Recall an Email in Outlook

Recall an Email in Outlook

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Why do we Need to Recall Emails?

The recall function in an email service helps senders retrieve a message that was sent. They can then delete or alter the contents of the message. This function comes into use in different situations. For instance, in case one has sent the wrong content or addressed an email to the wrong recipient. If you did not know about the feature, go here: Recall or replace an email message that you sent in Outlook for Windows – Microsoft Support.

How to Recall Emails in Outlook?

Every email service has different functionalities and steps for retrieving emails. If you are using Outlook in Windows, the steps to do so are as follows:

  1. Open the folder of Sent Items in your email inbox.
  2. Locate the email you wish to recall.
  3. Double-click on the sent email.
  4. This will open the message in a separate section.
  5. You will find the toolbar on the email body; here find the option of ‘Recall Message’.
  6. A confirmation message appears; click on OK.

After performing the above steps one needs to ascertain whether the action was executed. Often, if the email message has already been delivered to the recipient’s inbox then the action would not have gotten executed. To know this for sure one can check the message recall report. This comes to one’s inbox. One can check the email to know whether the message they tried to recall has gone through, is pending, or has failed to be recalled.

Points to Note

When you are trying to recall a message on Outlook there are some points to remember:

  • The recall feature works if both recipient and sender are using a Microsoft Exchange or Microsoft 365 email account.
  • The email accounts should be of the same organization.
  • If one has sent emails to other services such as Hotmail, Gmail, or live.com, then such emails cannot be recalled.

Hence, in most cases, organization emails on Outlook offer this feature. That is because all employee emails are on Outlook and they use Microsoft Exchange or Microsoft 365. For more details one can look up: Recall or replace a sent email – Microsoft Support.

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