Undo help

Hi, I've got a query about the Undo facility. I have a Wirewood Channeler in my deck and have mistakenly tapped him in various phases before combat (DA phase). His activated ability allows him to genrate mana. I'm not using him for mana or using his activated ability in any other way. I've just clicked him in the wrong phase (too eager to put some pain on the AI!). I thought I would be able to undo this using the undo feature but I can't. I've not added anything to the stack, nor has the AI but the undo option does not work, he remains tapped. Is this by design? If so, what does the undo feature allow you to undo and is there any way to untap if you've tapped in error? Thanks.