How to tell if someone blocked your number on iPhone

If you are making unwanted phone calls or messages on an iPhone to someone, the recipient may finally decide to block you. But if you genuinely didn’t mean to harass them and are unsure of your current standing with them, how do you know if your number is blocked on an iPhone? What are the tell-tale signs?

What you should know about blocked numbers on iPhone

Before we start, it’s worth pointing out that there is no foolproof way to know for sure if you have been blocked on an iPhone. Some things may give strong hints, but those things can also have other innocent explanations. Undelivered messages could mean the phone has been switched off, for example. Phone calls going straight to voicemail could mean the person is just in an area with poor reception, or the phone is simply turned off or in Airplane Mode.

So, the takeaway here is that these things can indicate you have been blocked, but don’t assume 100% that is the case. There could be an innocent explanation. Usually, the best way to know if you have been blocked is to ask the person.

Also, try the following methods to see if you have been blocked, but only try it once. More than once will potentially bring you into stalker/harassment territory and legal issues — you don’t want that.

Send an iMessage

The first thing you can try is to send the person an iMessage. If you are not blocked, it will show as Delivered. If you are blocked, it will show as Not Delivered.

Send an SMS

If an iMessage doesn’t work, sending a normal SMS message is next. Again, it will either say Delivered or Not Delivered. The latter can indicate you have been blocked.

To send a “normal text” on an iPhone, you’ll have to disable iMessage. To do so, go to Settings > Apps > Messages and toggle off iMessage.

Phone them

If iMessage and SMS have failed, then try phoning them. If you have been blocked, then after one ring or half a ring, you will immediately be taken to voicemail. In that case, there is a strong possibility you have been blocked.

Mask your number, or call from another number

Finally, you can try to mask your number and then try calling them. However, this is heading a bit into harassment territory, so you need to be extremely careful here.

By masking your number, it will appear on their phone as No Caller ID or Unknown Number. Therefore, with no number available to block, your call should either be picked up at the other end, or it will ring for more than one ring. If it does, your number has been blocked on an iPhone. To mask your number, dial *67 before the number you want to call.

Of course, using another phone to call the person you suspect of blocking you will work similarly. If you call the person from another phone, and it rings normally, then you know you were blocked.