OneDrive search is currently broken for many users

If you are trying to find a certain file in your OneDrive storage, but the service just won't give you the stuff you need, you are likely experiencing an issue that Microsoft has just confirmed. The company updated the official OneDrive documentation with a list of known bugs to clarify that the service currently exhibits problems with the search functionality.

According to Microsoft, the bug affects four platforms: Windows, iOS, Android, and Web (macOS users are spared). The company says that affected users see black search results, and the storage does not return files that certainly exist (do not blame Microsoft if OneDrive cannot find the file you accidentally deleted or renamed). Fortunately, files are intact—it is just the search that cannot find them and present them to you.

Another good thing is that the issue does not appear to affect 100% of users. Microsoft says only "a subset of users" experience the bug. Neowin checked a bunch of systems with personal and work OneDrive accounts, and all of them found the requested files without any issues.

Unfortunately, if you are affected, there is nothing you can do at this point. Microsoft made it clear that there are no workarounds. Therefore, you will have to manually scavenge your OneDrive folders (they can now be colored!) to search for the needed file. Microsoft added that it understands how disruptive this bug could be, and it is "working with urgency" to resolve the bug as quickly as possible.

You can check out the list of known OneDrive bugs and their possible workarounds in the official support document.

In other news about OneDrive frustration, Microsoft recently locked out a user who was attempting to move a bunch of important data from old hard drives to OneDrive. Eighteen attempts to resolve the issue led to nothing but automated replies from Microsoft. You can read more about that wild story here.

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