diff --git a/user_external/lib/base.php b/user_external/lib/base.php
index a817338b5..ffcdb38fc 100644
--- a/user_external/lib/base.php
+++ b/user_external/lib/base.php
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ public function getUsers($search = '', $limit = null, $offset = null) {
 				'limit' => $limit,
 				'offset' => $offset
 			),
-			array($search . '%', $this->backend)
+			array('%' . $search . '%', $this->backend)
 		);
 		$users = array();
 		while ($row = $result->fetchRow()) {