How to disable Bing Search in Windows 10 version 2004 and newer

Martin Brinkmann
Oct 5, 2020
Updated • Nov 18, 2021
Search, Windows, Windows 10, Windows tips
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When Microsoft launched its Windows 10 operating system in 2015, it merged the local search functionality with the digital assistant Cortana and also Bing Search.

Cortana has since been revamped completely and cut from many parts of the operating system, but Bing Search is still integrated. Run a search for something, and you may get local and remote results. There has never been an option to switch the search engine.

Some users may like the feature, as it may speed up certain look-ups or operations; others dislike it, as the local input is submitted to Microsoft servers. Bing is also not the best of search engines outside of the United States, and especially for non-English speaking countries.

windows-10-web search start

Tip: if you rely on local results, check out this guide to manage search index locations in Windows 10. If you run into troubles, use Microsoft's Windows 10 Search Indexer Diagnostics app.

The remote functionality of Windows 10 Search's was the cause for several issues in the past. Users ran into CPU spikes in 2019, and saw a blank box only for some time in 2020.

Up to Windows 10 version 1909, administrators could set a Registry key, BingSearchEnabled, to turn off Bing Search functionality in Search. Microsoft removed the Registry key in Windows 10 version 2004. According to Windows Latest, a new option is now available to disable the Web Search functionality of the Windows Start Menu.

Disable Bing Search in Windows 10

windows registry disable internet search windows 10

  1. Note that you need to have elevated rights to edit the Registry. If you use a standard user account, check the addendum below this list.
  2. Create a backup of the Registry just in case.
  3. Open the Start Menu, type regedit.exe, and load the Registry Editor result that is displayed to you.
  4. Go to the Registry key Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\
  5. Check if a subkey Explorer exists.
    1. If the key exists, go to 6) below.
    2. If it does not exist, right-click on Windows, select New > Key, and name it Explorer.
  6. Right-click on Explorer and select New > Dword (32-bit) Value.
    1. Name it DisableSearchBoxSuggestions.
    2. Double-click on it and set its value to 1
  7. Restart Windows, sign-out and on again, or kill the Search process in the Task Manager to complete the process.

You can restore Web search functionality by deleting the Dword DisableSearchBoxSuggestions using the Registry Editor.

Addendum:

Günter Born notes that the guide mentioned above works only for users signed-in as administrators. Additionally, users may set the Dword value DisableSearchBoxSuggestions to 1 to disable it.

The steps are slightly different for standard users because of this:

  1. Open the Registry Editor with elevated rights.
  2. You find the relevant path under HKEY_USERS, and need to identify the correct account. Born suggests that you start the Registry Editor as the actual user first and create a simple key under HKEY_CURRENT_USER, e.g. Martin, for identification purposes.
  3. Follow the path to SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\, e.g.  HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-1-<SID-Angabe>\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\
  4. Create the Explorer key under Windows.
  5. Add the Dword (32-bit) Value DisableSearchBoxSuggestions under Explorer.
  6. Set its value to 1.

When you run a search now on Windows 10, you should get local results only. The quick search suggestions, e.g. to run a search for weather, are also no longer listed when you open the Start Menu on the system.

windows 10 disabled bing search

Disabling Bing Search in Windows 10 has several benefits: it is better for privacy, and it eliminates a cause for search issues on the system.

Using the Group Policy Editor

You can make the modifications on Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise versions using the Group Policy Editor.

  1. Open Start, type gpedit.msc, right-click on the result and select Run as Administrator.
  2. Go to User Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\File explorer\
  3. Locate and open Turn off display of recent search entries in the File explorer search box.
  4. Enable the policy.
  5. Restart Windows.

Now You: What is your take on the integration of web searches in Windows Search?

Summary
How to disable Bing Search in Windows 10 version 2004 and newer
Article Name
How to disable Bing Search in Windows 10 version 2004 and newer
Description
Find out how to turn off the integrated Bing Search (Internet search) functionality of Microsoft's Windows 10 operating system to get only local search results.
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Publisher
Ghacks Technology News
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Comments

  1. Dan Donx said on January 15, 2023 at 10:29 am
    Reply

    What mental age of reader are you targeting with the first sentence? 10?

    Why not write an article on how to *avoid* upgrading from W10 to W11. Analogous to those like me who avoided upgrading from 7 to 10 for as long as possible.

    If your paymaster Microsoft permits it, of course.

  2. Dexter said on January 15, 2023 at 11:14 am
    Reply

    5. Rufus
    6. Ventoy

    PS. I hate reading these “SEO optimized” articles.

    1. cdr said on January 15, 2023 at 3:32 pm
      Reply

      I used Rufus to create an installer for a 6th gen intel i5 that had MBR. It upgraded using Setup. No issues except for Win 11 always prompting me to replace my local account. Still using Win 10 Pro on all my other PCs to avoid the bullying.

