How to recall an email in Outlook (and when it works)

💡Need to know

• In the Sent Items folder on Outlook desktop, you can recall emails.
• Email recall only works in limited situations.
• You and your recipients must all be on Microsoft 365 or Exchange environments.
• Undo Send is often the more reliable solution for future mistakes.

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You click send on an email only to realize you sent it too early. Maybe there was a typo, you sent it to the wrong recipient, or you left off an important attachment—whatever it is, you panic. You wish you could go back five seconds to not hit send.

Well, here’s some good news. Outlook® offers a solution for this exact situation: recalling an email. Outlook users can recall or send messages when there’s an issue. However, these recall tools do come with important limitations.

At Asurion, we help you learn the ins and outs of your tech. Discover how to recall an email in Outlook with just a few simple steps.

How the Outlook recall feature works (and why it fails)

To use the Outlook recall feature, you and your recipient (or recipients) need to be on Microsoft Exchange or Microsoft 365 accounts in the same organization. You also generally can’t recall an email that the recipient has already read.

Your Outlook email recall will fail if:

• Any of your recipients use Gmail, Yahoo, Apple Mail, or other non-Outlook email providers.
• Any of your recipients do not share the same organization domain name.
• A recipient has already opened your email.

In these cases, the recipients may still see the recall notification, but the email you sent will likely remain in their inboxes.

For example, if you’re trying to recall a message from your Outlook email [email protected] to [email protected], the recall won’t work because that recipient is outside your organization.

The recall notification could be confusing, or even look like some phishing attempt indicators, which may be why recalls are limited to messages within the same organization.

How to recall an email in the Outlook desktop app

The best way to recall an email is to use the desktop versions of Outlook for Windows. Follow the steps that correspond to the version of Outlook you’re using, since menu layouts may vary slightly between Classic and New Outlook.

Recall an email in Classic Outlook

1. Find the email you want to recall from your Sent Items folder and double-click it to open the message.
2. In the Message tab, choose Actions > Recall This Message.
3. Choose between Delete unread copies of this message and Delete unread copies and replace with a new message.
4. Check the box that says Tell me if recall succeeds or fails for each recipient.
5. Select OK.
6. If you choose to replace the message, a new window will open for you to compose the new message you’re sending as a replacement. Compose your message and click Send.

The recall status report checkbox is optional, but it’s best to click it. You don’t want to wonder if the recall worked or not.

Use Undo Send in New Outlook or Outlook.com

In web-based Outlook and New Outlook, the process is a bit simpler.

1. Double-click the message in your Sent Items folder.
2. Select Recall Message and choose OK.
3. You’ll get a Message Recall Report in your inbox soon.

On Outlook.com, there is no email recall. However, you can use the Undo Send delay if you turn this option on in settings.

1. Go to Settings > Mail > Compose and reply.
2. Under Undo Send, select a time period for Outlook to delay your Message, such as 10 or 30 seconds.
3. Choose Save.

Turning on the Undo Send feature means Outlook won’t send your email until the time delay you selected expires. If you want to edit your message or just undo sending it during that time period, you can. Undo Send in Outlook is similar to how you unsend messages on iPhone.

Alternatively, learn how to schedule an email in Outlook. That way, you have more time to edit your message before sending.  

Can you recall an email on the Outlook mobile app?

The Outlook mobile app doesn’t support traditional recall after your message gets delivered. However, you may still be able to use Undo Send if you set up this feature beforehand.

No matter what, act fast. Recalling email on the Outlook mobile app is more limited than desktop tools.

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FAQs

Does the recipient know if I recall an email?

If you try to recall an email, your recipients may receive a notification that a recall attempt was made, especially in Microsoft 365 environments.

How long do you have to recall an email in Outlook?

There’s no fixed time limit for recalling emails in Outlook. However, recall generally only works if the recipient has not yet opened the email, so try to act as quickly as possible.