Mar 27, 2026

How to Recall an Email in Outlook (2026 Guide)

Outlook Email Recall Unsend Email Microsoft 365 How-to Email

Outlook gives you two separate ways to take back an email: Message Recall, which attempts to delete a sent email from the recipient’s inbox, and Undo Send, which delays outgoing mail for a few seconds so you can cancel it before it ever leaves. They work differently, have different requirements, and are available on different platforms. Here’s how to use both.

Recall vs. Undo Send: Two Different Features

Before you start, it helps to know which feature you actually need.

Message Recall pulls back an email that has already been delivered. It works through Microsoft Exchange and relies on the server deleting the message from the recipient’s mailbox. It only works within the same organization (both sender and recipient must be on Microsoft 365 or Exchange Online), and it can fail if the recipient has already read the message.

Undo Send is a local delay. When enabled, Outlook holds your outgoing email for a few seconds before actually sending it. During that window, you can click Undo to stop it. This works for any recipient — internal, external, Gmail, personal accounts — because the email never actually leaves your outbox. The tradeoff is a short time window (typically 5 to 10 seconds on the web, up to 120 seconds in the new Outlook desktop app).

1. Recall an Email in New Outlook (Windows & Mac)

The new Outlook desktop app uses Microsoft’s cloud-based message recall, which is faster and more reliable than the old client-side recall in classic Outlook.

Open the Sent Items folder in the left sidebar.
Double-click the email you want to recall to open it in a separate window. (The recall option does not appear in the reading pane.)
In the ribbon, click Recall Message. If you don’t see it, click the three-dot menu (⋯) and look for Recall Message there.
In the confirmation dialog, click OK.
You’ll receive a Message Recall Report in your inbox within a few minutes. Click the link in that email to see whether the recall succeeded, is pending, or failed for each recipient.

Requirements: Your account must be a Microsoft 365 work or school account (Exchange Online). The recipient must also be in your organization. Personal Outlook.com and Hotmail accounts do not support message recall — use Undo Send instead.

2. Recall an Email in Outlook on the Web

The steps in Outlook on the web (outlook.office.com) are nearly identical to the new Outlook desktop app.

Go to outlook.office.com and sign in.
Open the Sent Items folder.
Double-click the email to open it in a separate window.
Click Recall Message in the toolbar at the top of the message window.
Confirm the recall in the dialog box.
Check your inbox for the Message Recall Report to verify the status.

The same organizational requirements apply: both sender and recipient need Microsoft 365 or Exchange Online accounts within the same organization.

3. Recall an Email in Classic Outlook for Windows

Classic Outlook (the version bundled with Office 2016, 2019, 2021, and Microsoft 365 desktop installations before the new Outlook rollout) uses the traditional recall mechanism. The steps are slightly different.

Open the Sent Items folder.
Double-click the email you want to recall to open it in its own window. (You cannot recall from the reading pane.)
Go to the Message tab in the ribbon.
Click Actions → Recall This Message. (If you’re using the Simplified Ribbon, click the three-dot menu (⋯), then Actions → Recall This Message.)
Choose one of two options:
- Delete unread copies of this message — removes the email from the recipient’s inbox if they haven’t opened it.
- Delete unread copies and replace with a new message — removes the original and opens a new compose window so you can send a corrected version.
Optionally, check Tell me if recall succeeds or fails for each recipient.
Click OK.

Important: In classic Outlook, recall success depends heavily on whether the recipient has opened the email, whether they’re using Outlook (not another mail client), and whether both mailboxes are on Exchange. The success rate for classic client-based recall is historically around 50%. If you’re on Microsoft 365 with Exchange Online, the newer cloud-based recall system handles this more reliably — even when triggered from classic Outlook — with success rates above 90%.

4. Recall an Email in Outlook Mobile (iOS & Android)

Microsoft rolled out message recall to the Outlook mobile app in 2025. You can now recall emails directly from your phone.

Open the Outlook app on your iOS or Android device.
Go to the Sent folder.
Open the email you want to recall.
Tap the three-dot menu (⋯) in the top-right corner of the message.
Tap Recall.
You’ll receive a status email confirming whether the recall succeeded or failed.

Requirements: You need a Microsoft 365 work or school account (Exchange Online). The recipient must be within your organization. Recall on mobile uses the same cloud-based system as the new Outlook desktop app.

