Windows 10 Search broken by Bing
Windows 10’s Search feature stopped working for several hours yesterday, according to a report by Softpedia News.
Users who attempted to use Search were presented with blank results in both the Start Menu and File Explorer. This meant it was not possible to quickly locate online content or local files.
Microsoft confirmed the issue and said it particularly affected Windows 10 devices in Europe.
“Users may have been unable to access multiple Microsoft 365 services. Additionally, users who were able to access services may have experienced latency,” Microsoft stated.
Bing integration
Due to the feature’s integration with Microsoft’s Bing search engine, it relies on network connectivity to work properly.
Bleeping Computer suggested a workaround to get local searches working again – disable the Bing service in the Windows 10 Registry.
Microsoft confirmed that the issue stemmed from a network interruption experienced by a third-party networking fibre provider. It said that it had pushed out a fix which resolved the problem.
“We’ve rerouted user connections to alternate networking components and confirmed that impact has been remediated after monitoring the environment,” Microsoft stated.
Affected users should reboot their systems to restore the Windows 10 Search functionality.
The Windows 10 digital assistant Cortana is another app that uses Bing, so it is likely that this service was also affected.
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