How to recall an email in Outlook (new Outlook and classic)

How do you recall an email in Outlook?#

Open the message from Sent Items in its own window, then select Recall Message on the ribbon (new Outlook and Outlook on the web) or More Move Actions, then Recall This Message (classic Outlook). Recall only works when you and the recipient are both on a Microsoft 365 work or school account in the same organization. It cannot reach Gmail or personal Outlook.com accounts.

Microsoft rebuilt recall as a cloud feature in Exchange Online, so the older advice (classic Outlook only, unread messages only, a notice that tells the recipient you tried) is out of date. By default Microsoft’s service now deletes the original from the recipient’s mailbox on the server, and your admin decides whether already-read copies can be recalled. For what the report results mean, see what Outlook recall actually does.

If recall can’t apply to your message, the practical fallback is a send delay, covered below. Undo Send holds the message for a few seconds before it leaves, so it works for any recipient on any provider.

Which Outlook are you using, and does it support recall?#

The menu you need depends on the app and on the account behind it. Recall is a feature of your Microsoft 365 or Exchange Online mailbox, so the same account supports it across several apps. Personal accounts support none of them. Microsoft’s own help pages use slightly different labels across versions, so match the label you see rather than the exact wording here.

How do you recall a message in new Outlook or Outlook on the web?#

Both use the same flow, as long as the account is a work or school mailbox. The recall command is on the ribbon of the opened message, not in the reading pane, so the first step is to open the sent message in its own window.

1. 1

   Open Sent Items

   Select Sent Items in the folder list and double-click the message so it opens in a separate window. Selecting it in the reading pane isn’t enough.

2. 2

   Select Recall Message

   On the ribbon, select Recall Message, then OK in the confirmation box.

3. 3

   Check the Message Recall Report

   A Message Recall Report email arrives in your inbox. Open its link to see whether each recipient shows succeeded, pending or failed.

How do you recall a message in classic Outlook?#

In classic Outlook for Windows, the command sits in a different place. Microsoft’s current help page names it More Move Actions on the Classic Ribbon, and Actions under the three-dot menu on the Simplified Ribbon. You still have to open the message in its own window first.

1. 1

   Open the message from Sent Items

   Choose Sent Items in the folder pane and double-click the message. The recall command doesn’t appear when the message is only shown in the reading pane.

2. 2

   Find Recall This Message

   On the Classic Ribbon, go to the Message tab, then the Move group, then More Move Actions, then Recall This Message. On the Simplified Ribbon, select the three-dot More commands menu, point to Actions, then select Recall This Message.

3. 3

   Choose delete or replace

   Pick Delete unread copies of this message, or Delete unread copies and replace with a new message, then select OK. For a replacement, write the corrected message and send it.

4. 4

   Open the recall report

   Look for an email titled Message Recall Report for message and the original subject. Select View Message Recall Report to see the result per recipient. You may need to sign in to your mailbox.

Can you recall an email in Outlook for Mac or on your phone?#

Outlook for Mac supports recall on version 16.94 (Build 25010522) or later. Legacy Outlook for Mac does not. Open the message from the Sent folder, select Recall on the ribbon (or Control-click the message and choose Recall), then confirm with OK. The same work or school, same organization rules apply.

On Outlook for iOS and Android, Microsoft’s help page describes opening the message in Sent, tapping the ellipsis in the top-right corner and choosing Recall. Microsoft’s other help pages disagree on whether mobile can start a recall, and the option may depend on your app version and your admin’s settings. If you don’t see Recall in the app, don’t spend time hunting. Open Outlook on the web or the desktop app and start the recall there.

The recipient’s device doesn’t matter for cloud-based recall. The delete happens in their mailbox on the server, so someone reading on a phone is treated the same as someone on the desktop app.

When does Outlook recall work, and when does it fail?#

Recall is a best-effort request to Exchange Online, so it can still fail. The conditions below come from Microsoft’s Support and Learn pages. The biggest limit is organizational: recall works inside your Microsoft 365 organization, and between two tenants only when the receiving tenant’s admin has allow-listed yours.

What is the Undo Send alternative in Outlook?#

Undo Send is different from recall. It doesn’t retrieve a delivered message. It delays the send, so you cancel a message that hasn’t left yet. That’s why it works for Gmail recipients, clients and anyone outside your organization, and why it works on personal accounts where recall doesn’t.

The window length depends on the app. Microsoft’s new Outlook guidance says the undo option shows for up to 10 seconds after you send, and Microsoft’s Outlook.com help says it can delay sending by up to 30 seconds. Outlook for Mac has its own delay under Settings, Composing. Pages and interface versions differ, so check the options in your own account and use the longest one.

1. 1

   Open Settings

   In new Outlook or Outlook on the web, select the gear icon in the top-right corner. In new Outlook you may need View all Outlook settings.

2. 2

   Go to Mail, then Compose and reply

   Microsoft’s Outlook.com help lists Undo send under Settings, Mail, Compose and reply.

3. 3

   Set Undo send to the longest option

   Choose the longest time offered, then select Save. Every message you send now waits that long, with an Undo prompt.

4. 4

   Click Undo before the timer ends

   After sending, an Undo prompt appears at the bottom of the screen. Click it before it disappears, and the message returns to a draft you can fix or delete. Don’t close the window or switch away first.

What do you do when recall fails or the message is already read?#

Once a message is delivered to someone outside your organization, you can’t get it back. No setting, support ticket or third-party tool will pull it out of their inbox. Decide how serious it is, then send one calm follow-up rather than several panicked ones.

• Wrong recipient, harmless content: send a short note asking them to disregard and delete it.
• Wrong recipient, sensitive content: contact them directly, ask them to delete it, and tell your IT or security team straight away. On a work account, admins have tools you don’t.
• Typo, wrong figure or missing attachment: reply in the same thread with the correction. Keep it shorter than your instinct says.
• Reply-all mistake: send one brief apology to the group rather than several corrections.
• Something you regret saying: write a plain, accountable apology once, without a long explanation.

How do you avoid needing to recall an email?#

Recall and Undo Send are safety nets, and neither is guaranteed. A few habits catch most mistakes before they leave your outbox.

• Set Undo Send to its longest option, as above. It’s the highest-value change on this page.
• Add recipients last, after you’ve written and proofread the message.
• Attach files before you type “attached.”
• Pause before Reply All and check who is on the thread.
• Schedule anything sensitive or late at night for the morning, so you have hours rather than seconds to reconsider.
• Compare with Gmail’s approach, which is a pre-send delay of up to 30 seconds with no recall at all. See how to recall an email in Gmail.

Does AI Emaily have an undo-send window?#

AI Emaily is an AI-native email client that connects Outlook and Microsoft 365 through Microsoft Graph, along with Gmail, iCloud and other IMAP providers. It has a configurable undo send window: a message is held for a short, adjustable delay before it leaves your account, and one tap cancels it. The same window applies to sends Autopilot makes for you.

It is not a recall. Like Outlook’s Undo Send, it only protects you before the message goes out, and once the window closes the email is delivered. In Copilot mode every send also waits for your approval. AI Emaily has a 7-day free trial on Pro and Autopilot. Check the pricing page for current plans.