It can be very annoying and sometimes time-consuming, interrupting your flow or daily activities when you receive unwanted calls. If you are being pestered or your focus disturbed by unwanted calls on your iPhone you will be pleased to know that Apple has made it very easy for iPhone users to block numbers on iPhone and stop unwanted callers. This quick guide will take you through the process of stopping third-party companies or old acquaintances from calling you on your iPhone as well as blocking messages and texts.
You will be pleased to know that there is an easy way to block numbers and unwanted calls on your iPhone from those that are trying to sell you bogus products or services or simply becoming an annoyance. This quick guide below will show you how to block a number on iPhone using just a few settings, freeing you from any unwanted calls that can distract you during your day.
Quick Links:
- Block numbers on iPhone
- How to unblock a number
- View your blocked contacts list
- Block unwanted Messages
Block numbers on iPhone
There are a number of ways you can block unwanted calls and numbers from your iPhone below are quick stages and a more detailed run through of each.
From the Phone app:
– Open the Phone app.
– Go to ‘Recents’ or ‘Contacts’.
– Tap the ‘i’ information icon next to the number or contact you want to block.
– Scroll down and select ‘Block this Caller’.
– Confirm by tapping ‘Block Contact’.
From the Settings app:
– Open the ‘Settings’ app.
– Scroll down and tap on ‘Phone’.
– Tap on ‘Call Blocking & Identification’.
– Tap ‘Block Contact…’ under ‘Blocked Contacts’.
– This will open your contact list. Select the contact you want to block.
From the Messages app:
– Open the conversation with the number you want to block.
– Tap the number or contact at the top of the screen.
– Tap the ‘info’ icon.
– Tap ‘info’ again.
– Tap ‘Block this Caller’.
– Confirm by tapping ‘Block Contact’.
Please note that when you block a number on your iPhone, it will also block them from sending you text messages, FaceTime calls, and voicemails. If you need to unblock a number later, you can do so from the ‘Settings’ app under ‘Phone’ > ‘Call Blocking & Identification’.
To get started press the green Phone icon on iPhone as if you were going to make a call, then click on the “Recents” icon located in the bottom menu. As the icon name suggests, once pressed this will reveal a list of your most recent iPhone calls with the most recent calls listed at the top.
Simply find the number or contact you would like to block in the list and press the blue information icon located to the right of the number. Once pressed you will then be shown the contact details of the caller, and at the bottom of this page you will see an option to “Block this Caller“.
By selecting this option and the pop-up asking you to confirm whether you would like to block the number on your iPhone you ask your phone to stop accepting calls from this number. Once you have requested your iPhone to block a number you’ll see a confirmation that you have now blocked the contact when you return to the recent calls list.
Once a contact is blocked on your iPhone the number trying to call you will be sent directly to your answer machine, where they can still leave a voicemail if they decide to, but you won’t receive a notification. Also any text messages they try to send to you will be blocked and a notification will show on their iPhone that the message has been undelivered. But the contact won’t receive a notification that you have blocked their calls or messages.
How to unblock a number
If you inadvertently blocked one of your contacts by mistake don’t worry you can unblock an iPhone number and contact just as easy as blocking them. To unblock a number on your iPhone simply press the “Unblock this caller” option to once again receive calls, messages and Facetime calls from this contact.
View your blocked contacts list
Apple also provides an easy way to check all the blocked contacts you currently have allowing you to review any callers, numbers or contacts easily from one location. You can do this on your iPhone by going to the “Settings” section and tapping the Blocked Contacts option to see the current list of blocked numbers. To view the blocked FaceTime contacts simply select FaceTime in settings and press the “Blocked Contacts” option. Repeat the process for Messages “Blocked Contacts” within the settings options located in SMS/MMS.
Block unwanted Messages
While we are on the subject of messages if you’d like to filter or block any unwanted Message you can do this by going to the Settings option and selecting “Messages” and then “Filter Unknown Senders” once enabled this will filter messages from people who aren’t saved in your Contacts. On a final note you can also report unwanted iMessages on your iPhone that maybe be obvious spam or junk mail from the Messages app. If a message is received from someone who is not in your contacts list you will see an option to “Report Junk” underneath the message.
I hope this quick guide helps you stop those annoying and distracting unwanted calls from telemarketing companies or contacts or companies you are no longer like to hear from. If you are still experiencing issues with unwanted calls or getting your iPhone to work exactly as you hoped more information is available on the official Apple Support website.
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