When you open the Windows 11 Start Menu and begin typing to find a local file or application, Windows simultaneously sends your query to Bing to search the web. If you misspell an app’s name, Windows will present you with an entire page of Bing search results instead of simply telling you the app could not be found.
For many users, this integration is frustrating and slows down the local search process. If you only ever want the Start Menu to search for files, settings, and apps physically located on your hard drive, you must use the Registry Editor to completely sever the connection between Windows Search and Bing.
How to Force Local Search Only in Windows 11
Because Microsoft strongly prefers users to engage with Bing, there is no graphical toggle in the Settings app. You must edit the Registry.
- Click the Start button, type regedit, and press Enter to open the Registry Editor. (Click Yes when prompted by User Account Control).
- Using the folder tree on the left, navigate to the following path:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer - (Note: If the “Explorer” folder does not exist under the “Windows” key, right-click the “Windows” folder, select New > Key, and name it exactly
Explorer). - Click on the Explorer folder so it is highlighted.
- Right-click in the empty space in the right-hand pane, select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
- Name this new value exactly: DisableSearchBoxSuggestions
- Double-click your newly created
DisableSearchBoxSuggestionsvalue. - In the “Value data” box, change the 0 to a 1.
- Click OK and close the Registry Editor.
- Restart your computer (or restart the Windows Explorer process via Task Manager) to apply the changes.
Once your PC reboots, the Start Menu will completely ignore the internet. Typing into the search bar will instantly return your local apps and files, and you will never accidentally open a Microsoft Edge window containing a Bing search ever again.