The search field at the top of the Devices page and the filters on the left side of the page do not work the same way, so they can return different results for the same term. This is expected behavior.
Why the results differ
The two searches match on different things:
- The top search field performs a broad text search, matching your term against several device fields at once (display name, last logged-in user, IP address, tags). A device is returned if the term appears in any of those fields.
- The left-side filters (for example, Groups) apply a precise, structured filter, matching on the group itself rather than a text string.
Because of this, the top search can return devices that a left-side filter does not. For example, searching "Default" in the top field also returns devices whose last logged-in user contains "default," even though those devices are not members of the Default group. The Groups filter for Default, by contrast, returns only that group's members.
How to tell which search you are running
The page URL changes depending on which search you use. Starting from the unfiltered Devices page:
https://console.automox.com/devices?o=5002&limit=500&sort_dir=asc&sort_by=display_name&page=1&columns=os_family,display_name,last_disconnect_time,server_group_id,tags,ip_addrs,os_version,pending_patches,status,agent_version,patches,is_compatible
A top-bar text search appends a query parameter (a literal text match across fields):
...&q=Default
A left-side Group filter appends the group identifier (a filter by that specific group):
...&group=10585
If results are not what you expect, check the URL. A q= parameter means a broad text search that can match on fields such as the last logged-in user; a group= parameter means you are filtering by a specific group.