diff --git a/Core/src/org/sleuthkit/autopsy/core/UserPreferences.java b/Core/src/org/sleuthkit/autopsy/core/UserPreferences.java
index 8f3c2e8e140eca3310382a36aa412097b1b05bd6..0d3fd0198a7d15a3fc231ca2401e16dcab86b52a 100644
--- a/Core/src/org/sleuthkit/autopsy/core/UserPreferences.java
+++ b/Core/src/org/sleuthkit/autopsy/core/UserPreferences.java
@@ -84,6 +84,7 @@ public final class UserPreferences {
     private static final boolean DISPLAY_TRANSLATED_NAMES_DEFAULT = true;
     public static final String EXTERNAL_HEX_EDITOR_PATH = "ExternalHexEditorPath";
     public static final String SOLR_MAX_JVM_SIZE = "SolrMaxJVMSize";
+    private static final int DEFAULT_SOLR_HEAP_SIZE_MB = 2048;
     public static final String RESULTS_TABLE_PAGE_SIZE = "ResultsTablePageSize";
     private static final String GEO_TILE_OPTION = "GeolocationTileOption";
     private static final String GEO_OSM_TILE_ZIP_PATH = "GeolocationOsmZipPath";
@@ -535,10 +536,10 @@ public static void setLogFileCount(int count) {
     /**
      * Get the maximum JVM heap size (in MB) for the embedded Solr server.
      *
-     * @return Saved value or default (512)
+     * @return Saved value or default (2 GB)
      */
     public static int getMaxSolrVMSize() {
-        return preferences.getInt(SOLR_MAX_JVM_SIZE, 512);
+        return preferences.getInt(SOLR_MAX_JVM_SIZE, DEFAULT_SOLR_HEAP_SIZE_MB);
     }
 
     /**
diff --git a/Core/src/org/sleuthkit/autopsy/corecomponents/AutopsyOptionsPanel.java b/Core/src/org/sleuthkit/autopsy/corecomponents/AutopsyOptionsPanel.java
index 7f4f8bf3a7d340b0b9a89e20702b9338bab01f98..e7c0f9eaebf8d3df637f92a2c5357c6b3542725a 100644
--- a/Core/src/org/sleuthkit/autopsy/corecomponents/AutopsyOptionsPanel.java
+++ b/Core/src/org/sleuthkit/autopsy/corecomponents/AutopsyOptionsPanel.java
@@ -82,6 +82,7 @@ final class AutopsyOptionsPanel extends javax.swing.JPanel {
     private static final String CONFIG_FILE_EXTENSION = ".conf";
     private static final long ONE_BILLION = 1000000000L;  //used to roughly convert system memory from bytes to gigabytes
     private static final int MEGA_IN_GIGA = 1024; //used to convert memory settings saved as megabytes to gigabytes
+    private static final int DEFAULT_SOLR_HEAP_SIZE_MB = 2048;
     private static final int MIN_MEMORY_IN_GB = 2; //the enforced minimum memory in gigabytes
     private static final Logger logger = Logger.getLogger(AutopsyOptionsPanel.class.getName());
     private String initialMemValue = Long.toString(Runtime.getRuntime().maxMemory() / ONE_BILLION);
@@ -113,7 +114,7 @@ final class AutopsyOptionsPanel extends javax.swing.JPanel {
         // The cast to int in the following is to ensure that the correct SpinnerNumberModel
         // constructor is called.
         solrMaxHeapSpinner.setModel(new javax.swing.SpinnerNumberModel(UserPreferences.getMaxSolrVMSize(),
-                512, ((int) getSystemMemoryInGB()) * MEGA_IN_GIGA, 512));
+                DEFAULT_SOLR_HEAP_SIZE_MB, ((int) getSystemMemoryInGB()) * MEGA_IN_GIGA, DEFAULT_SOLR_HEAP_SIZE_MB));
 
         textFieldListener = new TextFieldListener();
         agencyLogoPathField.getDocument().addDocumentListener(textFieldListener);