Facebook’s Android app glitch breaks group search, but there's a workaround

A growing chorus of frustration has emerged among Facebook users on Android devices as a glitch in the latest version of the app has rendered the in-group search function essentially useless. What was once a seamless tool for finding specific posts within individual Facebook groups now triggers a global search across the entire platform, leaving users unable to sift through group-specific content.

For years, Facebook groups have been a cornerstone of the platform, offering communities for everything from buy-sell listings to travel advice and niche hobbies. A key feature of these groups has been the ability to search within them using the magnifying glass icon, allowing users to pinpoint relevant posts without wading through unrelated noise. However, with the release of version 503 of the Facebook app for Android, this functionality has vanished. Now, tapping the search icon inside a group launches a broad, platform-wide search ignoring the group context entirely.

I first noticed this issue a few days ago while trying to find a specific post in a football group I frequent. Normally, I’d tap the search icon, type a keyword, and get results tailored to that group. But this time, I was greeted with a flood of irrelevant posts from across Facebook, none of which were from the group I was in. Thinking it might be a fluke, I tested it across multiple groups — buy-sell communities, travel forums, even small private groups — and the result was the same: the search function was broken.

To verify this wasn’t a universal problem, I ran tests on other platforms. On my iPhone, using the latest stable version of the Facebook app for iOS, the in-group search worked perfectly. Likewise, logging into Facebook via the web on my desktop revealed no issues — group searches functioned as expected. This led me to a clear conclusion: the glitch is exclusive to the Android version of the app, specifically version 503.

The only good thing about it is that I’m far from alone in this predicament. Across social media platforms like Reddit, Android users have been vocal about their dismay.

After wrestling with this issue, I decided to experiment with a potential fix. I uninstalled version 503 from my Android device and sideloaded an APK of the previous stable release, version 502, from APKMirror. To my relief, the in-group search function worked flawlessly once again. Typing keywords within a group returned results specific to that community, just as it should.

This workaround has proven effective for now, and I recommend it to other Android users facing the same problem. To downgrade, uninstall the current version of the Facebook app, download version 502 from APKMirror or any other reputable APK site (exercise caution and verify the source), and install it. Note that you may need to disable auto-updates in the Google Play Store temporarily to prevent the app from reverting to the troubled version 503. While not ideal — older versions may lack newer features or security patches — it’s a practical stopgap until Meta addresses the issue.