  3. sv said on January 15, 2023 at 6:40 pm
    Reply

    bit pointless to upgrade for the sake of upgrading as you never know when you’ll get locked out because ms might suddenly not provide updates to unsupported systems.

    ps…. time travelling?
    written. Jan 15, 2023
    Updated • Jan 13, 2023

    1. Martin Brinkmann said on January 16, 2023 at 5:49 am
      Reply

      This happens when you schedule a post in WordPress and update it before setting the publication date.

  4. Anonymous said on January 16, 2023 at 8:24 am
    Reply

    Anyone willing to downgrade to this awful OS must like inflicting themselves with harm.

  5. basingstoke said on January 16, 2023 at 11:18 am
    Reply

    I have become convinced now that anybody who has no qualms with using Windows 11/10 must fit into one of the following brackets:

    1) Too young to remember a time before W10 and W11 (doesn’t know better)

    2) Wants to play the latest games on their PC above anything else (or deeply needs some software which already dropped W7 support)

    3) Doesn’t know too much about how computers work, worried that they’d be absolutely lost and in trouble without the “”latest security””

    4) Microsoft apologist that tries to justify that the latest “features” and “changes” are actually a good thing, that improve Windows

    5) Uses their computer to do a bare minimum of like 3 different things, browse web, check emails, etc, so really doesn’t fuss

    Obviously that doesn’t cover everyone, there’s also the category that:

    6) Actually liked W7 more than 10, and held out as long as possible before switching, begrudgingly uses 10 now

    Have I missed any group off this list?

    1. Heinz Strunk said on September 19, 2023 at 3:57 pm
      Reply

      You have missed in this group just about any professional user that uses business software like CAD programs or ERP Programs which are 99% of all professional users from this list.

      Linux doesn’t help anyone who is not a linux kid and apple is just a fancy facebook machine.

  6. ilev said on August 24, 2023 at 7:34 pm
    Reply

    Microsoft has removed KB5029351 update

    1. EP said on August 24, 2023 at 9:21 pm
      Reply

      only from windows update though
      KB5029351 is still available from the ms update catalog site

  7. Anonymous said on August 24, 2023 at 11:05 pm
    Reply

    1. This update is labaled as PREVIEW if it causes issues to unintelligent people, then they shouldn’t have allowed Preview updates ot install.

    2. I have installed it in a 11 years old computer, and no problems at all.

    3. Making a big drama over a bluescreen for an updated labeled as preview is ridiculous.

    This is probably another BS internet drama where people ran programs and scripts that modified the registry until they broke Windows, just for removing stuff that they weren’t even using just for the sake of it.
    Maybe people should stop playing geeks and actually either use Windows 10 or Windows 11, but don’t try to modify things just for the sake of it.

    Sometimes removing or stopping things (like defender is a perfect example) only need intelligence, not scripts or 3rd party programs that might mess with windows.

  8. john said on August 24, 2023 at 11:17 pm
    Reply

    Windows 11 was a pointless release, it was just created because some of the Windows team wanted to boost sales with some sort of new and improved Windows 10. Instead, Microsoft cannot support one version well let alone two.

    1. John G. said on August 25, 2023 at 12:08 pm
      Reply

      Windows 11 is the worst ugly shame by Microsoft ever. They should release with every new W11 version a complete free version of Starallback inside just to make this sh** OS functionally again.

  9. EP said on August 25, 2023 at 3:10 pm
    Reply

    motherboard maker MSI has recently released a statement regarding the “unsupported processor” blue screen error for their boards using Intel 600/700 series chipsets & to avoid the KB5029351 Win11 update:
    https://www.msi.com/news/detail/MSI-On–UNSUPPORTED-PROCESSOR–Error-Message-of-Windows-11-Update-KB5029351-Preview-142215

  10. EP said on August 29, 2023 at 7:32 pm
    Reply

    check out the following recent articles:

    Neowin – Microsoft puts little blame on its Windows update after UNSUPPORTED PROCESSOR BSOD bug:
    https://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-puts-little-blame-on-its-windows-update-after-unsupported-processor-bsod-bug/

    BleepingComputer – Microsoft blames ‘unsupported processor’ blue screens on OEM vendors:
    https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/microsoft-blames-unsupported-processor-blue-screens-on-oem-vendors/

  11. Leonard Britvolli said on August 30, 2023 at 10:33 pm
    Reply

    While there may be changes or updates to the Windows 10 Store for Business and Education in the future, it is premature to conclude that it will be discontinued based solely on rumors.

  12. sembrador said on September 5, 2023 at 9:32 pm
    Reply

    My advice, I left win 15 years ago. Now I’m a happy linux user (linuxmint) but there is Centos, Fedora, Ubuntu depending on your needs.

  13. EP said on September 6, 2023 at 11:55 am
    Reply

    motherboard maker MSI has recently released new BIOS/firmware updates for their Intel 600 & 700 series motherboards to fix the “UNSUPPORTED_PROCESSOR” problem (Sept. 6):

    https://www.msi.com/news/detail/Updated-BIOS-fixes-Error-Message–UNSUPPORTED-PROCESSOR–caused-BSOD-on-MSI-s-Intel-700-and-600-Series-Motherboards-142277

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