There are times when you might feel the need to block a phone number and avoid those unwanted calls, be it the pesky telemarketers or an ex-boyfriend/girlfriend who just doesn’t accept that it’s all OVER! The reasons to block a phone number are numerous, but the solutions to do so are numbered and few. Depending upon your cell phone model and your carrier, there might be a solution.
How to Block Phone Number and Avoid Unwanted Calls
There are different ways to handle unwanted calls and block a phone number. All methods won’t work for all, so you would need to carefully choose an option which will work for you.
“Do not call” Registry
This option is best suited if you are trying to block a telemarketer. If you are in US, you can register with the National Do not call registry or call 1-888-382-1222 from the number you wish to block to keep the telemarketers at bay. It is illegal for telemarketers to call you after you have been added to this list. If you are in India, there is a similar National Do not call registry where you can register your phone number.
Carrier Help
Taking the help of your carrier is the most appropriate option to block any phone number.
- AT&T : If you are a customer of AT&T wireless, you can make use of a premium service called “Parental Controls” which will allow you to limit who can call you or text you by blocking or allowing certain numbers. It costs just $4.99 per month.
- Verizon : Go to VerizonWireless and log into your account. And then go to “My Services” and choose the SPAm control. Here you can add up to 5 phone numbers that you do not want to contact you or even text you.
- Sprint & T-Mobile : Currently, Sprint and T-Mobile doesn’t provide an easy way to block unwanted callers, though there is a work-around for Sprint users. You can block all numbers which are not in your phone contacts. For this, go to Settings –> Security –> Others [password will be last 4 digits of your phone number] –> Call settings. Here you will find that option.
Handset Specific Options
Off late, the handset manufacturers have started providing features to help you block phone numbers. Look out for in-built or downloadable option to limit incoming calls.
- Nokia : The Nokia symbian phone users can download apps like Blacklist which can block specific phone numbers from making a call.
- Samsung : If you have a Samsung phone, you have the ability to send an incoming call directly to voicemail, without it even ringing on your device. Look for the “block list” feature on your device
- Sony-Ericsson : SE mobile phones have built-in blocking functions, simply go to Settings > Calls > Manage Calls > Accept Calls > Only from list, press ‘Edit’ to choose the numbers.
- T-mobile G1 : Similar to Samsung phones, G1 also uses a feature available in the contact list to block specific numbers.
- Blackberry : If you have a Blackberry, you can use a program called Efficient Call Blocker from BerryWAV. This program will block numbers that you specify and let you make the other party hear messages like your number is disconnected or no longer in service. Another such app is CallsBlocker.
- iPhone : Not a straight-forward option available for iPhones. There is an app called “BlackList” which costs $1.99 which can free you from thousands of telemarketers. In case you have a jailbroken iPhone, there are couple of neat apps which will help you – MCleaner & iBlacklist.
YouMail
If your phone is compatible with free services like YouMail, you can block unwanted voicemail messages. The callers you block get the designated greeting you choose and are never given the option of leaving a voicemail message! They have dedicated apps for Blackberry, Android and iPhone which are all available for free.
TrapCall
TrapCall is a premium service with numerous features like blocking unwanted callers, number unmasking, recording calls etc. TrapCall currently supports AT&T, T-mobile, Verizon and Sprint.
Call Customer Care!
Calling customer care for help in blocking a specific phone number is one of the most suggested solutions. Alas! it doesn’t work most of the times. But some carriers do let you block a phone number but only after verifying the facts and asking few security questions.
Change your number
I know this is a ridiculous solution, but in case none of the above tricks work, this is the only available option.
Raju PP is the founder-editor of Technically Personal. He holds an Engineering degree in Electronics & Communication, and has previously worked as a Technical Specialist in Banking Software domain.
there is nothing like “Settings > Security Settings > Incoming calls” in an iphone – atleast the 4.0 OS on my 3GS
#8: Create a new group in your cell phone and name it ignore, and add all nos you want to block. Then set a different ringtone to the ignore group. That way you’ll know which calls to ignore from the ring.
Better still, create a blank MP3 file and set it as the ringtone. You won’t even hear it ring when these people call.
Smart dude
yeah but that doesn’t matter when all their text still show up on your phone, when you don’t want to look at them.
this is what i’ve had to teach so many people who couldn’t figure it out for themselves
lol martyr
@Kaushik,
A great solution, supported by most of new handsets
Why didn’t Google Voice make the list? One of their features: block callers.
