Schedule an Email and Recall a Sent Message in Outlook: How Each Works

To schedule an email in new Outlook for Windows or Outlook on the web, open the drop-down arrow next to Send, select Schedule send, pick a time and select Send; in classic Outlook you open Message Options and use the Do not deliver before box instead. To pull back a message you already sent, open it from Sent Items and select Recall Message (new Outlook) or Recall This Message (classic Outlook), which works only for recipients in your own Microsoft 365 organization. If you mostly need a safety net for typos, turn on Undo send so Outlook holds each message for a few seconds before it leaves.

Who this is for and what you will have at the end

This guide is for Outlook users with a Microsoft 365 work or school account, plus Outlook.com users checking which options apply to them. It covers new Outlook for Windows, Outlook on the web, classic Outlook for Windows, and the Mac and mobile steps Microsoft documents. By the end you will be able to schedule, change or cancel a message, delay all outgoing mail with a rule, recall or replace a sent message, read the recall report, and set up Undo send.

Schedule send, Undo send and recall compared

Schedule send and Undo send act before the message leaves your mailbox. Recall acts after delivery and asks the server to delete the message from the recipient's mailbox.

If the recipient is outside your company, only the first four rows can help you.

Prerequisites

• For schedule send in new Outlook, an account that is not IMAP or POP. Microsoft states the feature "is not available for IMAP or POP accounts". Outlook for Mac has the same restriction and names Gmail, Yahoo and iCloud as examples.
• For recall, a Microsoft 365 work or school account. You and the recipient need mailboxes in the same organization. Recall is not available for @outlook.com, @hotmail.com, @live.com or @msn.com addresses.
• Recall turned on by your admin. Tenant admins can disable recall entirely or block recall of read messages, so results differ between companies.

Schedule an email in new Outlook and Outlook on the web

New Outlook for Windows and Outlook on the web use the same steps.

1. Create a new message and add recipients, a subject and the body.
2. Select the drop-down arrow next to Send.
3. Select Schedule send.
4. Choose one of the suggested times, or choose a custom time and set the date and time.
5. Select Send.

New message > Send drop-down arrow > Schedule send > pick a time > Send 

The message does not go to Sent Items yet. It stays in the Drafts folder until the delivery time.

Send it now, edit it or cancel it

To change your mind, open the Drafts folder and open the scheduled message. Microsoft's new Outlook instructions say to select Cancel send and then Send to deliver it immediately. The Outlook on the web article describes the same task as selecting the Edit pencil icon and then Send Now, so look for whichever label your version shows.

After you cancel the schedule, the message is an ordinary draft again. You can edit the text, change recipients, and then either select Send or repeat the Schedule send steps with a new time. To drop the message entirely, delete the draft.

Does the computer need to be on?

Microsoft's Windows and web article puts its "Outlook needs to be online and connected" warning only in the classic Outlook section. In new Outlook and Outlook on the web, the scheduled message waits in the Drafts folder of your mailbox rather than in a local Outbox. Microsoft's Outlook for Mac article, which uses the same Drafts-based approach, says plainly that the message "will be sent even if Outlook is not open on your computer".

Outlook for Mac

In Outlook for Mac, select the drop-down arrow on the Send button, select Schedule send, enter a date and time and select OK. To cancel, open the message in Drafts, select Cancel Send and then Yes. The message stays open so you can send it now or schedule it again. Microsoft lists the feature for Microsoft 365 subscriptions, Outlook 2019 for Mac and Outlook 2021 for Mac, and notes that rules to delay delivery are not available on Mac.

Delay or schedule a message in classic Outlook for Windows

In classic Outlook, Microsoft's documented method is a delivery option on the message itself.

1. In a new message, select the Message Options arrow in the Tags group of the ribbon. If you use the simplified ribbon, select Options > More commands.
2. In the dialog that opens, under Delivery options, select Do not deliver before.
3. Set the delivery date and time.
4. Select Close, then select Send.

New message > Tags group > Message Options (arrow) > Delivery options > Do not deliver before 

The message waits in your Outbox until the time you set. Microsoft notes that "Outlook needs to be online and connected for this feature to work", so if Outlook is closed or the PC is off at that time, the message does not leave on schedule.

