Fix: Why is my Google Search not Working on My iPhone

With the introduction of iOS 14 widgets, the Google app got a nifty Home Screen widget and many users use it as a go-to web-browsing tool on their iPhones. Recently, there have been reports from users stating that Google Search is not working on the iPhone. Both when accessing it from the widget or directly from the app.

We have a few solutions to recommend. They should help you troubleshoot the problem but, if the issue persists, don’t forget to report the problem to Google.

Table of contents:

1. Force close the Google app and restart your iPhone
2. Check the network
3. Update the Google app
4. Reinstall the Google app

Why is Google Search not Working on My iPhone

1. Force close the Google app and restart your iPhone

The first thing you should always do when there’s a problem with your iPhone is to go for a simple restart. In addition, considering this is a third party, we suggest force closing it and then restarting your handset.

If that doesn’t help, continue to the next step. We hope the problem is in the network and not something else.

2. Check the network

Moving on. In most cases, having issues with a connection-dependent app is usually related to, well, your network connection. With that in mind, make sure that you are connected to a stable Wi-Fi network. If you are experiencing connectivity issues in general (with other apps, too), you can check our dedicated article on how to tackle network issues on iPhones.

Also, make sure that the Google app has access to Cellular data if you are using your mobile data frequently. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Open Settings.
2. Select the Google app.
3. Enable Cellular and give Google search another go.

On the other hand, if you can confirm that there’s nothing wrong with your network but the issue persists, try the next step.

3. Update the Google app

Keeping apps up to date is essential and, by default, iOS will do that for you. Apps usually update on their own but not only on Wi-Fi. Unless you’ve changed that in Settings. Now, either way, the next thing you should try is updating the Google app from App Store in hope that Google fixed the issue at hand.

Here’s how to manually update the Google app on your iPhone:

1. Open the App Store.
2. Tap on your Account icon at the top.
3. Under the Upcoming Automatic Updates, tap Update All. Or you can update only the Google app if that’s, for some reason, what you want to do.
4. Restart your device and try searching with the Google app again.

If Google Search is still not working on your device, try reinstalling the app.

4. Reinstall the Google app

Finally, the only remaining thing we can suggest is to reinstall the app or fall back to Google Chrome. You can even use Google as the go-to search engine on Safari. But, firstly, let’s hope that a simple reinstallation helps. Also, if you are using the Google search widget, try removing it and adding it back to your Home Screen.

• Safari not Working on iPhone after update

Follow these steps to reinstall the Google app on your iPhone:

1. Tap & hold on to the Google app shortcut on the Home Screen or in the App Library.
2. Select Delete app from the contextual menu.
3. Remove the app and restart your iPhone.
4. Now, navigate to the App Store and install the Google app again.
5. Look for improvements.

That should do it. As we already said, you can use Chrome or Safari for the time being. Also, it might help to report the issue to Google. We thank you for reading and encourage you to leave your feedback in the comments section below.