Oops! You just sent a Microsoft Outlook message that you did not want to send. You realize for one reason or another that the message has a mistake or that it shouldn’t have been sent at all. You can fix your mistake by recalling the message. Using the recall feature, under the right conditions, your email is deleted without the recipient ever seeing the message. You can also send the recipient a replacement email with the correct information.
For a message to be recalled, both you and the recipient must have a Microsoft 365 Business Account or Microsoft Exchange email account in the same organization. The email must not not have been read by the recipient.
However, even if you and the recipient use different email accounts, the recall feature is useful. Though the initial email won’t be deleted, the recipient receives a follow-up message indicating that you want to recall the previous email. That tells them that your initial one is incorrect for some reason. You should then follow-up your initial email and recall message with another email that contains the right information or corrects the initial one.
To summarize, three emails are involved. The initial email with incorrect information, the recall message email, then the follow-up email with the correct information.
This is for Windows 10 PCs, Macs and other devices that support Microsoft Outlook
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Recall a Message
Let’s send an email. Open Outlook, start new email and address to a recipient, then send the email. Refer to below image:
Now, let’s say you notice an error in your email and want to recall it. In our example, the vacation dates are incorrect.
Open the email from your Sent Items folder. Select the Actions icon and click the option Recall This Message. See following image:
The Recall This Message window opens to offer two options. Choosing Delete unread copies of this message tries to remove the message with no follow-up. Choosing Delete unread copies and replace with a new message provides the opportunity to send a follow-up message with the correct information. To learn of the recall’s success, ensure the box is checked for Tell me if the recall succeeds or fails for each recipient then click OK. Refer to below image:
If you chose the option to replace with a new message, a new email appears with the text from the initial email. You can fix any errors and send a corrected replacement message or a follow-up email with the corrected information. In my example, the recall message failed because I had already read the message. See following image:
If you and the recipient use the same Microsoft 365 Business or Exchange, then the initial email should be deleted automatically. If so, you will receive an email saying the recall was successful for that recipient.
If you and the recipient use different email accounts, the initial emails remains in that person’s inbox. A follow-up email arrives that tells the recipient you would like to recall the message. You then have to rely on the recipient to delete or ignore the initial message. At this point, a third email could be sent with the corrected information. Refer to below image:
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