What happens when you block a number on iPhone? - AstrillVPN Blog (2024)

If you’ve had enough of the constant calls and text messages from an unknown number and you are ready to hit the block button but you’re unsure how that works on an iPhone, don’t panic. Blocking a number on an iPhone is a fairly straightforward process. It’s easier than most people think and can be done in just a few steps. Not only that but it can also be reversed if you ever change your mind down the line. In this article, we’ll look at everything you need to know about blocking a number on an iPhone including how it works and what happens when you do it. Let’s get started!

Table of Contents

How to Block a Number on an iPhone?

If you ever find yourself in the position of needing to block someone’s phone number on your iPhone, it’s straightforward to do. You can either go through your Phone app or the Settings app, and each process only takes a few seconds.

To start blocking a number on your iPhone:

  • Open the Phone app and tap on “Recents.”
  • From here, locate the number you’d like to block and tap on the “i” icon.
  • Next, scroll down and select “Block this Caller.”
  • Confirm that you want to block this contact.

Alternatively, if you want to block multiple numbers at once:

  • Open the Settings app and select “Phone” then “Blocked Contacts.”
  • Here you can enter all of the numbers that you’d like to block and they’ll all be added to your blocked list at once.

What Happens When You Block a Number on iPhone?

Have you ever been the victim of a nuisance phone call or had an unwelcome conversation that you wished you could just forget? Blocking a number on an iPhone is straightforward but what exactly happens when you do it? Once blocked, the person at the other end cannot reach you via text or call and their messages won’t even appear in your notifications or voicemail.

However, they will be unaware their calls and texts are being blocked; instead they will simply see that their message ‘has not been delivered’.

The only way for them to know they have been blocked is if they use a third-party app to check if your number is being blocked. As long as this isn’t done, the person at the other end should remain unaware that their attempts to contact you have come up against a brick wall.

When You Block Someone on iPhone, Can They Still Text or Call You?

If you block someone on your iPhone, you may wonder if they can still text or call you. The good news is that no, they cannot. 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. Additionally, no matter how often the blocked contact tries to call or message you, the calls will never go through to your phone.

How to Tell if Someone Has Blocked Your Number on iPhone?

You may be wondering how to tell if someone has blocked your number on iPhone. There are a few simple signs that can help you determine if you’ve been blocked.

1. Call Them

The most obvious and direct way to find out is by calling the person. A blocked call should go directly to their voicemail, meaning you won’t even hear a ringing before it goes to voicemail. If they don’t answer and the call goes directly to voicemail, it could be a sign that they have blocked your number.

2. Text Messages

Another indicator of a blocked number is when all of your text messages are sent but never receive a response. If your messages seem to be going through but you never get a reply, the recipient may have blocked you.

3. iMessage FaceTime

iMessage and FaceTime are two of the most popular services offered by Apple and if someone has blocked your number from contacting them through these services, you will experience some tell-tale signs. With iMessage, if the message bubble appears blue instead of the green that’s an indication that your message was delivered but not read indicating that the user may have blocked your number from receiving future messages or calls via these services.

What Happens if the Person Already Left a Voicemail?

You might wonder what happens if the blocked person has already left a voicemail on your iPhone. The good news is once you block a number, any voicemails they leave will also be blocked. The voicemail won’t even appear in your Voicemail list so it won’t take up any space on your phone or anything.

For those wondering if it’s possible to see the blocked voicemails or retrieve them later if you change your mind, the answer is sadly no. Once you block someone’s number and they leave a voicemail, that voicemail is gone forever. This means that it’s essential to think carefully before blocking anyone, because that action could mean losing out on important or time-sensitive information.

What to Do if You Accidentally Block a Number on an iPhone?

If you accidentally block a number on an iPhone, don’t fret. You can easily unblock that number later. All you need to do is:

  • Go to Settings
  • Tap on Phone and then tap Blocked Contacts
  • From here, you can select the contact or number you blocked and choose “Unblock this Caller” at the bottom of the page.

You should also be aware that when you block a number:

  • Incoming calls from this number will appear as missed calls in your call log
  • Text messages from blocked numbers will appear on your phone as blank texts
  • You will not receive notifications for any missed calls or messages from blocked numbers

It’s important to note that blocking a number does not prevent the caller from leaving voicemails meaning they will still be able to leave voicemails. However, these voicemails will no longer appear in your voicemail inbox. Instead, they are redirected directly to an alternative mailbox associated with the blocked number.

Blocking a number also means that you are protecting your privacy rights. It’s estimated that 1 billion scam calls per month are blocked by phone service companies. Using a trusted VPN for iphone while browsing the web is the best way to avoid leaking your information into scammers’ hands. Astrill VPN app for iphone is the excellent app for use while browsing. The premium VPN service offers various tools like VPN leak test, Port scan, DNS leak test and several others. You can get the subscription with just a simple sign up and ‘tap and pay’ service.

Can Blocked Numbers Calls you or leave Facetime Messages?

If you’ve blocked that annoying caller’s number on your iPhone but what happens when they try to FaceTime or leave a message? Here’s the deal: blocking a number on your iPhone prevents the caller from being able to reach you via phone call, text message or Facetime.

