How can you see if someone blocked your number

You dial a number, but you’re not getting through. You’re frustrated. Maybe you’re a little anxious. What’s going on? Maybe the person you’re trying to get in touch with forgot their phone, or the battery is dead or it’s on silent or turned it off for some reason.

Or maybe they blocked your number, either by accident or on purpose. Want to know how to tell if someone blocked your number? You should know that when you block a number, you no longer receive calls or text messages from that person.

This can be helpful for stopping some unwanted spam calls, but it can also be used for personal reasons. Here’s what happens when you call someone who blocked you. You won’t get any sort of official notice if someone blocks your calls, but you can make an educated guess by looking for these signs.

Your calls are never answered

The first indication something’s up is you’re calling and sending text messages but you get no response. There are many reasons this might be happening, but a blocked number is one possibility.

For most cases, texts you send will appear to go through normally, but the person you’re sending them to won’t receive them. That radio silence is your first hint something might be up.

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A single ring sends you to voicemail

If you call a phone and hear the normal number of rings before getting sent to voicemail, then it’s a normal call. If you’re blocked, you would only hear a single ring before being diverted to voicemail.

An unusual ring pattern doesn’t necessarily mean your number is blocked. It may just mean the person is talking to someone else at the same time you’re calling, has the phone off or sent the call directly to voicemail. Try again later. If the one-ring and straight-to-voicemail pattern persists, then it may be a case of a blocked number.

Tip in a Tip: How to stop robocalls for good.

Automated responses

If you make a call and receive an automated message along the lines of “the customer is unavailable,” then you may have been blocked by that person’s wireless carrier. The messages can vary, but the result is the same. Your call won’t go through.

A blocked number isn’t the only reason for a message like this, but it can be a strong indication if you keep receiving the same message over several days.

Your texts look different

We covered calls. But you may be wondering how to tell if someone blocked your number from texting. As it turns out, there are a few different signs you can look out for through text.

So if you’ve ever found yourself Googling “How to know if someone blocked your number iPhone” or “How to tell if someone blocked your number Android,” we’ve got you covered.

Here’s how to know if someone blocked your number when you both have iPhones or Androids

1. Open iMessage (or your other messaging app)
2. Send a message and you’ll get a “delivered” confirmation — or you should.
3. If your previous texts were delivered but your most recent texts don’t have that label, you may have been blacklisted

It could be something else

How do you know if someone blocked your number? Don’t jump to conclusions based on suspicion alone. There may be a simple reason why your calls aren’t going through.

So before you find yourself researching something like, “How to know if someone blocked your number on iPhone,” take a breath and think. There could be a network problem, the person may have the phone turned off, the battery is dead or they forgot to renew their monthly calling plan on time.

One possible way to still get through is to disguise your phone number from the other phone. There are ways to hide your number from caller ID, either by changing your call settings or by downloading an app that will handle it for you.

Check out our guide to making anonymous calls. Just remember to use this power wisely. If someone really doesn’t want to hear from you, you may need to just respect that person’s decision.

There’s a fine line between just trying to get in touch and bothering someone. Don’t cross that line. If you’re concerned, then try reaching out over email, through snail mail, or through a family member or mutual friend.

When someone blocks your number on their iPhone or Android phone, there are a few ways to tell, including unusual messages and how quickly your call transfers to voicemail. Let’s look at the clues that indicate your number is blocked and what you can do about it.

Because determining if you’ve been blocked isn’t necessarily straightforward, remember the best way to find out is to ask the person directly. If that's not something you can or want to do, we have some clues to help you determine if you are blocked.

Unless otherwise noted in the article, these tips apply to all phones from every carrier.

How to Know if Someone Blocked Your Number

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Depending on whether they’ve blocked your number on their phone or with their wireless carrier, the clues of a blocked number will differ. Also, other factors can produce similar results, such as a cell tower down, their phone is turned off or having a dead battery, or they have Do Not Disturb turned on. Dust off your detective skills and let’s examine the evidence.

