Microsoft has rolled out a server-side fix to address a bug that disrupted the Start Menu search experience on some Windows 11 23H2 devices.
The issue, which began affecting a small group of users around April 6, was linked to a Bing update that was meant to improve search performance but instead caused unexpected problems.
According to a Windows release health update spotted by BleepingComputer, the glitch resulted in odd behavior such as blank search results appearing in the Start Menu, even though those invisible entries could still be clicked. While Microsoft described the issue as recent, users had already been reporting similar problems for months, suggesting the underlying cause may have been lingering for some time.
To fix the problem, Microsoft rolled back the faulty Bing update on the server side. The company says that reports of search failures are already declining as the correction gradually reaches affected systems. Since the fix is being delivered online, users don’t need to install anything manually, but they do need to ensure their device is connected to the internet and that web search hasn’t been disabled through Group Policy.
This isn’t the first time the Windows Start Menu has run into trouble. In November, Microsoft acknowledged another issue where the Start Menu, File Explorer, and other core components would crash after certain cumulative updates. That problem was traced back to XAML packages not registering properly during installation, leading to a range of frustrating symptoms like missing taskbars, critical errors, and apps failing to open.
Although Microsoft provided a temporary workaround for that earlier issue, a permanent fix is still in development with no clear timeline yet. Users affected by that bug have had to manually register the missing XAML components to restore normal functionality.
There have been other hiccups, too. In May, Microsoft quietly resolved a bug that broke Start Menu jump lists on Windows 10 22H2 systems, and back in June 2023, it dealt with another issue that caused both Windows Search and the Start Menu to stop responding altogether.
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