What Happens When You Block A Number On Android? (2024)

When you block a number on an Android device, they will be unable to call or text you. Every call is automatically disconnected or sent directly to the voicemail while texts are sent to the spam folder.

I have had unpleasant experiences dealing with telemarketers and spam callers who would blow up my phone once in a while. I used Truecaller, best known for its effective blocking feature. Every time a spammer tries to call, their calls get disconnected immediately while the text messages are sent to the Spam folder.

I will be exploring everything that involves blocking a number on an Android device to give you a clear picture of what happens and the benefits that come with it. If you've been dealing with annoying calls from suspicious sources, read this to the end to find some solutions that will work for you.

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What Happens When You Block A Number On Android?

Here’s what happens when you block a number on Android mobile phones. It stops that particular number from directly contacting you through phone calls or text messages. Every time a blocked caller tries to call you directly, the call goes to voice mail, and you’ll never even receive any notification to that effect.

How Do You Block A Number On Android Phones?

Every Android phone comes with a phone app that allows you to make calls and send texts. At the same time, these apps have the ability to block a number from accessing you in any way. To block a number on your Android phone:

Open the Phone App to see all the call records on your device.
Tap on the number you want to block to bring up options.
You will see three dots. Tap on that and select More.
Select Block or Report Spam.

This will permanently block the number from ever accessing you through calls or texts. All calls from that number will be disconnected immediately, and the texts are sent to the spam box.

Alternatively, you can also block unknown phone numbers not saved in your contact list. This is the most effective way of ensuring telemarketers and other spam callers do not get through to you.

To block unknown numbers on Android phones:

Open the Phone App.
Tap More on the three dots.
Tap Settings.
Open Blocked Numbers.
Activate Unknown.

What Happens When You Block A Number On Android? (1)

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Can You Unblock A Number You Have Previously Blocked?

Blocking a number on an Android phone is not a permanent process. You can always reverse it at any time by accessing the blocked contact list and removing the number.

To unblock a number on your Android device:

Open the Phone App.
Tap More.
Go to Settings.
Navigate to Blocked Numbers.
Tap on the number you want to unblock and choose Clear. This automatically removes the number from the block list and they can now call and send you texts the normal way.

Blocking A Number From Texting You

You can also block a number from texting you on your Android device. This will automatically send all texts to the spam folder without any notification. You can then clear the spam folder any time you feel like it.

To block numbers from texting you on Android phones:

Open the official Messages App on your Android phone.
Locate the conversation or the number of the person you want to block.
Open that conversation.
You will see three dots at the top. In other Android versions, this is replaced by a “More” button.
Tap Block Number option.

Can You See If A Blocked Number Has Tried To Contact You?

The notifications from calls and text messages from people you have blocked may not be as active as regular ones, but there's a way you can see if a blocked number tried to contact you. When you block calls and texts, the sender will not receive the delivery note but the notifications of the calls and texts will reach you silently.

The blocked messages will be delivered to an Unknown Senders inbox of the spam folder while the calls are sent directly to the voicemail. You can still access all the information of the number you blocked to see exactly who it is.

To access blocked messages from the Unknown Senders inbox:

Open Messages app
Tap More or the three dots on the top right corner
Go to Archived. There you will find all the blocked messages.

When You Block Someone Can They Tell?

People you block won't receive a notification so there's no way for them to know that they have been blocked. Every time they try to call you or send you text messages, it is either disconnected immediately, sent directly to the voicemail, or the spam box.

They may assume that you're not reachable at that moment. Any texts they try to send you will go directly to your spam folder and they won't know if you receive the text or not. Unless they have prior experience and understand how blocking works, there's no direct way of telling if someone has blocked your number or not.

If you want to know if your number has been blocked, here’s how to do it:

You can call the same number using another phone. If it goes through, that is all the proof you need that your number has been blocked.
You can hide your caller ID to make it hard for the other phone to detect who you are. If the phone rings and the call goes through, then your number has been blocked.

To hide your caller ID:

Open the Phone App
Go to Menu
Select Settings then choose Call Settings
Tap on Additional Settings and Select Caller ID
Choose “Hide Number”. You can reverse the feature by following the same steps and choosing “Show Number”
If you keep getting redirected to voicemail every time you call, no matter the time of day, that proves the other line has blocked your number since it is unlikely for someone to be offline for that long.

What Happens When You Block A Number On Android? (2)

What Does The Caller Hear When A Call Is Blocked?

When making a normal call, the line would usually ring until the phone is answered, or deliberately disconnected. However, when your number has been blocked, you will only hear a single ring or on some occasions, no ring at all. Instead, you will immediately be hit by a voicemail message telling you that the recipient is not available at that moment.

Can You Text Someone Who Has Blocked Your Number?

You will still be able to text someone who has blocked your number through a process called SMS spoofing. This is a process where you change your caller ID so that the message is attached to a different name and number. There are spoofing apps supported by Android that can help you achieve this within minutes. The most efficient one is called the SpoofCard App and it can be downloaded from the Google Play store.

To use the SpoofCard App:

Open and launch the SpoofCard App on your Android phone.
Choose SpoofText on the navigation bar inside the app.
Tap on the New SpoofText option to begin the process.
Enter the phone number that you suspect has blocked you. If you have it saved in your contact list there is an option for choosing the number directly from the same contacts.
Choose the number and name you'd like to display. What you choose becomes your new caller ID. With this, any text you send to the number will go through and the recipient will be able to get a notification.

Related Reading

How To Set a Ringback Tone on Android (Step-by-Step Guide)
How to Block Restricted Calls (on Android and iPhone)
How to Call Someone Who Blocked You? A Newbie's Guide
21 Cool iMessage Tricks You Probably Didn’t Know Existed
How to Turn Off RTT on Android Device? [A Detailed Guide]

Conclusion

You can block numbers on your Android phone quite easily. This will help keep annoying callers and unsolicited texts away as they can invade your personal space. Use the tips outlined above to get this done quickly.