How To Know If Someone Blocked Your Number

It can be mind-boggling if you find yourself in the blocked list of someone’s phone book. But, what if you haven’t seen it yet and just suspect it? Here’s how to know if someone blocked your number.

In this article:

Your Calls Repeatedly Receive Automated Messages
Calls Go Straight to Voicemail
You Don’t Receive a Response for Your Messages or Calls
No Status Notifications on iMessage
Your Calls Are Automatically Dropped After a Busy or Fast Busy Signal
“Hidden” Calls Go Through
Your Anonymous Calls Go Through

How To Know If Someone Blocked Your Number | Seven Clues

1. Your Calls Repeatedly Receive Automated Messages

There’s nothing more frustrating than placing repeat calls only to receive the same automated message in different iterations. Usually, these messages go like these:

Not Accepting Calls — The number you are calling is not accepting calls right now.
Unavailable — The person you are calling is unavailable.
Out of Service — The number you are calling is temporarily out of service.

It’s hard to tell what the go-to message is for blocked numbers, but more often, they follow the same form and substance of the examples cited above.

How to know if your number is blocked? Getting these messages for consecutive call attempts and days is one clue.

That is, unless you’re trying to reach someone who’s frequently out of the country or without their phone. This is also true for areas frequently hit by typhoons and other natural calamities since these disrupt their access to a wireless carrier.

2. Calls Go Straight to Voicemail

Suppose you placed a call and the other line rings at least three times before rerouting to voicemail, chances are your number’s not blocked. At least, not yet.

If this situation goes on for a few days, the person you’re trying to call is definitely trying to send you a message. The caller may be too busy or not ready to take your calls.

Other possible reasons why someone can’t take your call include:

The person you’re trying to call turned on their phone’s “Do Not Disturb” function
Their phone battery’s dead
They turned off their phone

Now, if your calls get one ring and get sent straight to voicemail, or goes straight to voicemail sans ringing, then it’s highly likely your number’s been blocked.

3. You Don’t Receive a Response for Your Messages or Calls

If you’ve been blocked in someone’s phonebook, your messages will appear to send normally. However, these messages won’t reach their intended inbox. Thus, the receiver won’t see your message and you won’t receive a response.

This is also the case for calls. If you hear prolonged ringing and the other person isn’t picking up, it’s possible that the number you’re using has been blocked.

4. No Status Notifications on iMessage

Sent iMessages come with status notifications at the bottom. If you remember that your potential blocker had their “Read notifs” enabled, but now you’re seeing only the “Delivered” status, it’s possible your number’s been blocked.

Now, if there are no status notifications under those blue bubbles, neither “Delivered” nor “Read,” or not even some error message indicating that you ought to resend your message, then something’s up. But, just to make sure, try looking for more clues.

5. Your Calls Are Automatically Dropped After a Busy or Fast Busy Signal

A busy or fast busy signal could mean your wireless carrier is going through technical issues. Perhaps, they’re doing scheduled infrastructure maintenance or some natural calamity has rendered their system temporarily faulty. But, it’s also possible this happens because your number’s been blocked.

Wireless carriers can block certain people from reaching their customers’ phone line upon request. Typically, a blocked caller will get a busy or fast busy signal before getting disconnected when placing these blocked calls.

You can try calling a friend who shares the same carrier as the person you’re trying to call to rule out technical difficulties. If your call gets through, chances are, the person you’re trying to call has served you a phone restraining order.

To be absolutely sure, keep at it and reach out for a few weeks straight. If the same results persist, then your number’s probably been blocked.

6. “Hidden” Calls Go Through

There’s a way to circumvent a blocked number. That is, by hiding your caller ID using *67.

Here’s how to do it.

For Android:

Tap the phone icon.
Go to the phone interface’s “Search” bar.
On the Search bar, tap the vertical dots to access the dropdown menu.
Choose “Settings.”
Tap “Calls, then go to “Additional Settings.”
Press “Hide Number.”

For iPhone

Tap the “Settings” icon.
Select “Phone.”
Under “Calls,” tap “Show My Caller ID.”
Turn off “Show My Caller ID.”

Vertical service codes such as *67 serve a legitimate purpose. For instance, if you need to contact business vendors from your personal phone but prefer to keep your contact details private.

Once your “hidden call” connects, it’s a definitive answer: the person you’re trying to call has blocked your number.

7. Your Anonymous Calls Go Through

If you want to keep your P.I. moves basic, there’s actually a pretty straightforward way on how to know if your number is blocked. Here you do not even need to use a vertical service code.

There are three simple steps to this process. They are as follows.

Call your suspected blocker using your phone/number.
Borrow a friend’s phone and use it to call your suspected blocker’s number.
Use another phone from a third friend and call your suspected blocker’s number. If the call goes through, it’s safe to assume you’re calling someone who has decided to not receive any of your calls.

Learn what happens when you block someone on your iPhone in this video from MacRumors:

https://youtu.be/zYzg_JJTTnUrel=0

The most direct way of how to tell if someone blocked your number is, of course, by confronting them. However, if you’re not really a fan of direct confrontations or you still want to dig deeper to confirm your suspicions, these seven clues are good indicators. We hope this guide has helped you learn more about how to tell if your number is blocked.

What are some signs that make you think you’ve been blocked by someone? Share your thoughts and experiences with us in the comments section below.

Up Next: