How to Recall an Email in Outlook 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007: Complete Guide
Just after hitting the Send button if you realize that it was a mistake and the email is not in your outbox anymore, what will you do then? Do you know, how to recall an email in Outlook 2016, 2013, and other below versions without the knowledge of the recipient. Well, technology is made for human beings and humans make mistakes.
Let us consider the case of Microsoft Outlook email clients, sometimes users may end up sending a message to someone who is not the intended recipient which could lead to awkward communication later.
A solution to this issue is having the ability to recall sent email messages in Outlook that one has gone to the wrong recipient.
Explore How to Recall an Email in Outlook Feature
“Microsoft Outlook email recall, does it work!! I am using Outlook 2016 in windows 10 OS. Mistakenly I have send a wrong email to a wrong person. I need to recall it at any cost. But it is not working. Also how do I know if I have successfully recall a message in Outlook account and how long does it take to recall an email? How to recall an email in Outlook 2016 in Windows OS?”
Microsoft Outlook 2016 has the same functionality called Recall This Message. Email recalling in MS Outlook is the action of deleting email messages sent mistakenly. With this message recall option in Microsoft Outlook, the sent message can be retrieved from the mailboxes of recipients who have not yet opened it. Users can also substitute a replacement email message. For instance, if the sender forgot to add an attachment then, they can retract the email and send a replacement message with the attachment.
However, this feature is available only in Outlook 2016 for Windows 10 but recalling an email in Outlook 2016 for Mac is not supported yet. In this technical guide, we will teach you exactly to solve this problem in Outlook 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, etc.
What If Your Outlook Email is Permanently Deleted?
Recalling or recovering a permanently deleted Outlook email message is not an easy task. But it can be done efficiently in a few simple clicks using Outlook Email Recovery Software.
The tool helps to recall all deleted emails from multiple PST files in a few simple steps.
How to Recall an Email in Outlook 2016? – Steps
Explore how Recall Message Function in Outlook email client works? The message recall feature is available from MS Outlook version 2003 to the latest versions like Outlook 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007, etc. To recall a sent email message in Outlook, follow the steps mentioned below:
- First, open the Outlook application on your local machine.
- Navigate to SentItems Folder in the left sidebar.
- Open the email that you want to recall or replace.
- Click onMessage tab and select Actions>> Recall This Message.
Note: If you do not see the ‘Recall This Message’ option then, you probably do not have an Exchange account or the feature is not available within your organization.
- This will provide two options: Delete unread copies of this message and Delete unread copies and replace them with a new message.
- To get a notification about the success or failure of the recall/replacement attempt, check the Tell me if recall succeeds or fails for each recipient option and click on the OK button.
- If you just want to delete the sent email and do not need to send a replacement then check the Delete unread copies of this message option and hit the OK button.
- If you want both to recall the sent message and send a replacement message then, check to Delete unread copies and replace with a new message option and hit the OK button.
- It will prompt a new message wizard that contains the text from the message that you want to recall and resend. Now, you can make the desired changes in the email body and then hit the Send button.
Outlook Message Recall Feature Only Works If…
How to recall an email in Outlook 2016 and other versions is a common query. But there are many cases when the Recall option in MS Outlook fails to work. It is important to know whether the recalled message was successful in Outlook or not. Message Recall is completely a function of Microsoft Outlook with no outward effect from the Exchange other than routing the email recall request. There are several criteria that must be met for the recall sent an email message in Outlook feature to work:
- You have sent the message to someone within your own organization
- Your organization is utilizing Microsoft Exchange as the email server
- The recipient is using Microsoft Outlook and logged on to the server
- The recipient has not already read or opened the email message
- The message has not been moved from the Outlook inbox folder
- The recipient must have an active connection with the Exchange
Important Note: If one or more of the criteria above will not meet then, your email message will not be deleted from the receiver’s inbox folder. Instead, the receiver will get an additional email notification that you would like to recall this email. See this is a clear way to know, whether the message recall was successful in Outlook or not.
Outlook Message Recall Feature Will Not Work If…
There are a number of conditions in which Outlook email recall not working issue or the user faces message recall failure. Below are some reasons why it might not work:
- The recall function does not work in additional email apps except Outlook
- Exchange ActiveSync settings for Outlook on the mobile devices
- The recipient opens the email message before the recall request
- The recipient is working in the Cached Exchange Mode/ offline mode
Observational Verdict
In our professional lives, emails are our most important means of communication and daily several users encounter a situation when they regret sending an email message to the wrong person. This condition often takes place when one sends the email to the wrong person, or the email may contain some inappropriate content or embarrassing typos. Well, in such scenarios it would be great if the mistaken email could be recalled and replaced. Thus, in this blog, we have shown you how to recall an email in Outlook 2016 in a few simple steps.