There are many cases where just a little assistance or guidance is needed to either solve the problem or get some direction on understanding the issue or next step.
Finder > Settings
Finder > Settings
General > Connected Servers
General > Connected servers
Follow the steps for when Spotlight returns unexpected results.
If the issue affects only Mail, learn what to do if you can't find email messages in Mail.
To rebuild the Spotlight index for a disk or folder, turn Spotlight indexing off and back on for that item, based on the version of macOS that you're using:
From the Apple menu , choose System Settings.
In the sidebar, click Spotlight (or Siri & Spotlight).
Scroll down on the right and click the Search Privacy (or Spotlight Privacy) button at the bottom of the window.
Drag the disk (such as Macintosh HD) or folder that you want to index again to the list of locations that Spotlight is prevented from searching, or click the add button (+) and select the disk or folder to add. Click OK if asked to confirm.
If you get an "unknown" error or error related to permissions, your macOS user account might not have ownership permissions for certain items in the disk or folder that you’re attempting to reindex. Learn how to change permissions for files, folders, or disks.
Wait a few seconds. From the same list of locations, select the disk or folder that you just added, then click the remove button (–) to remove it from the list so that it can be reindexed.
Click Done, then quit System Settings.
Spotlight will now reindex the contents of the disk or folder. This can take some time, depending on the amount of information being indexed. During indexing, you might see an indexing progress indicator at the top of the Spotlight window.
Earlier versions of macOS
From the Apple menu , choose System Preferences.
Click Spotlight, then click the Privacy tab.
Drag the disk or folder that you want to index again to the list of locations that Spotlight is prevented from searching. Or click the add button (+) and select the disk or folder to add.
If you get an "unknown" error or error related to permissions, your macOS user account might not have ownership permissions for certain items in the disk or folder that you’re attempting to reindex. Learn how to change permissions for files, folders, or disks.
Wait a few seconds. From the same list of locations, select the disk or folder that you just added, then click the remove button (–) to remove it from the list so that it can be reindexed.
Quit System Preferences.
Spotlight will now reindex the contents of the disk or folder. This can take some time, depending on the amount of information being indexed. During indexing, you might see an indexing progress indicator at the top of the Spotlight window.
This is a notable pending problem. Not because of EOL but because no later reliable Office version for saving to SMB sharepoints via macOS Clients.
Office 16.78 is under the Office 2019 umbrella.
Microsoft Office version is clearly or consistently better and more reliable than 16.78 for saving directly to SMB/network file servers, based on extensive searches across Microsoft forums, sysadmin communities (Reddit r/macsysadmin, Synology forums), and tech discussions up to June 2026.
16.78 (and nearby builds in the 16.6x–16.78 range) was often in a relatively stable window for many SMB-heavy users. Earlier updates (e.g., around 16.63.1/16.64 in 2022) introduced regressions, such as save failures on Synology SMB shares involving temporary file errors or folder names with square brackets []. Users explicitly noted that “Excel and Word were the most reliable products for saving to my Synology SMB shares” before those changes.
Newer versions (post-16.78) — including current Microsoft 365 builds (around 16.110 as of mid-2026), Office 2021, and Office 2024 for Mac — do not have widespread reports of superior SMB reliability. Issues persist or evolve:Saving/locking problems on Windows Server shares and NAS devices (Synology, etc.). Interactions with macOS SMB client changes (especially Sequoia and later). Temporary file/folder creation glitches during saves. Inconsistent behavior with concurrent access or specific path/folder naming.
Microsoft’s own position (from support responses): Direct saving to SMB/CIFS locations “is not directly supported” in Office for Mac. It may work in practice but is not guaranteed. They strongly prefer OneDrive or SharePoint for the best experience.
No version in the 16.8x, 16.9x, or 16.10x range (or Office 2024 perpetual) stands out in discussions as a clear upgrade for pure SMB workflows. Some users report similar or new quirks after updating, often tied more to macOS version or server configuration than the specific Office build.
SMB discussion
