Outlook Slow Search: "We're having trouble fetching results from the server..." – IT Solver Support

Fixing Slow Outlook Search Performance with Exchange Online

This article explains how to resolve slow search performance in Outlook when retrieving results from Exchange Online. This solution is especially useful for users who often work in areas with poor or no internet connectivity, ensuring Outlook search remains fast and reliable.

Issue Description

Outlook search is slow when using Exchange Online. However, local search ("Let's look on your computer instead") returns results quickly. This indicates a problem with server-side search from Exchange Online.

Older versions of Outlook will present the error as "Something went wrong and your search couldn't be completed".
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Symptoms

Search results take a long time to load when using the default server search.
Switching to "search on your computer" returns results instantly.
Users experience this issue particularly in low-bandwidth or offline environments.

Affected Systems

This issue affects Microsoft Outlook users connected to Exchange Online, particularly those working with cached mode enabled on laptops or mobile devices.

Resolution Steps

Disable Server-Side Search:
1. Press the Windows key, type regedit, and press Enter to open the Registry Editor.
2. Navigate to the following key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\Search
3. Right-click on the Search folder and select New DWORD (32-bit) Value.
4. Name the new entry DisableServerAssistedSearch.
5. Double-click the entry and set the Value data to 1.
6. Close the Registry Editor and restart Outlook.
This disables server-assisted search and forces Outlook to rely on the local search index.
Adjust Cached Mode Settings:
1. Open Outlook and go to File Account Settings Account Settings.
2. Select your email account and click Change.
3. Slide the Mail to keep offline setting to All for the mailbox.
4. Restart Outlook to apply the changes.
This ensures all emails are available locally, improving search performance regardless of internet connectivity.

Additional Information

This solution is beneficial for users frequently working in remote areas or locations with poor internet connectivity.
Ensure that local mailbox synchronization is complete before testing the solution.

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