diff --git a/server/src/queries/search.repository.sql b/server/src/queries/search.repository.sql
index cd9a84b016..7de61ad03c 100644
--- a/server/src/queries/search.repository.sql
+++ b/server/src/queries/search.repository.sql
@@ -279,13 +279,7 @@ LIMIT
 -- SearchRepository.searchSmart
 START TRANSACTION
 SET
-  LOCAL vectors.enable_prefilter = on;
-
-SET
-  LOCAL vectors.search_mode = vbase;
-
-SET
-  LOCAL vectors.hnsw_ef_search = 100;
+  LOCAL vectors.hnsw_ef_search = 200;
 SELECT
   "asset"."id" AS "asset_id",
   "asset"."deviceAssetId" AS "asset_deviceAssetId",
@@ -369,7 +363,7 @@ WHERE
 ORDER BY
   "search"."embedding" <= > $6 ASC
 LIMIT
-  101
+  201
 COMMIT
 
 -- SearchRepository.searchDuplicates
@@ -404,12 +398,6 @@ WHERE
 
 -- SearchRepository.searchFaces
 START TRANSACTION
-SET
-  LOCAL vectors.enable_prefilter = on;
-
-SET
-  LOCAL vectors.search_mode = vbase;
-
 SET
   LOCAL vectors.hnsw_ef_search = 100;
 WITH
@@ -436,7 +424,7 @@ WITH
     ORDER BY
       "search"."embedding" <= > $1 ASC
     LIMIT
-      100
+      64
   )
 SELECT
   res.*
diff --git a/server/src/repositories/search.repository.ts b/server/src/repositories/search.repository.ts
index 01b7773076..ba7d779e02 100644
--- a/server/src/repositories/search.repository.ts
+++ b/server/src/repositories/search.repository.ts
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ export class SearchRepository implements ISearchRepository {
 
   @GenerateSql({
     params: [
-      { page: 1, size: 100 },
+      { page: 1, size: 200 },
       {
         takenAfter: DummyValue.DATE,
         embedding: Array.from({ length: 512 }, Math.random),
@@ -137,7 +137,10 @@ export class SearchRepository implements ISearchRepository {
         .orderBy('search.embedding <=> :embedding')
         .setParameters({ userIds, embedding: asVector(embedding) });
 
-      await manager.query(this.getRuntimeConfig(pagination.size));
+      const runtimeConfig = this.getRuntimeConfig(pagination.size);
+      if (runtimeConfig) {
+        await manager.query(runtimeConfig);
+      }
       results = await paginatedBuilder<AssetEntity>(builder, {
         mode: PaginationMode.LIMIT_OFFSET,
         skip: (pagination.page - 1) * pagination.size,
@@ -196,7 +199,7 @@ export class SearchRepository implements ISearchRepository {
       {
         userIds: [DummyValue.UUID],
         embedding: Array.from({ length: 512 }, Math.random),
-        numResults: 100,
+        numResults: 10,
         maxDistance: 0.6,
       },
     ],
@@ -236,7 +239,10 @@ export class SearchRepository implements ISearchRepository {
         cte.addSelect(`faces.${col}`, col);
       }
 
-      await manager.query(this.getRuntimeConfig(numResults));
+      const runtimeConfig = this.getRuntimeConfig(numResults);
+      if (runtimeConfig) {
+        await manager.query(runtimeConfig);
+      }
       results = await manager
         .createQueryBuilder()
         .select('res.*')
@@ -421,17 +427,14 @@ export class SearchRepository implements ISearchRepository {
     return results.map(({ model }) => model).filter((item) => item !== '');
   }
 
-  private getRuntimeConfig(numResults?: number): string {
+  private getRuntimeConfig(numResults?: number): string | undefined {
     if (this.vectorExtension === DatabaseExtension.VECTOR) {
       return 'SET LOCAL hnsw.ef_search = 1000;'; // mitigate post-filter recall
     }
 
-    let runtimeConfig = 'SET LOCAL vectors.enable_prefilter=on; SET LOCAL vectors.search_mode=vbase;';
-    if (numResults) {
-      runtimeConfig += ` SET LOCAL vectors.hnsw_ef_search = ${numResults};`;
+    if (numResults && numResults !== 100) {
+      return `SET LOCAL vectors.hnsw_ef_search = ${Math.max(numResults, 100)};`;
     }
-
-    return runtimeConfig;
   }
 }