How do I block a contact on my iPhone?
If you want to block a contact on your iPhone, go to the Settings app, scroll down and tap on Phone, then Call Blocking & Identification, and finally Block Contact, which lets you pick the contact you want to block. Once that’s done, the blocked contact will no longer be able to contact you through phone calls, FaceTime, texts, and even iMessages.
Read on and find out the different ways you can block contacts and phone numbers on your iPhone.
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How To Block A Phone Number On Older iPhones
Before we get into all the ways you can block a contact, you should know that these instructions are only for iPhones that are running iOS 7 or newer as Apple hadn’t built call blocking features yet in older versions.
To check what version you’re running, head to the Settings app, tap on General and then About. The number next to Software Version will tell you which version you have. And, if it’s anything below 7.0, you’re going to have to rely on some crafty workarounds.
But, with that out of the way, let’s get into the different ways you can block contacts on your iPhone.
How To Block A Contact On iPhone
While the steps we gave at the beginning work just fine, you can also block unwanted contacts through other means. Instead of tapping Phone in the Settings app, you can also tap on either Messages or FaceTime. From there, you can then tap on Blocked, which will take you to a screen similar to the Call Blocking & Identification one. Once you’re there, you can then block the unwanted contact in the same way that you would from the Phone option.
Do note that all blocked contacts end up in the same block list, so you’ll only have to block them once. Also, though the Blocked screens will sometimes have an Add New… option instead of a Block Contact one, they all work the same way.
With all that said, not all unwanted numbers are going to be in your contacts list. For those cases, you’re going to have to follow a different set of steps.
How To Block A Number On iPhone When They’re NOT In Your Contacts!
The first step to blocking an unlisted number is to go to the app where they last contacted you.
If it was through the phone, you can block them by heading to the Phone app (as opposed to the option in Settings), tapping on Recents at the bottom of the screen, tapping the blue “i” next to the number you want to block, then tapping Block This Caller. After that, you just need to tap on Block Contact under the warning that tells you what happens to blocked contacts.
On the other hand, if it was through FaceTime, you just need to head to the app, tap on the blue “i” next to the unwanted number, and tap Block this Caller like you would in the Phone app.
For those that contacted you through text or iMessage, though, you’re going to have to perform a few more steps to block their numbers. First, open the Messages app and tap on your thread with them. Next, tap on their number at the top of the screen and then the “i” in the grey circle that will appear below their number. After that, you just have to tap their number again in the next screen and then tap Block this Caller in the screen that follows.
Being Blocked
When you block a contact, they won’t be able to contact you through the Phone, FaceTime, and Messages app anymore. On top of that, blocked contacts probably won’t even realise that they’re in the blacklist unless they read a “How to know if I’ve been blocked” guide. After all, while they can try contacting you, their texts and incoming calls simply won’t show up on your apps.
That said, there are a couple of signs that might tip them off. For one, all their calls to you are gonna be sent to voicemail. Also, any iMessages they send to you won’t have the Delivered status under it. While these are just small signs, they can still help out your blocked contacts.
Dealing With “No Caller ID” Calls
If you find yourself on the receiving end of some private calls, the iPhone’s native call blocker won’t be able to stop those. In fact, you won’t be able to block calls from unknown numbers either. For situations like these, you’re going to have to rely on third-party solutions like call block apps or clever workarounds like the ones described here. And, if neither of those work, you might even have to get some help from your mobile service provider.
With all that said, there’s no guarantee that those solutions are going to work. After all, what’s stopping a blocked contact from getting a new private number when the other one gets blocked? But, in cases like these, there is one guaranteed solution – switch to Android.
Unlike iPhones, Android phones have a feature that lets them automatically block mobile numbers that aren’t in your contacts, which also include private numbers and unknown numbers. But, while this feature lets you permanently block numbers you aren’t familiar with, do note that not all Android phones are set up in the same way, so you might have trouble setting up the call blocking features by yourself.
Unblocking Contacts
On that note, if you ever have a change of heart, you can unblock contacts just as easily as you block them. In fact, most of the steps for unblocking contacts are the same as the ones for blocking them – just in reverse.
If you can still easily find the contact in your Phone, FaceTime, or Messages app, just tap on Unblock this Caller after following the steps we described earlier.
For other blocked contacts, though, you’ll need to get to the Blocked or Call Blocking & Identification screens in your Settings app. But, once you’re there, all you have to do is to swipe left on the contact you want to unblock and tap the Unblock prompt that pops up on the right side of the screen.
Conclusion
While the iPhone’s blocking features are limited in some cases, you’ll probably do just fine with them for the most part. Just note that your phone won’t stop you from contacting the people you’ve blocked; so if you’re trying to stop yourself from contacting that one ex who’s always bad news, it’s best to delete their number.
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