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Computing

Microsoft says it's fixed the Windows 10 bug that broke the search bar

The search service built into Windows 10 showed a blank screen for many users today, but Microsoft said it has since fixed the issue.

Alison DeNisco Rayome headshot
Alison DeNisco Rayome
Feb. 5, 2020 10:16 a.m. PT
Alison DeNisco Rayome headshot

Alison DeNisco Rayome

Managing Editor

Alison DeNisco Rayome is a managing editor at CNET, now covering smart home topics after writing about services and software. Alison was previously an editor at TechRepublic.

See full bio
Windows 10 has had its problems.
Angela Lang/CNET

Several Windows 10 users are encountering problems with the operating system's search functionality, ZDNet and other publications reported on Wednesday. When they click the magnifying glass icon to open the Windows Search function, the window is completely blank, some users reported on Microsoft's community forum and on Twitter. 

was there a recent windows 10 update which broke the search functionality? the taskbar search doesn't work for me now, I have to scroll up and down the start menu like an animal pic.twitter.com/LBlYdsA7kM

— Roy Tang (@roytang) February 5, 2020

The issue has since been resolved for most users, a Microsoft spokesperson told CNET. In some cases, you may need to reboot your machine for the search function to work properly again. 

This isn't the first time Windows 10 update has been buggy: Users have experienced a number of issues since the OS was released in 2015. Though Microsoft has made several changes to its update approach starting with the May 2019 release, including slower rollouts with additional testing, bugs like this search issue still occur. 

Despite the bugs, with Microsoft ending support for Windows 7 in January, upgrading to Windows 10 remains the best choice for keeping your computer safe from malware, analysts say. You can still upgrade your computer to Windows 10 for free with this trick we found. 

Originally published: Feb. 5, 9:22 a.m. PT. 

Update,10:16 a.m. PT: Added comment from Microsoft. 

Now playing: Watch this: Windows 10: Try these hidden features right now
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