Big Sur Messages and Spotlight not working at all

Recently I installed Big Sur on my 2017 MacBook Pro 13" and at first everything worked fine.

However, since a few days I am unable to start the Messages App. It just keeps jumping in the dock but it never opens. Notifications for new messages do arrive though, it just cannot be opened.

Maybe it is related, maybe not, but Spotlight also stopped working. I can open up the search bar but whatever I type there is never a result displayed. Nothing.

Really frustrating, is anyone having these issues or even knows a fix to this?
Up vote post of olvrptz Down vote post of olvrptz
7.4k views
Posted by
olvrptz
Reply
Add a Comment

Accepted Reply

Just to let you guys know, after I've had this problem for a few days now Messages and Spotlight just started working again.
I do not know how to reproduce this or whether it will come back, the problem came out of the blue and just vanished again.

The best solution so far seems to me to just keep the machine running through the night and hope it will be done with whatever task that causes the problems by the next morning..

I'll mark this as the correct answer as long as there is no definitive solution on how to fix it (except downgrading to Catalina).
Posted by
olvrptz
Up vote reply of olvrptz Down vote reply of olvrptz
Post marked as solved
Add a Comment

Replies

Same issue as all mention above. Deep trouble shooting using terminal mdimport and mdutil commands to no avail. Spotlight will not index OL 2016 mesgs regardless of what steps taken. The only workaround / recourse I have had is to install vmware vfusion, stand up a Win 10 VM solely to run OL so I can search emails.

The net is full of posts concerning the topic with all kinds of attempts to resolve. Here in apple land apples response is nothing but crickets?

2019 Pro Big Sur 11.2.3. 2.4 32G 2667 DDR4

The only fix I have not tried is to backup to Time Machine and reinstall Big Sur and try again.

Questions Apple? Can I get reimbursed for the Win10 Lic or vFusion I had to install so I can perform the basic function of searching in emails?
Posted by
jmadak
Post not yet marked as solved Up vote reply of jmadak Down vote reply of jmadak
Add a Comment
I just bought my MacBook Air M1 chip a couple weeks ago and have the same problem, don't know if it was a coincidence but the problem popped out when I updated to Big Sur 11.2.3. It works again when I restarted my com but the problem keeps recurring and it's quite odd that I have to restart my com every time I want to use it.

Edit: so I saw a comment on another website saying that switching off the wifi and switching it back on helps. Tried to do that and my spotlight is working again.
Posted by
mia1511
Up vote reply of mia1511 Down vote reply of mia1511
Add a Comment
Same issue. Apple, please, fix it
Posted by
yauhenifromvilnius
Up vote reply of yauhenifromvilnius Down vote reply of yauhenifromvilnius
Add a Comment

I have the latest macOS Big Sur installed, but the spotlight works not properly.

MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015) Version 11.5 (20G71)

Apple! Please fix this BUG as soon as possible !!!

Posted by
iplanetcn
Up vote reply of iplanetcn Down vote reply of iplanetcn
Add a Comment

I have migrated from old mac to new mac using migration assistant. Have the same problem. Its on big Sur. Apple, pLease fix this.

Posted by
Partha79
Up vote reply of Partha79 Down vote reply of Partha79
Add a Comment