Overview
- Apple posted an official support document on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026 that explains how the redesigned Spotlight index works and offers three steps to speed initial indexing.
- The new indexing system in iOS 27, iPadOS 27 and macOS 27 requires each device to rebuild its local search index after the update, which can take hours or days to complete.
- Apple says indexing runs when you first set up a device, after software updates or upgrades, and as data on the device changes, and that incremental updates are much faster once the initial build finishes.
- To help the process finish sooner, Apple recommends leaving the device idle, connecting it to power, and using Wi‑Fi or Ethernet so Mail and other data can download for indexing.
- Users can monitor progress via an indicator in Spotlight or Siri on Mac and a Settings notification on iPhone and iPad, and Apple previously added preparatory Spotlight optimizations in iOS 26.6 to reduce disruption.