If you are unable to call or message someone from your iPhone, it is possible that you are dealing with the situation of your phone number being blocked by this person.
This is likely to be the case, if you are unable to call or message a particular person, while having no problems calling or messaging others from your iPhone.
Find if Someone Has Blocked Your Number on iPhone
iPhone does not provide a notification or an alert message, if someone ends up blocking your phone number accidentally or intentionally, while using the phone or the messages app.
Hence, the most reliable way of finding if someone has blocked your phone number is by using another phone number to directly call the person that you suspect has blocked you.
If this does not seem practical or appropriate, you can use a combination of methods as provided below to check and confirm whether or not your phone number has indeed been blocked by this person.
1. Check Read Receipts
First make sure that Read Receipts are enabled on your iPhone and send a message to the person that you believe has blocked you.
After the message is sent from your iPhone, take a look at the status of Read Receipt.
1. If you see the word “Delivered” in the Read receipt, it confirms that your phone number has not been blocked by this person.
2. If you do not see ‘Delivered’ or do not see any delivery status, it indicates the possibility of your phone number being accidentally or intentionally blocked by this person.
However, this can also happen if this Contact has disabled “Read Receipts” and also if your Contact’s phone is not connected to the internet.
2. Call the Person that you believe has blocked your Number
Make a phone call to the person that you believe has blocked your phone number and carefully observe what happens during the Call.
1. If you can hear the call ringing normally (multiple times) before going to voicemail, it is most likely that this person is busy and has not blocked your phone number.
2. If the phone rings briefly (once or 2-3 times) and gets abruptly diverted to voicemail, it is likely that this person may have blocked your phone number.
However, you need to be aware that similar signs can be noticed, if the phone is switched off, disconnected from network and also if the person is on another call or has set calls to be Auto-diverted to voicemail.
Hence, try calling this person a few more times at different times of the day and observe if the calls are always being diverted to the Voice Mail.
3. If the calls are always being diverted to voice mail, it is a strong indication of your phone number being blocked by this person.
Note: In case someone has blocked your phone number, that person will not be notified about your Calls, even if you leave Voice Messages.
3. Hide Caller ID and Make a Call
Another possibility is that the person that you are trying to contact might be ignoring your calls and messages. You can confirm this by switching OFF your Caller ID and making a call to this person.
1. Go to Settings > Phone > Show My Caller ID.
2. On the next screen, disable Show My Caller ID option.
After hiding Caller ID, call the person that you believe has blocked you and carefully observe what happens during the call.
- The phone will ring as normal and won’t immediately transfer to voice mail after short ring.
- The person may answer the call or cut you off as he/she is unable to see who is calling.
If the phone rings as normal, it confirms that this person has indeed blocked your phone number.
Similarly, if the person tries to answers the call or disconnects the call after a few rings, it confirms that your phone number has been blocked.
However, if the phone rings once and gets transferred to Voice Mail (even with caller ID hidden), it is possible that there is something wrong with the device or the phone number of your Contact.
4. Bypass Do Not Disturb Mode
Another possibility is that the person that you are trying to call or message has placed his/her phone in “Do Not Disturb Mode” and forgotten to disable the DND mode.
If this appears to be the case, you might be interested in this guide: How to Call Someone Who is Using Do Not Disturb Mode on iPhone.
Signs That Your Number Has Been Blocked On iPhone
Your Phone Number has most likely been blocked, in case you are unable to reach the person by phone or text message and you can also notice the following signs.
- Your Calls are getting diverted to the Voice Mail immediately or after 1 ring.
- You hear a busy Tone and your Call gets cut OFF (happens with some carriers).
- You do not get any response to your Text Messages and do not see “Delivered” on the Read Receipts.
- You are able to reach the person with Hidden Caller ID.