Put the Spotlight magnifying glass back in your menu bar

Why it happens

The magnifying glass is a menu bar control you can show or hide, and it can be switched off by an update or by dragging it away with Command held. Spotlight search itself still works without the icon. The icon is only a shortcut to it.

How to fix it

1. Choose Apple menu > System Settings and click Menu Bar in the sidebar.

2. Under Menu Bar Controls, tick Spotlight.

   Menu Bar›Menu Bar Controls›Spotlight

3. Look for the magnifying glass at the top right of your screen and click it to search. You can also press Command-Space from anywhere.

Still not fixed?

1. If Command-Space does nothing, open Keyboard Shortcuts… in Keyboard settings, click Spotlight and make sure Show Spotlight search is turned on.

   Keyboard›Keyboard Shortcuts…›Spotlight›Show Spotlight search

2. Ticked but not showing? On a MacBook with a camera notch, icons that don't fit are hidden. Hold Command and drag icons you don't need off the menu bar to free room.

3. If the icon keeps disappearing after a restart, install the latest macOS update in General > Software Update.

   General›Software Update

4. If Spotlight won't open from the icon or the keyboard even after a restart, contact Apple Support.