5. Use Undo Send Instead (Any Recipient, Any Account)

If you’re sending to someone outside your organization, using a personal Outlook.com account, or just want a safety net that doesn’t depend on recall conditions, Undo Send is more reliable. It works by delaying the email for a few seconds after you click Send.

Outlook on the Web

Click the gear icon (⚙) in the top-right corner to open Settings.
Go to Mail → Compose and reply.
Scroll down to Undo send.
Set the delay to 5 or 10 seconds.
Click Save.

Now when you send an email, an Undo button appears at the bottom of the screen for the duration of your chosen delay. Click it to pull the email back into your Drafts.

New Outlook Desktop (Windows & Mac)

Click the gear icon (⚙) to open Settings.
Go to Mail → Compose and reply.
Scroll to Undo send.
Set the delay — the new Outlook desktop app supports delays up to 120 seconds (2 minutes).
Click Save.

The Undo toast notification appears at the bottom of the window after every send.

Classic Outlook for Windows

Classic Outlook does not have a built-in Undo Send feature. The closest workaround is creating a rule to delay all outgoing mail:

Go to File → Manage Rules & Alerts.
Click New Rule.
Select Apply rule on messages I send and click Next.
Click Next again without selecting conditions (to apply to all messages).
Check defer delivery by a number of minutes and set it to 1 (the minimum).
Click Finish and Apply.

This creates a 1-minute buffer in your Outbox. To “unsend,” open your Outbox and delete or edit the email before the delay expires. Note that Outlook must be open for the delayed email to send.

Outlook Mobile (iOS & Android)

The Outlook mobile app does not currently have an Undo Send feature. Your options on mobile are limited to message recall (for organizational accounts) or composing time-sensitive emails in the web app instead.

Quick Reference

Feature	New Outlook Desktop	Outlook on the Web	Classic Outlook (Windows)	Outlook Mobile
Message Recall	Yes — Ribbon → Recall Message	Yes — Toolbar → Recall Message	Yes — Actions → Recall This Message	Yes — Three-dot menu → Recall
Recall works outside org?	No	No	No	No
Undo Send	Yes — up to 120 seconds	Yes — up to 10 seconds	No (rule workaround only)	No
Undo Send works for external recipients?	Yes	Yes	N/A	N/A
Recall report	Yes — via email	Yes — via email	Yes — optional checkbox	Yes — via email

When Recall Fails (and What to Do About It)

Message recall is not guaranteed. Here are the most common reasons it fails:

The recipient already read the email. Once a message is opened, it cannot be recalled. The recall request only deletes unread copies.
The recipient is outside your organization. Recall only works between Microsoft 365 / Exchange Online accounts within the same org. For external recipients, there’s no way to pull back a delivered email.
The recipient is using a non-Outlook client. Cloud-based recall (new Outlook, Outlook on the web, Outlook mobile) works across most mail clients that sync with Exchange Online. Classic client-based recall only works if the recipient is also using Outlook.
Your organization disabled recall. Exchange admins can disable cloud-based message recall. If you don’t see the Recall Message option, check with your IT department.
The email was moved to another folder. If the recipient has rules that automatically move messages to subfolders, recall may still work with cloud-based recall but will likely fail with classic recall.
Too much time has passed. While there’s no official hard time limit for cloud-based recall, older emails are less likely to be recalled successfully.

If recall fails and the email contains sensitive content, your best option is to send a follow-up email acknowledging the mistake. It’s faster and more reliable than hoping a retry works.

Avoid Needing Recall in the First Place

The safest way to avoid email regret is to slow yourself down before hitting Send:

Enable Undo Send with the maximum delay your version supports. Even 10 seconds catches most “wrong recipient” or “forgot the attachment” mistakes.
Double-check the To field. Outlook’s autocomplete is aggressive. If you’re typing “Dan” and it autofills your CEO instead of your coworker, that recall request is going to be stressful.
Use delayed delivery for high-stakes emails. In the new Outlook or Outlook on the web, you can schedule emails for later to give yourself time to review before they actually send.

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More on Outlook: How to add a signature in Outlook · How to schedule an email in Outlook · How to share your Outlook calendar · How to set up recurring meetings · How to add a calendar to Outlook

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