One number keeps ringing. Or it's a different number every day, always selling something, always wanting “just a moment of your time”. The good news: every phone can block a number in a few taps, and most landlines can too. Here's how, step by step, plus the honest bit about what blocking can and can't do.
On an iPhone
Block one person or number
- Open the Phone app.
- Tap Contacts, tap the contact, then tap Block Contact.
If the number isn't saved, find it in your list of recent calls, tap the small “i” info button next to it, and choose the block option at the bottom of that screen.
Deal with unknown callers
In recent versions of iOS, go to Settings → Apps → Phone. You'll find three useful choices for calls from numbers you haven't saved:
- Ask Reason for Calling: your iPhone answers unknown numbers for you and asks who's calling and why. It only rings once they've said.
- Silence: unknown numbers go straight to voicemail and appear in your recent calls, without ringing.
- Spam filter: calls your network flags as likely spam or fraud are silenced and moved to a separate Spam list.
Silencing unknown numbers is the strongest option, but think before you switch it on: the hospital, the GP surgery or a delivery driver may ring from a number you haven't saved. “Ask Reason for Calling” is a good middle ground.
See or undo your blocks
Settings → Apps → Phone → Blocked Contacts, then tap Edit to unblock anyone.
On an Android phone
Android phones differ by maker. These steps are for Google's own Phone app, which comes on Pixels and many other phones. Samsung and some others use their own Phone app with similar options under slightly different names.
Block a number
- Open the Phone app.
- Go to your call history and tap a call from the number.
- Tap Block/report spam.
Block withheld and private numbers
- In the Phone app, tap the three-dot More menu.
- Tap Settings → Blocked numbers.
- Turn on Unknown.
This blocks private or withheld numbers. You'll still get calls from ordinary numbers that aren't in your contacts.
Filter spam calls
In the Phone app's Settings → Caller ID and spam, turn on Filter spam calls. Pixels with Call Screen handle this through their own call-screening options instead.
The honest bit: Google's spam protection works by sending the number of anyone who isn't in your contacts to Google, so it can check it. Google says it doesn't take numbers from your contact list. Whether that trade-off is worth it is your call; for many people plagued by scam calls, it is.
Blocking scam texts
- On an iPhone or Android, open the message thread and use the block or report spam option on the sender.
- Before you delete a scam text, forward it to 7726 (it spells SPAM on the keypad). It's free, it works on most UK networks, and it helps your network block the sender for everyone.
On a landline
Most UK landline providers offer call blocking, and many include it at no extra cost. BT, for example, includes BT Call Protect free with its home phone service: dial 1572 from your home phone to manage it. You can add the last caller to your personal blocklist, and send international, withheld or unrecognised numbers to a junk voicemail. If you're with another provider, ring them and ask what they offer. You can also buy a plug-in call blocker, which is worth considering for an older relative who's being targeted.
What blocking can't do
- It only stops that number. Scammers switch numbers constantly, and many fake (“spoof”) the number they show. Blocking is whack-a-mole; it's worth doing, but it isn't a wall.
- It doesn't report anyone. Reporting is what gets callers stopped. Nuisance marketing calls go to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO); scam calls go to Report Fraud (or Police Scotland in Scotland).
- It won't stop sales calls on its own. For those, register your numbers with the Telephone Preference Service. See our guide to registering with the TPS.
And if a caller claims to be your bank, don't rely on the number on screen at all. Hang up, and read how to check it's really your bank.