Clue #1: Unusual Messages When You Call

There isn’t a standard blocked number message and many people don’t want you to know for certain when they’ve blocked you. If you get an unusual message you haven’t heard before, they’ve likely blocked your number through their wireless carrier. The message varies by carrier but tends to be similar to the following:

• “The person you are calling is unavailable.”
• “The person you are calling is not accepting calls right now.”
• “The number you are calling is temporarily out of service.”

If you call once a day for two or three days and get the same message each time, the evidence shows you’ve been blocked.

Exceptions: They frequently travel overseas, natural disasters have damaged network infrastructure (cell towers and transmitters), or major event resulting in an unusually high number of people making calls at the same time — though the message in this case is usually “All circuits are busy now.”

Clue #2: The Number of Rings

If you hear only one ring or no ring at all before your call goes to voicemail, this is a good indication you’re blocked. In this case, the person has used the number blocking feature on their phone. If you call once a day for a few days and get the same result each time, that is strong evidence your number is blocked. If you hear three to five rings before your call routes to voicemail, you’re probably not blocked (yet), however, the person is declining your calls or ignoring them.

Exceptions: If the person you’re calling has the Do Not Disturb feature turned on, your call – and everyone else’s – will be quickly routed to voicemail. You will also get this result when their phone battery is dead or their phone is turned off. Wait a day or two before calling again to see if you get the same result.

Clue #3: Busy Signal or Fast Busy Followed by Disconnect

If you get a busy signal or fast busy signal before your call is dropped, it’s possible your number is blocked through their wireless carrier. If test calls a few days in a row have the same result, consider it evidence you’ve been blocked. Of the different clues indicating a blocked number, this one is the least common though some carriers do still use it.

A far more likely reason for this result is that either your carrier or theirs is experiencing technical difficulties. To verify, call someone else — particularly if they have the same carrier as the person you’re trying to reach — and see if the call goes through.

Another clue is to send a text to the number. If you were both using iMessage on iPhone, for example, and then you're suddenly curious if they blocked you, send a text and see if the iMessage interface looks the same and if you can see that it was delivered. If you can't, and it sends as a regular text, then they could have blocked you.

However, an exception is that they've simply turned off iMessage or they no longer have a device that supports iMessage.

What You Can Do When Someone Blocks Your Number

While you can’t do anything to have the block on your number removed with their wireless carrier or from their phone, there are a couple of ways to get through or verify your number is, indeed, blocked. If you try one of the options below and get a different result or clue from the list above (provided they don’t answer), take it as evidence that you’ve been blocked.

• Use *67 to hide your number from their caller ID when you call.
• Hide your number using the settings in your phone to turn off your caller ID information on outgoing calls.
• Call them from a friend’s phone or have a friend you trust call them for you.
• Contact them directly through social media or email and ask if they’ve blocked you.

Another way to circumvent a block is to use a virtual phone number or internet calling service, something you can get with free internet phone call apps.

When a different number is being used to make the outgoing call, the recipient's phone will see that new number, not your real one, thus avoiding the block. 

Repeatedly contacting someone who has taken steps to cut contact, such as blocking your number, could result in accusations of harassment or stalking and serious legal consequences.

FAQ

• How do you block a number on an iPhone?

  To block a number on an iPhone, open the phone app and tap Recent to view recent calls. Tap the i next to the number you want to block and select Block this Caller > Block Contact. They won't know they were blocked. Calls go to voicemail, and they don't see any indication texts haven't gone through.

• How do I block a number on an Android?

  On Android phones, the procedure for blocking a number can vary by manufacturer and Android flavor. To see if blocking is possible, open the Phone app and find the number you want to block. (On a Samsung phone, tap Details.) If your carrier supports blocking, you'll have a menu item called something like Block number or Reject call.

• How do I block my number when calling?

  You can hide your number with *67. Dial *67 followed by the number you want to call. The person you're calling sees a message like "blocked" or "private number." Or, on an Android, go to Phone > Settings > Calls > Additional Settings > Caller ID > Hide Number. On an iPhone, go to Settings > Phone and turn off Show My Caller ID.