diff --git a/public/index.html b/public/index.html
index 5aa7116..b164e66 100644
--- a/public/index.html
+++ b/public/index.html
@@ -197,7 +197,7 @@ pre.raw-line { background: var(--bs-tertiary-bg); padding: .75rem; border-radius
             <input type="text" class="form-control" id="logSearchInput" placeholder="Search all log lines..." maxlength="200">
             <button class="btn btn-primary" id="logSearchBtn"><i class="bi bi-search me-1"></i>Search</button>
           </div>
-          <small class="text-secondary mt-1 d-block">Use FTS5 syntax: <code>error</code>, <code>"disk full"</code>, <code>error NOT warning</code>, <code>auth*</code></small>
+          <small class="text-secondary mt-1 d-block">Search terms: <code>error 500</code>, <code>"disk full"</code>, <code>auth*</code>. Boolean operators like <code>NOT</code> not supported.</small>
         </div>
       </div>
       <div class="card">
diff --git a/src/Storage/Repository.php b/src/Storage/Repository.php
index ac34313..b1614b1 100644
--- a/src/Storage/Repository.php
+++ b/src/Storage/Repository.php
@@ -171,14 +171,34 @@ class Repository
 
     public function searchLogEntries(string $query, int $limit = 200, int $offset = 0): array
     {
+        try {
+            $stmt = $this->db->pdo()->prepare(
+                "SELECT e.* FROM log_entries e
+                 JOIN log_entries_fts fts ON e.id = fts.rowid
+                 WHERE log_entries_fts MATCH ?
+                 ORDER BY rank
+                 LIMIT ? OFFSET ?"
+            );
+            $stmt->execute([$query, $limit, $offset]);
+            return $stmt->fetchAll();
+        } catch (\PDOException $e) {
+            if (str_contains($e->getMessage(), 'fts5: syntax error')) {
+                return $this->searchLogEntriesLike($query, $limit, $offset);
+            }
+            throw $e;
+        }
+    }
+
+    private function searchLogEntriesLike(string $query, int $limit = 200, int $offset = 0): array
+    {
+        $like = '%' . str_replace(['%', '_'], ['\\%', '\\_'], $query) . '%';
         $stmt = $this->db->pdo()->prepare(
             "SELECT e.* FROM log_entries e
-             JOIN log_entries_fts fts ON e.id = fts.rowid
-             WHERE log_entries_fts MATCH ?
-             ORDER BY rank
+             WHERE e.line LIKE ?
+             ORDER BY e.created_at DESC
              LIMIT ? OFFSET ?"
         );
-        $stmt->execute([$query, $limit, $offset]);
+        $stmt->execute([$like, $limit, $offset]);
         return $stmt->fetchAll();
     }