Tech

How to Recall an Email in Outlook: A Simple Guide to Fix Your Mistakes

Admin7 minutes ago

1 6 minutes read

How to Recall an Email in Outlook Have you ever sent an email and immediately wished you could take it back? Maybe you made a typo, sent it to the wrong person, or forgot to attach an important file. The good news is that Outlook has a feature to help! Learning how to recall an email in Outlook can save you from embarrassing mistakes.

With just a few clicks, you can try to delete an unread email from the recipient’s inbox before they even see it. In this guide, we will walk you through the steps to recall an email in Outlook, explain when it works, and share some helpful tips to avoid email mishaps in the future.

Table of Contents

What Is the Email Recall Feature in Outlook?

Email recall is a feature in Microsoft Outlook that lets you take back an email you already sent. This means the email gets deleted from the recipient’s inbox before they open it. However, this only works if both you and the recipient are using Microsoft Exchange or Microsoft 365 accounts in the same organization.

This feature helps when you send an email with a mistake. But keep in mind, it won’t work if the recipient has already opened the email. If they read it before you recall it, the message will stay in their inbox.

How to Recall an Email in Outlook: Step-by-Step Guide

If you sent an email by mistake, follow these steps to recall it:

Open Microsoft Outlook on your computer.
Go to Sent Items and find the email you want to recall.
Double-click to open the email in a new window.
Click on File in the top-left corner.
Select Resend or Recall, then choose Recall This Message.
Choose whether to Delete unread copies or Replace with a new message.
Click OK and wait for a confirmation message.

Your email recall request will be sent. If the recipient hasn’t read the email yet, it will be removed from their inbox.

When Can You Recall an Email in Outlook? (And When You Can’t!)

The recall feature is useful, but it doesn’t always work. Certain conditions must be met for it to be successful.

✅ When it works:

Both sender and recipient use Microsoft Outlook with a Microsoft 365 or Exchange account.
The recipient has not opened the email yet.
The email is in the recipient’s Inbox and not moved to another folder.

❌ When it doesn’t work:

The recipient already read the email.
The recipient uses Gmail, Yahoo, or another email service.
The email was sent to an external contact outside your company.

If recall doesn’t work, don’t worry! There are other ways to fix a wrongly sent email.

Why Your Email Recall Might Not Work & What to Do Next

Sometimes, recalling an email won’t work as expected. There are a few common reasons why this happens.

One reason could be that the recipient has already read your email. Once an email is opened, Outlook cannot remove it. Another reason is that the recipient is using a different email service, such as Gmail or Yahoo. Outlook’s recall feature only works for Microsoft accounts.

If recall fails, you can send a follow-up email explaining the mistake. You can also enable the “Undo Send” feature in Outlook for the future to avoid such problems.

Alternative Ways to Fix a Wrongly Sent Email in Outlook

If recalling an email doesn’t work, try these other options:

Send a correction email: Quickly send another email explaining the mistake.
Use the “Undo Send” feature: Enable this option in Outlook to delay sending emails.
Apologize professionally: If the mistake is serious, a polite apology can help fix the situation.

These methods can help you recover from email errors when recall isn’t available.

How to Enable Undo Send in Outlook for Future Mistakes

To prevent future mistakes, you can enable the “Undo Send” feature in Outlook. This allows you to delay emails for a few seconds before they are sent.

Open Outlook and go to File > Options.
Click on Mail in the left panel.
Scroll to Send Messages and find “Undo Send”.
Set the delay time (e.g., 10 seconds).
Click OK to save the settings.

Now, every time you send an email, Outlook will delay it for a few seconds. If you spot a mistake, you can cancel it before it reaches the recipient.

Best Practices to Avoid Email Mistakes Before Sending

Making email mistakes is common, but there are ways to prevent them. Follow these best practices to avoid errors in Outlook:

Double-check the recipient’s email address before clicking send.
Use spell-check to avoid typos and grammar mistakes.
Attach files before writing the email so you don’t forget.
Enable Undo Send for extra safety.
Read your email out loud to catch errors before sending.

These small habits can help you send emails confidently without worrying about mistakes.

How to Check If Your Recalled Email Was Successful

After you recall an email, you might wonder if it worked. Outlook provides a way to check if your email recall was successful.

Go to Sent Items and open the recalled email.
Click on Tracking to see the status.
If recall was successful, you will see a confirmation message.
If recall failed, Outlook will notify you.

If your recall was unsuccessful, use one of the alternative methods to fix the issue.

Using Delay Send in Outlook to Prevent Future Blunders

How to Set Up Delay Send:

Open Outlook and go to File > Manage Rules & Alerts.
Click New Rule and choose “Apply rule on messages I send”.
Select “Defer delivery by a number of minutes”.
Set a delay (e.g., 1-5 minutes) and click OK.

Why Use Delay Send?

Gives you time to review emails before sending.
Prevents accidental emails from being delivered instantly.
Helps you fix mistakes before they reach the recipient.

How to Recall an Email in Outlook on Mobile (Android & iPhone)

Recalling an email in Outlook is mostly done on a computer, but what if you’re using a mobile device? Unfortunately, the recall feature is not available in the Outlook mobile app. However, there are still ways to manage email mistakes on your phone.

Use the Undo Send feature: If enabled, you can quickly tap “Undo” right after sending an email.
Send a follow-up email: If recall isn’t possible, immediately send another email correcting the mistake.
Schedule emails: Use the “Send Later” option in Outlook to delay sending emails for better control.

If you frequently send emails from your phone, consider using delay options to prevent errors before they happen.

How to Recall an Email in Outlook After Hours (Is It Possible?

Sometimes, you realize an email mistake long after sending it. Unfortunately, Outlook’s recall feature only works if the recipient hasn’t read the email. If hours have passed, your chances of recalling the email successfully are low.

What to Do If It’s Too Late to Recall:

Send an apology email explaining the mistake.
Request the recipient to ignore or delete the incorrect email.
If the email contained sensitive information, contact IT support for possible actions.

The best way to avoid this issue is to enable Delay Send in Outlook, giving you extra time to rethink and correct emails before they are sent.

Conclusion

Email mistakes happen to everyone, but knowing how to recall an email in Outlook can help fix them. This feature lets you delete an email before the recipient reads it, but it only works in certain cases. If recall doesn’t work, you can still send a follow-up email or use the “Undo Send” option for next time.

The best way to avoid mistakes is to double-check emails before sending them. You can also enable Delay Send to give yourself extra time to cancel emails. By using these tips, you can stay in control of your emails and avoid embarrassing situations!

FAQs

Q: Can I recall an email in Outlook after the recipient has read it?

A: No, once the recipient has opened the email, you cannot recall it. You can only send a follow-up email to correct the mistake.

Q: Does email recall work on Outlook mobile app?

A: No, the recall feature is not available in the Outlook mobile app. However, you can use the Undo Send feature if enabled.

Q: Why is my email recall not working in Outlook?

A: Recall may fail if the recipient has read the email, is using a different email service (like Gmail), or has moved the email from their inbox.

Q: How do I enable Undo Send in Outlook?

A: Go to File > Options > Mail, find “Undo Send”, and set a delay time (e.g., 10 seconds). This gives you time to cancel emails before they are sent.