How to Recall a Sent Message in Outlook

Introduction

Sometimes, you may accidentally send an email and wish you could take it back. Microsoft Outlook offers a feature to recall a sent message, allowing you to delete or replace the email in the recipient's inbox under certain conditions. This feature is only available in specific environments and under certain circumstances.

Important Notes:

1. The recall feature only works if both the sender and the recipient are using Outlook for Microsoft 365 or Outlook 2019/2016 in the same organization.
2. The recipient must not have read the message for the recall to succeed.
3. The feature will not work if the message has been moved out of the recipient's Inbox or if it has been accessed by a rule or a third-party application.

Step-by-Step Guide to Recalling a Sent Message:

1. Open Sent Items Folder:

   • Navigate to your Sent Items folder in Outlook.

2. Open the Sent Email:

   • Double-click to open the email you wish to recall. You must open the message in a new window; selecting it in the reading pane will not show the recall option.

3. Access the Recall Option:

   • In the message window, go to the Message tab on the toolbar.
   • Click on Actions (or More Actions in some versions).
   • Select Recall This Message.

4. Choose Recall Options:

   • A new dialog box will appear with two options:
     • Delete unread copies of this message: This will delete the email from the recipient's inbox if it is unread.
     • Delete unread copies and replace with a new message: This option allows you to replace the original email with a new one. You can edit the content before sending it again.

5. Select Additional Options:

   • Optionally, you can select Tell me if recall succeeds or fails for each recipient to receive a notification about the recall status.

6. Confirm and Execute:

   • Click OK to initiate the recall process.

7. Check Recall Status:

   • If you selected the option to receive notifications, you will get an email indicating whether the recall was successful or failed for each recipient.

Troubleshooting Tips:

• If the recall fails, it might be due to the recipient reading the email, the email being moved to another folder, or other configurations in the recipient's Outlook.
• If the recall feature isn't available, consider sending a follow-up email to explain the situation or provide a correction.

Conclusion

The recall feature in Outlook can be a useful tool to correct mistakes, but it comes with certain limitations and conditions. Make sure to act quickly and consider other follow-up actions if the recall is not successful.