Here's what happens when you block someone's number on your iPhone (2024)

FAQs

Here's what happens when you block someone's number on your iPhone? ›

When you block a phone number or contact, they can still leave a voicemail, but you won't get a notification. Messages that are sent or received won't be delivered. Also, the contact won't get a notification that the call or message was blocked. When you block an email address from Mail, it goes to the trash folder.

First things first, if you block someone's number, they won't find out right away, if at all. They won't get a notification saying they were blocked and won't be able to see it plainly anywhere, but they can infer it and assume they've been blocked.

Blocking Someone on Android Messages and Apple iMessage

When you block a contact over Android or iPhone, they will still be able to send you text messages. These messages will not show up on your phone but the sender will see the messages as sent. They won't know that they've been blocked.

When a number or contact is blocked on your Apple® iPhone®, calls are sent to Voicemail, but no voicemail notifications are received.

It's important to note that this doesn't mean they have blocked your number altogether; it just means they have blocked you from sending them messages over iMessage. SMS is a cellular carrier technology where Apple controls iMessage. If a person blocks you on iMessage, then they won't get any of your texts at all.

Your text messages to them continually remain undelivered or show just a single tick/delivered status but don't get the second tick for read. You receive an automated reply saying “User Unavailable” or something similar when trying to call them. This is a definite sign of being blocked.

Blocked text messages disappear

When someone that you've blocked texts you, their texts go nowhere. They won't receive any notification that they're blocked, and their messages will still look like they've been sent. But you won't receive any of them, and you can't respond.

When you block someone from your iPhone, all incoming calls, texts, and FaceTime calls from that person will be blocked. This means the person will not hear a ringtone or receive any notification for incoming messages sent to you because the messages simply won't be delivered.

In some cases, a blocked user's message may still show as “Delivered” on your end. This can be misleading, as it might give the impression that the message has reached you successfully. However, even though the message has been delivered to your device, it remains hidden from your view.

Open the Messages app, and click the three dots on the top right corner of the screen. From that drop-down menu, choose “Settings.” From there, tap on “Block numbers and messages.” From there, go to “Blocked messages.” From there, all of your blocked text threads will be there.

What message pops up when you're blocked? ›

If you attempt to send a text message and, in response, get a message that reads “Free MSG: Unable to send message—message blocking active,” that is a sign that the recipient is not receiving messages and that you may be blocked.

Send them an SMS message

When you send them an SMS and you get the "Delivered" notification underneath it, you weren't blocked. If you get a notification like "Message Not Delivered" or you get no notification at all, that's a sign of a potential block.

The message will never be sent. Instead, if the contact has only blocked your cell number from their iPhone settings. You won't be able to call them by FaceTime, or text by iMessage.

If you're not sure whether the texts are getting through, simply calling the number is a good way to see if you've been blocked, regardless of whether you're an iPhone or Android user. Here's what to look for: If you're not blocked, the phone should ring anywhere from three to twelve times before going to voicemail.

A blocked person can't reach you via text. Technically, they can still send an SMS message to your phone number, and they'll see the regular delivery status at their end, just like with any other texts they send. But you won't receive the message in your phone's SMS inbox, essentially blocking the contact at your end.

The only way to see a call history from a blocked number is to unblock the number. They will be added to your regular call list, and you will be able to see any missed calls you receive from the number.

However, that also means that the iPhone doesn't collect blocked messages that you can access later. If you want to ensure that you will still receive messages from someone, the best option is to unblock them.