Well that ONLY works if you HAVE Google Voice, not an existing carrier …
Fantastic list and instructions on how to block a call, If you can extend to other countries like India will be very useful for viewers in india. I hope you will add it soon.
The article seems to be for cell phones, however my problems are landlines (home phones). I refurbished an old 2001 pc 1300 mhz with 256 meg ram, fresh install of XP Home.
Then installed PhoneTray (free) and a voice modem – the box must state “voice” or “caller ID’ supported, possibly other terms. Very few pc’s come with this now – just data & fax. Many messages included with the app.
I capture and block any call, play any message from the pc or the answering machine. Best of all you can download countless tones & messages, and edit in Audacity & add to the PhoneTray folder.
Do Not Call Registry is a joke. Telemarketers should be made to disclose their home phone number when they call, and then eat s@*# & die.
Now you will have a complete log to the very minute of the day, and then worry the hell out of our worthless elected officials who lied to us again.
I plan to get a lawyer to sue since it was a $10,000 fine to abusers of the law in the USA.
Ken
Its shocking that these are the best seven options for blocking incoming unwanted incoming phone calls. These are like stone age tools compared to to rest of the super advanced telephone hardware and software worlds. Why, exactly do you suppose, that they can give us gps and a video that can record hours of images good enough in quality that they are put on the air when somebody videos something newsworthy from their cell phone. Why doesnt every phone simply come programmed with a standard app that allows the owner of the cell phone to block any individual phone number they want and any standard group of phone numbers they want to block like anonymous calls and soforth. In fact, if you will just run your phone calls through your P.C. first there are umpteen inexpensive and even free software that will do this very simple job and are easy to use and let you store so many thousands of blocked numbers, more than anyone would even ever need to block on these softwares. So, since the software already exists and has since windows 95, so we know its not even difficult software to create, why in the world arent the acutal call blocking features that every single person with a phone already knows they need already on every phone on earth. i realize this would mean that nobody could get our attention anymore that we didn’t want. which we all want to be able to do. so, where is the big money in all this? who is blocking the this simple tool that we all need? and since its so basic to every person with a phone and a subscription to a phone service, then why aren’t the phone companies eager to give us full control over each of our little individual lives? are they making more money by crippling us in this area by not providing the tools we need. In this day and age there is just no reason we should be treated like this. Complete call blocking capablities should be as standard and basic on a phone as the microphone to capture sound and the tiny speaker is to create sound to hear the caller speak. I almost said as basic as the keypad but that went away in the iphone. See what i mean? they can make an iphone with a screen that can dazzle and display and compute gazillions of whatever and store gazillions of memory to make it all possible in next to no physical space anymore, and yet we still are all just screaming at phones when we get unwanted calls and, as of yet that doesn’t acutally help. why can we have an app on our phone that you point its color megapixal camera at a traffic sign on the street and it will translate the words in the image of that sign into any language you choose but for some reason our phones don’t come packaged with something so basic as a complete phone blocking software suite that has been seemlessly integrated among all those thousands of ringtones and games and god knows what other gobbldeygook that we need a lot less than pefect blocking software that is easy to use and complete. Why haven’t it been being improved over the last twenty years like every other part of a phone. We can triangulate our perfectly known position on the surface of our planet at any moment using gps and then drop a geo cashe there and tweet it to australia where where its location is shot up to to a satelite in space and the item geocashed and dropped on the ground is pinged by a laser every nanosecond until somebody finds that geocashe next and when the ping goes away it sends an update to the geocashing game everybodys playing, and on and on and on. But I cant block that d**m phone spam and text spam and collectors trying to make me pay something i don’t owe but some big company decided i did and while my rebuttal as to why its not owed cant and wont and never will be allowed into the credit scoring company madness any old thing that some disgruntled minimum wage earning “customer care” person says I owe gets fed into the credit scoring system and suddenly its a beast and a mountain against little ol’ me. ironic that even though these are phone companies, they sure don’t like to listen to you when they don’t want to. and as far as “credit scores” are concered, that is the most ridiculas load of hogwash, why are we allowing such a onesided monster to only hear one side of a disagreement over a claim by one party that another owes it some money? Lots of sophisticated software that keeps that beast of a system electrified and operating with the sole purpose of making any kind of fair reporting by all sides completely impossible, so that only one side is ever heard. and its just some software that is fed numbers but is not programmed to wait until the person being accused of not paying a debt feeds into the computer a rebutal of some kind. Until the software has both sides it shouldn’t even be revealing anything on any contested debet till it has both sides. Again, lasers to the moon, facebook for billions filled with video games programmed with such sophistication that they players don’t even realize those games are really there to record their responses to stuff the users don’t even realize they are responding to. Yet, once again, I can’t block a collectors call on my phone with standard blocking software nor can i contest any debt before its published to the world.