Send a delayed message now or change it

Open the message from the Outbox, go back to Message Options (or Options > More commands), clear Do not deliver before, and select Close and then Send. To pick a different time, change the date and time instead of clearing the box. If a delayed message never leaves the Outbox, see the guide on an Outlook email stuck in the Outbox.

Delay every message you send with a rule

A rule holds all outgoing mail for a set time, like a longer Undo send.

1. Select File > Manage Rules & Alerts, then select New Rule.
2. Under Start from a Blank Rule, select Apply rule on messages I send and select Next.
3. Select any conditions you want and select Next. If you select none, Outlook asks you to confirm; selecting Yes applies the rule to every message you send.
4. In the actions list, select defer delivery by a number of minutes.
5. In the lower box, select the underlined a number of text and enter the delay. Microsoft states that delivery can be delayed up to 120 minutes.
6. Select OK, then Next, add any exceptions, and select Next again.
7. Name the rule, select Turn on this rule, and select Finish.

File > Manage Rules & Alerts > New Rule > Apply rule on messages I send > defer delivery by a number of minutes 

Each message then waits in the Outbox for that time, where you can still change or delete it.

Turn on Undo send

Undo send is not a recall. It holds each message for a few seconds after you select Send so you can cancel it. In new Outlook for Windows, Outlook on the web and Outlook.com:

1. Select Settings.
2. Select Mail > Compose and reply.
3. Under Undo send, choose how long Outlook waits before sending.
4. Select Save.

Settings > Mail > Compose and reply > Undo send 

After you send a message, an Undo prompt appears at the bottom of the message list for the length of time you chose. Microsoft's pages give different maximums for this delay, 10 seconds in one article and up to 30 seconds in the Outlook.com article, so choose the longest option your drop-down offers.

In Outlook for Mac, go to Outlook > Settings > Composing and use the up and down buttons to set the delay, from 5 seconds up to 120 seconds. Microsoft lists this for Microsoft 365 subscription licenses and Outlook.com accounts. Classic Outlook for Windows has no Undo send setting, so the defer delivery rule above is the closest equivalent.

Recall or replace a sent message

New Outlook and Outlook on the web

1. Go to Sent Items.
2. Double-click the message so it opens in its own window.
3. On the ribbon, select Recall Message, then select OK in the confirmation box.

Classic Outlook for Windows

1. Go to Sent Items and double-click the message. Microsoft warns that selecting it so it appears in the reading pane will not let you recall it.
2. On the classic ribbon, select the Message tab, then in the Move group select More Move Actions > Recall This Message. On the simplified ribbon, select Message > More commands (...) > Actions > Recall This Message.
3. Select Delete unread copies of this message, or Delete unread copies and replace with a new message, then select OK.
4. If you chose to replace it, write the replacement message and select Send.

Sent Items > open message > Message > Move > More Move Actions > Recall This Message 

When you replace a message, recall deletes the original and Outlook then sends the new message for normal delivery.

Outlook for iOS and Android

Open the message in the Sent folder, tap the three dots (More options) in the top right corner, and tap Recall. You get an email telling you whether the recall worked.

How Cloud-based Message Recall works

Recall used to run inside classic Outlook, and Microsoft says its average success rate was only about 50%. With Cloud-based Message Recall, the client sends a recall request with the subject "Recall:" plus the original subject, and an Exchange Online agent intercepts it and hard-deletes the original from recipient mailboxes. Key behaviors:

• You can start a recall from classic Outlook, new Outlook, Outlook for Mac, Outlook on the web, and Outlook for Android and iOS.
• It can recall messages from any folder or subfolder, not just the Inbox.
• It can recall messages that were already read, unless your tenant admin has turned that off.
• Recipients are not told about a recall by default. Admins can turn on notifications for all recalled messages or only for read ones.
• The Maximum Recallable Message Age setting defaults to 365 days and can be set from 5 minutes to 10 years. If you try to recall an older message, you get a notification that it is too old.

Microsoft's end-user article still says recall works only for recipients who have not opened the message. Treat that as the safe assumption.

Read the Message Recall Report

Shortly after you recall a message, a Message Recall Report email arrives in your inbox, usually within about 30 seconds, with a subject that starts "Message Recall Report for message". Select View Message Recall Report to open the status page in a browser; you may need to sign in. The report shows whether the recall succeeded, is pending, or failed for each recipient.

Status updates can take up to five minutes for a message with a few hundred recipients, and up to thirty minutes for tens of thousands. If the recall cannot run immediately, Exchange keeps retrying for up to 24 hours before marking it as failed.

What "recall attempted" means

Selecting Recall only sends a request, so a recall that was attempted is not yet a recall that worked. The per-recipient status in the Message Recall Report is the answer, and a pending status can still become succeeded or failed within the 24-hour retry window.

Common errors and fixes

The Schedule send option is missing in new Outlook. Check the From account. Schedule send is not available for IMAP or POP accounts, so a Gmail or other IMAP account added to new Outlook will not show it. Send from your Microsoft 365 or Outlook.com account instead.

The steps do not match your screen. Microsoft notes that if the new Outlook steps do not work, you may not be using new Outlook yet. Use the classic Outlook steps instead. Admins controlling the rollout can see new Outlook for Windows admin controls.

A delayed message in classic Outlook went out late. Classic Outlook must be online and connected when the delivery time arrives. If the laptop was asleep or Outlook was closed, it could not send on time. For time-critical messages, schedule from new Outlook or Outlook on the web instead.

Recall This Message is missing in classic Outlook. Microsoft says you probably do not have an Exchange account or the feature is not available in your organization. Also make sure you opened the message in its own window rather than the reading pane.

Recall fails in classic Outlook for Windows. Recall does not work when Outlook is in Online mode or when the profile contains multiple Exchange accounts. Try the recall from Outlook on the web or new Outlook instead.

Recall failed for an external recipient. Recall cannot cross the internet or reach organizations outside the Exchange Online boundary. The exception is cross-tenant recall: if the recipient's tenant admin has added your tenant to their allow list, the recall is processed like an internal one. Otherwise, send a short correction.

Recall failed for a protected or forwarded message. Microsoft's classic Outlook instructions say a message protected by Azure Information Protection cannot be recalled. Recalling messages encrypted with OME or MIP labels is supported when the sender has the Premium Encryption in Office 365 service plan and recalls from Outlook on the web or new Outlook. Messages that the recipient forwarded manually, or forwarded with an inbox rule, cannot be recalled, and neither can messages sent to mail-enabled public folders.

The recall report never arrives. Reports are sent from Office365Reports@microsoft.com. Ask your admin to check that this address is not blocked and to use message trace to see whether the report was quarantined.

Recall is greyed out for a shared mailbox. If you sent from a shared mailbox with Open another mailbox in Outlook on the web, the message sits in the shared mailbox's Sent Items. When that mailbox is also open in your own Outlook profile, Recall is greyed out there. Microsoft's workaround is to open the shared mailbox in its own Outlook profile.

Checklist

• Use Send > Schedule send in new Outlook, Outlook on the web and Outlook for Mac, and find scheduled messages in Drafts.
• Use Message Options > Do not deliver before in classic Outlook, and keep Outlook online until the message leaves the Outbox.
• Add a defer delivery by a number of minutes rule in classic Outlook if you want every message held for up to 120 minutes.
• Turn on Undo send under Settings > Mail > Compose and reply for a short cancel window on every message.
• Recall only from a message opened in its own window, and only for recipients inside your organization or an allow-listed tenant.
• Check the Message Recall Report for succeeded, pending or failed before assuming anything.

More Microsoft 365 tutorials

References

• Delay or schedule sending email messages in Outlook (Microsoft Support)
• Schedule send for Outlook on the web (Microsoft Support)
• Use Schedule Send in Outlook for Mac (Microsoft Support)
• Recall or replace an email message that you sent in Outlook (Microsoft Support)
• How to recall an email in Outlook: requirements, limitations and steps (Microsoft Support)
• Can I undo or recall a sent email? Outlook for iOS and Android (Microsoft Support)
• Undo Send in Outlook for Mac (Microsoft Support)
• New Outlook tips for executive admins and delegates (Microsoft Support)
• Work with Cloud-based Message Recall (Microsoft Learn)
• Cloud-based Message Recall in Exchange Online (Microsoft Tech Community)

This guide was researched and drafted with AI assistance and checked against the vendor documentation listed in its References. Read the maintained version and related guides on EpiFive.