FaceTime Calls

When someone tries to FaceTime you, they will automatically receive a message saying that you are not available. On the flip side, if you want to FaceTime someone and their number is blocked, their line won’t even ring. it’ll just go straight to voicemail.

Voicemails and Text Messages

If someone whose number is blocked tries to send you a text or voice message, unfortunately the messages won’t come through because when you block a number on your iPhone it blocks all communications from that person.

If you’re curious about something someone may have said in an unsent voicemail or text message before being blocked, your iPhone stores all of these messages until they are deleted manually.If you are curious whether can you text someone you blocked on iphone then only way is to unblock them.

Can You Unblock a Number on an iPhone?

You might think that once you block a number on an iPhone, the number stays blocked for good but luckily, it doesn’t have to be that way! If you decide you want to unblock the phone number, you can.

Here’s how it works:

  1. Go to the “Settings” app on your iPhone
  2. Tap “Phone”
  3. Tap “Blocked Contacts”
  4. Tap the red circle next to the name or number of the contact you want to unblock
  5. Tap “Unblock” in the prompt that appears.

Voila! The number is unblocked and all communication from it will reappear in your Messages, FaceTime and Phone apps.

FAQs

You probably have lot of questions about what happens when you block a number on your iPhone and we’ve got some answers for you.

Q: Where Do Blocked Texts Go?

If someone texts you from a blocked number, the person will not be able to reach you. Their message will remain undelivered and no notification of the text will appear on your iPhone.

Q: When You Unblock a Number Do You Receive Old Texts?

No, you don’t automatically receive old texts when you unblock a number. The messages sent while blocked won’t reappear after unblocking the contact.

Conclusion

Blocking a number on your iPhone is an effective way to reduce the amount of spam or annoying calls you get from that particular number. It’s also a great way to protect your privacy; the blocked number won’t be able to reach you and you won’t receive any notifications from them.

Although blocking a number does a great job of reducing the amount of communication you receive from them, it doesn’t guarantee that you won’t receive any. But if you’re looking for a way to reduce nuisance calls, blocking a number on your iPhone is a great way to do it.

Thanks for your feedback!

About The Author

Bisma Farrukh

Bisma is a seasoned writer passionate about topics like cybersecurity, privacy and data breach issues. She has been working in VPN industry for more than 5 years now and loves to talk about security issues. She loves to explore the books and travel guides in her leisure time.

What happens when you block a number on iPhone? - AstrillVPN Blog (2024)

FAQs

What happens when you block a number on iPhone? - AstrillVPN Blog? ›

Blocking a number on your iPhone is an effective way to reduce the amount of spam or annoying calls you get from that particular number. It's also a great way to protect your privacy; the blocked number won't be able to reach you and you won't receive any notifications from them.

What happens when I block a number on my iPhone? ›

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

What does someone see when you block their number? ›

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. There are ways a person can figure out if they've been blocked, like sending you texts and calling you.

When you block someone on an iPhone, what do they see? ›

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.

Can you see if a blocked number has tried to text you? ›

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.

Do blocked numbers still show up on iPhone? ›

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, they will be able to contact you again.

Can a blocked number still text you? ›

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.

How do you know if someone blocked your number on an iPhone? ›

But to get a sense of whether you're blocked, you could try several different methods and cross-reference your results.
  1. Check the color of your texts.
  2. Send them an iMessage.
  3. Send them an SMS message.
  4. Give them a phone call.
  5. Mask your number.
  6. Turn off Caller ID.
  7. Try a different number or device.
Jan 18, 2023

What happens when you text someone who blocked you on an iPhone? ›

If a person blocks you on iMessage, then they won't get any of your texts at all.

What happens when a blocked number tries to call you? ›

So the person who was blocked won't know they're blocked when they try to call you. On their end, they'll hear the phone ring a few times. Then, their call will go straight to voicemail.

What happens if you send a text to a blocked number? ›

Can I text or call a blocked person? Yes, you can text and call people you've blocked from your phone. Unless those contacts have also blocked your number in retaliation! Whether you're using an Android device or an iPhone, blocking a number only affects incoming calls and texts.

What message does someone get when they are 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.

When you unblock a number will you get old texts? ›

Text messages (SMS, MMS, iMessage) from blocked contacts (numbers or email addresses) do not appear anywhere on your device. Unblocking the contact does NOT show any messages sent to you when it was blocked.

What does the other person see when you block their number? ›

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. There are ways a person can figure out if they were likely blocked, like sending you texts and calling you.

What do texts look like when you text someone who blocked you? ›

If you send a message as a regular SMS in the green text bubble and you do not get a “Delivered” notification but instead get a notification similar to “Message not Delivered” or no message at all, that means you were probably blocked.

Do blocked messages get delivered when unblocked? ›

Blocked messages will not come through when unblocked.

You won't be able to retrieve them. If you decide to unblock the person, you will receive the texts normally. However, if the blocked person calls and leaves you a voicemail, you can check it.

What happens to text messages when you block someone? ›

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.

Does blocking a number stop texts iPhone? ›

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.

How to tell if someone blocked you on iPhone? ›

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.

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