And yet, and YET, I still can’t block a call easily, and on any oe on a standard software program that everybody knows and use and it does it all, cause we’re not talking rocket science here. Really, we’re not. We’re just sayin “no” to somebody who we don’t want to call us anymore. How hard is that? Rocket science is clearly for International live Tetris Championships and a billion choices of high def porn on your cell phone but we can’t say no to a caller with simple and easy call blocking software. Really? REALLY?
Sat and read this whole large statement and I actually agree …. surely there must be something out there that can stop these calls … as part of anyones normal service! Not yet another App that you have to pay for to get what should be a given right anyway! Good Note!
thank you for informative topic.
I’ll get the Blacklist application.
How can I block harassing and vulgar incoming calls and texts on my Verizon Iphone ?
this is awesome, thank u so much
With an ATT landline, you dial *60 and then follow the instructions which are to press #01# to block the last call. Easy.
http://www.att.com/gen/general?pid=10129
YEAH MAYBE , BUT YOU WILL HAVE TO SWITCH YOUR PLAN AND PAY THE PHONE COMPANY EXTRA EACH MONTH TO BE ABLE TO USE THAT TYPE OF “SERVICE”
really fantastic sharing so thanks keep on your sharing
i would request APPLE, to make Reject List application please so that we can add unwanted caller in the that list. It can be done in SAMSUNG handsets.
Will any of these ideas on blocking harassing phone calls work for a land line? My mother is getting harrassing calls and Verizon was no help. thank you in advance for any help you can offer, Frederick Sallaz
How can I block a call on my AT&T blackberry 8310
Google phone. Allows you call from your phone and go on line and block a number. I LOVE it.
how do u black a number when u have a t-mobile phone I have the gravity 3 and this guy keeps calling me! i dont want to change my number or call custmer care, i want to block them useing my phone. Any suggestions? Please Dx
how to block unwanted calls on my Sony Ericsson u1i satio??
this is my email address (rajabi_ikram@yahoo.com)…
I have a sony ericson and tried the above proceedure and it doesnt block a particular number but only allows calls from those selected. I dont want to block the whole world, just an anoying girlfriend
Landlines *60 listen to prompts
The easiest is to get the unwanted numbers blocked by your carrier. There are some handsets that look at the number and offer a busy tone, but only a few manufacturers.
Another easy option is to set the default ringtone to a blank or silent mp3 (easy to find one on the internet for free and download or copy to phone). Then for each contact set a custom ringtone. Even if someone calls that you don’t have in your contact list, you won’t really miss the call you just won’t hear it ring. That way unwanted calls are logged (if needed for harassment complaints) but don’t disturb you. Works for me.
Is there a block that say your phone is disconnected. I can really use that. If so plz let me know. Thank u
Hi! Can an LG P525 block calls/text messages?
I just wanna block my exgirlfriend from sending the hundreds of annoying texts she sends each day. Come on iPhone (apple) help us out and create an free application or better yet create a feature availible in our phones settings to begin with. As many have mentioned it’s not rocket science, it’s a simple feature that should by all means be readily available.
tengo un iphone 4s sprint y me hacen muchas llamadas blockeadas , me podria ayudar por favor a reslover este problema de varias formas , se lo agradeceria mucho gracias
I am truly baffled at why there is yet no (iPhone app) for such simple but very popularly desired requirement. I need it so desperately.
For cellphone, I assign a special ringtone that contain silence for the number that I want to block. So no annoying rings while this number calls in. For land line I use ‘Teleblocker’ which is a little electronic box that can block all unwanted calls.
The application blacklist for iPhone does not work. It advertises features and screens non existent in the app
The last time I checked it worked as expected. I guess you have tried a wrong one maybe?
They don’t want to make it easy for us to block calls because they make money selling our phone numbers to telemarketers. If we can simply block whomever we choose, the value of selling our numbers goes down, and the behemoth cellular carriers lose a revenue source.