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It used to be possible to disable internet search results in start menu searches before the Windows 10 Creators Update, but I've just clean installed a new Windows 10 Pro image and that setting is gone. Is there some way to disable it through editing the registry/etc?

Drew
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4 Answers4

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The article The Windows 10 spring update no longer lets you disable web search in Start - workaround reports that the following registry update is required in Windows 10 version 1803 :

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search]
"BingSearchEnabled"=dword:00000000
"AllowSearchToUseLocation"=dword:00000000
"CortanaConsent"=dword:00000000

It remarks :

those entries are completely missing from the "Search" registry key, so you can safely delete them should you want to revert.

I would still recommend to at least create a system restore point before doing any registry modifications.

A reboot might be required.

User @mtd has contributed below these commands for applying the updates to the registry:

reg add HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search /f /v BingSearchEnabled /t REG_DWORD /d 0
reg add HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search /f /v AllowSearchToUseLocation /t REG_DWORD /d 0
reg add HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search /f /v CortanaConsent /t REG_DWORD /d 0

EDIT1 : There are reports that Windows 10 version 2004 has broken the above fix.

The article Disable Web Search in Taskbar in Windows 10 Version 2004 has a summary of the current state of the problem.

The current solution seems to be to download and run this PowerShell script as Administrator:

Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -Scope Process
.\disable-web-search.ps1

As only a workaround, this PowerShell script blocks the online search using Windows Firewall rules, so forcing the search to operate in offline mode.

EDIT2: Reports now say that these registry modification are working for Windows versions 2004 and 20H2 without reboot.

EDIT3: Windows 11 21H2 - it has been reported that it is also required to create in the registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer, a DWORD32 value named DisableSearchBoxSuggestions and set its value to 1.

More information in the article How to Disable Web Search Results in Start Menu on Windows 11.

harrymc
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    Confirmed that these registry edits successfully disable the web search. The start menu wasn't turning up many search results on my local disk when I initially made those registry changes (even after restarting explorer.exe), but after a few minutes that problem resolved itself. – Drew May 27 '18 at 22:36
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    You can just kill `SearchUI.exe` to have this kick in. When you then open the search panel -- `Win+S` -- it should say "apps, files and settings". If it still states "web results", make sure you added **all** keys. In my case, `CortanaConsent` was missing. – Smiley Barry Oct 03 '18 at 01:00
  • I went through every step in https://www.maketecheasier.com/fix-windows-10-start-menu-search/ and was still left without working search. Disabling internet results fixed it instantly. Thanks! – Charlie Jan 21 '19 at 05:14
  • Note, the reg file in the link contains weird quotes. I copied the code block from this answer and it works fine. – John Jan 23 '19 at 17:55
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    For some reason I couldn't see `BingSearchEnabled` or `AllowSearchToUseLocation` in the register editor GUI but I was able to disable web searches by running this in cmd `reg add HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search /f /v BingSearchEnabled /t REG_DWORD /d 0` – Charles Clayton Feb 05 '19 at 20:01
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    @CharlesClayton Thanks for that. All three commands together are: `reg add HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search /f /v BingSearchEnabled /t REG_DWORD /d 0` `reg add HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search /f /v AllowSearchToUseLocation /t REG_DWORD /d 0` `reg add HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search /f /v CortanaConsent /t REG_DWORD /d 0` – mtd Mar 31 '19 at 02:48
  • Confirmed working on Windows 10 Enterprise 1709 . – kmort Jun 20 '19 at 17:15
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    works on 1903 ✔ – JinSnow Jul 31 '19 at 04:12
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    I just tested, and reboot isn't required. – Steffo Sep 03 '19 at 11:02
  • This appears to have broken search altogether. No results appear anymore. – ed22 Sep 16 '19 at 08:19
  • Not my comment but "The search from start menu might be broken after this; to fix just restart SearchUI.exe". – Anaksunaman Nov 04 '19 at 05:08
  • For me Search still works, but is restricted to local content.. Finally my start menu is showing me the installed applications (and not links to their manufacturer's web site) +1. – antipattern Nov 27 '19 at 16:59
  • Maybe this is obvious, but just in case it isn't: open `regedit` as user (not admin) to make these changes! – CL. Dec 26 '19 at 19:19
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    Works on 1909 ✔, no reboot required – Martin J.H. Jan 12 '20 at 20:38
  • I didn't need to reboot, but I did need to manually kill `explorer.exe` from the Task Manager to get this working – TankorSmash Jun 05 '20 at 00:21
  • CortanaConsent=0 essentially blocks all future updates to start menu search index; no amount of index rebuild or reset fixes it until cortanaconsent is restored – Charlie Jun 05 '20 at 04:42
  • This no longer works on update 2004. BingSearchEnabled and AllowSearchToUseLocation are no longer there. – JS Lavertu Aug 13 '20 at 22:54
  • @JSLavertu: Thanks for the information. See my addition to the answer for a possible solution. Please report if it worked for you. – harrymc Aug 14 '20 at 08:18
  • @harrymc I followed similar steps from another guide. It doesn't disable web search, but it does prevent it from working, so that's a start. Thanks! – JS Lavertu Aug 14 '20 at 17:46
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    Can you [try](https://www.howtogeek.com/224159/how-to-disable-bing-in-the-windows-10-start-menu/) `reg add HKCU\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer /f /v DisableSearchBoxSuggestions /t REG_DWORD /d 1`? – mirh Nov 14 '20 at 17:52
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    Is it someone's job at Microsoft to purposely annoy people? – niico Nov 16 '20 at 10:33
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    It worked for me on update 2004 using the `reg add` commands, withouth rebooting – golimar Dec 10 '20 at 13:03
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    Same for version 20H2 without rebooting – JRA_TLL Jan 05 '21 at 10:37
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    Works on 21H1 ✔, no reboot required – tones Jul 26 '21 at 01:16
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    Since this post is highly rated on Google: For Windows 11 21H2, the above didn't work but this article pointed me in the right direction: https://allthings.how/how-to-disable-web-search-results-in-start-menu-on-windows-11/ It's a case of using regedit to add the key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer and set DWORD value DisableSearchBoxSuggestions to 1. (I also disabled via local group policy and the above registry keys, but neither had any effect.) Restarting Explorer only was fine rather than rebooting. – El Zorko Nov 09 '21 at 23:53
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    @ElZorko: Thanks, I have added the information to the answer. – harrymc Nov 10 '21 at 08:52
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This has been required since Windows 10 Version 1607. Configuring the group policies below will only work if you are running Windows 10 Version 1607, Windows 10 Version 1703, or Windows 10 Version 1709. You must be running Windows 10 Professional or any applicable version of Windows 10 for these group policy changes to take effect.

