Adobe Suite search results page stuck loading fix

The 30-second fix: Clear the app cache

This works about 60% of the time. Most Adobe apps cache search results locally, and that cache can get corrupted. You don't need admin rights for this.

1. Close all Adobe apps. Really close them – check the system tray (Windows) or menu bar (Mac) to make sure they're not hiding in the background.
2. Open the app that's having the problem. Let's say it's Lightroom Classic.
3. Go to Edit > Preferences (Windows) or Lightroom Classic > Preferences (Mac).
4. Click the Performance tab.
5. Look for a button that says Purge Cache or Clear Cache. The exact wording varies by app. Click it.
6. Restart the app. You should see a message like "Search index rebuilding..." in the status bar. Wait 30 seconds.
7. Try your search again. If it loads now, you're done.

If the app doesn't have a cache purge button (looking at you, Premiere Pro), skip to the next fix.

The 5-minute fix: Flush DNS and reset network settings

Adobe's search features hit the internet to pull down stock library results or help articles. If your DNS is slow or poisoned, the page hangs. I've seen this with old Windows 10 installs and sketchy VPNs.

1. Close all Adobe apps.
2. Open a Command Prompt as Administrator (Windows) or Terminal (Mac).
3. Type this command and press Enter:

   ipconfig /flushdns

   On Mac it's:

   sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder

   You'll be asked for your password. It won't show anything as you type – that's normal.
4. Now restart your computer. Yes, you have to. Just killing the process doesn't always clean the cache on the network stack.
5. After restart, open the Adobe app and test the search.

Still stuck? Let's try a direct DNS server. Comcast and some ISPs have terrible DNS that interrupts Adobe's connections.

1. Open your network adapter settings. On Windows: Control Panel > Network and Sharing Center > Change adapter settings.
2. Right-click your active connection (Wi-Fi or Ethernet), choose Properties.
3. Select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and click Properties.
4. Choose Use the following DNS server addresses and enter:

   Preferred DNS: 8.8.8.8
   Alternate DNS: 8.8.4.4

   These are Google's public DNS servers. They're fast and reliable.
5. Click OK, then close everything.
6. Open a command prompt and run ipconfig /flushdns again. Then restart the app.

On a shared or corporate network, changing DNS might break internal sites or logins. If that happens, set it back to "Obtain DNS server address automatically" and talk to your IT team instead.

The 15+ minute fix: Nuke the Creative Cloud cache folder

This is the nuclear option. The Creative Cloud desktop app caches a lot of data – search indexes, user tokens, metadata – in a hidden folder. When that folder gets bloated or corrupted, search stops working across all Adobe apps. I've fixed Premiere Pro, Photoshop, and After Effects this way.

Warning: This will sign you out of Creative Cloud and clear your recent file list. It won't delete your projects or installed apps.

1. Close every Adobe app. Also quit the Creative Cloud desktop app. Right-click its icon in the system tray (Windows) or menu bar (Mac) and choose Quit.
2. Open File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac).
3. Navigate to the Creative Cloud cache folder:
   • Windows: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Adobe\OOBE\
   • Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/OOBE/
4. Inside that folder, delete everything. Not the folder itself – the contents. Select all (Ctrl+A or Cmd+A) and hit Delete. You'll need to confirm the deletion of some locked files. That's fine.
5. Empty your Recycle Bin or Trash.
6. Restart your computer. Don't skip this – Windows and Mac hold file handles open.
7. After reboot, open the Creative Cloud desktop app. It'll ask you to sign in again. Do that.
8. Open the Adobe app that was failing. Let it sit for a minute while it rebuilds the search index. You might see a progress bar or a spinning icon in the Search field. That's normal.
9. Now try your search. If it loads, the fix is permanent. If it still hangs, there's a deeper issue – maybe a network proxy or a corrupted app installation. In that case, try a repair install through the Creative Cloud desktop app: click your profile photo, choose Preferences > Apps, then find the app and click More > Repair.

That repair install is the last resort. If that fails, contact Adobe support directly. But I've seen this cache deletion fix work on hundreds of machines. It's the real fix.