. It also happens while using a different Admin account. After a lot of troubleshooting, I can only get it to stop crashing by UN-checking the "Bookmarks & History" option in the Spotlight pane of System Preferences (all other Spotlight options are checked). I think it has to be a bug or issue with Safari since it's only "Bookmarks & History" and the problem coincides with the update to version 12.

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34 replies

Sep 20, 2018 8:12 AM in response to Outsidero

This just started happening to me, also, and I just upgraded to Safari 12.

Spotlight launches, I start to type my search, and after typing 3-4 letters, it just quits and won't let me finish typing nor does it produce search results. The only way I can something now is by searching in a Finder window.

I'm on a MacBook Pro, early 2011 model, Sierra macOS.

Eric Root

Level 10

685,227 points

Sep 26, 2018 7:59 AM in response to ea7

Apple doesn’t routinely monitor the discussions. These are mostly user to user discussions.

Send Apple feedback. They won't answer, but at least will know there is a problem or a suggestion for change. If enough people send feedback, it may get the problem/suggested change solved sooner.

Click here to send Feedback

Oct 10, 2018 4:31 AM in response to sparky67

Unfortunately, this fix doesn't work for me, even though it seems to be working for many others. I'm having the same problem... Spotlight lets me type a few letters and then quits. I do have Safari 12.0 on my MacBook Air running High Sierra. But my problem isn't fixed by unchecking the Bookmarks and History. Furthermore, Finder is also experiencing similar problems. It works fine for a while after rebooting, but then starts quitting moments after opening a finder window. They seem like they must be related. Help?

Al Hatch

Level 2

235 points

Sep 22, 2018 11:55 AM in response to Mark Webber

Other threads have begun to discuss this bug. Here is one:

my spotlight tool bar disappears after I type in 3 letters

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Spotlight search always quits itself when typing.