  1. Start the Local Group Policy Editor
  2. The policy you’re looking for is located at

Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → Windows Components → Search

  1. Set Allow Cortana to Disable
  2. Set Do not allow web search to Enabled
  3. Set Don't search the web or display web results in Search to Enabled
  4. Restart

enter image description here

Image Source:

Additional Sources:

Ramhound
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9

While @Ramhound solution and @harrymc solution are certainly the most direct, there is also a useful free third part program, that can edit many of these hidden settings, including the turning off of Internet Search in Cortana.

O&O ShutUp10 means you have full control over which comfort functions under Windows 10 you wish to use, and you decide when the passing on of your data goes too far. Using a very simple interface, you decide how Windows 10 should respect your privacy by deciding which unwanted functions should be deactivated.

O&O ShutUp10 is entirely free and does not have to be installed – it can be simply run directly and immediately on your PC. And it will not install or download retrospectively unwanted or unnecessary software, like so many other programs do these days!

( Website and Direct Download )

Example of cortana settings in the program:

Cortana Settings

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    oo-software.com is reliable? How to confirm that there are no trojan? – Peter Krauss Jul 16 '19 at 16:44
  • @PeterKrauss You will have to read up on them your self. They have been around for a long term, a german company, and are certified microsoft partner; see there history here https://www.oo-software.com/en/company –  Feb 08 '20 at 04:29
  • @PeterKrauss basically they have been around for a long time, and there products can be found across the internet. [cnet page](https://download.cnet.com/developer/o-o-software/i-6267447) , [mwc](https://www.mwcbarcelona.com/exhibitor/oo-software-gmbh/) , [amazon](https://www.amazon.com/stores/OOSoftwareGmbH/node/8172048011) , [shop](https://www.dobreprogramy.pl/OO-Software-GmbH,Producent,747.html) , [shop2](https://www.newegg.com/o-o-software-diskimage-15-pro-download/p/N82E16832475009?Description=O%20%26%20O&cm_re=O_%26_O-_-32-475-009-_-Product). –  Feb 08 '20 at 23:51
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    Ok ok, it is like any other black-box: non-reliable. Only auditable (simple and non-chaotic) **open source is reliable**. But, no other options for ugly-Windows, ok: german company and long term sorftware (confirmed), and your approval, it is a good credential. ...I used and was good (!), more one up vote! – Peter Krauss Feb 09 '20 at 22:30
  • Every other solution on this page did not work except this one – Jirhska Mar 07 '22 at 17:37
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And for these who is looking for disabling web search via registry:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Search

create new 32-bit DWORD value ConnectedSearchUseWeb and set it to 0

Reboot.

Reference

vanowm
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  • This doesn't work on Windows 10 home – Natan Yellin Feb 27 '18 at 13:43
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    @NatanYellin what if you add **DisableWebSearch** DWORD and set it to **1** Maybe reboot is required after all? – vanowm Feb 27 '18 at 22:39
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    Nope, that doesn't fix it either. The entire key "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Search" didn't exist originally. I created it, added both DWORDs you mentioned, rebooted... And websearch is still enabled. – Natan Yellin Mar 01 '18 at 13:53