How do you know someone blocked you? Five easy ways to figure it out.
How do you know if someone blocked your number? While you can't know for certain without asking the person, there are some telltale signs that will certainly help. We'll cover everything from iMessage Not Delivered errors to calls going straight to voicemail, plus a few extra tips for how to tell if someone blocked your number. Let's dive in!
Jump To:
- Got an Automated Response? Not Blocked on iPhone!
- How to Know If Someone Blocked You on iMessage
- iMessage Not Delivered: How to Tell If Someone Blocked Your Number
- Number Blocked on iPhone, or Is It Do Not Disturb?
- Call on iPhone Goes Straight to Voicemail
- How to Call Someone Who Blocked You (Emergencies Only)
How to Tell If Someone Blocked You on iPhone—5 Quick Methods
These methods can be combined to help you determine whether you're blocked, or the person is simply unavailable, out of service range, or on Do Not Disturb. Please keep in mind that while these methods can certainly give you great hints (especially if you combine them), there's not a foolproof method for how to know if someone blocked you on iPhone. Let's get started!
1. Got an Automated Response? Not Blocked on iPhone!
This first tip for how to know if someone blocked your number is pretty straightforward. If you receive an automated response (like you sometimes do if someone is in Do Not Disturb mode) to a message you send, good news! You're definitely not blocked, because those auto-generated text responses don't go through to numbers that have been blocked on iPhones.
If you don't get an obvious automated response (or any response, for that matter), watch for an iMessage Not Delivered notification; that's your next clue. Keep reading to learn about how to tell if someone blocked you on iMessage.
2. iPhone Message Not Delivered? How to Know If Someone Blocked You on iMessage
How do you know if someone blocked you on iMessage? Well, you can't block texts on iPhone without also blocking the person's calls, so that's good to know right off the bat. If you're blocked on one, you'll be blocked on the other. You can still try to use iMessage to text the contact in question, but like your phone calls, they'll never receive the message or any notification of a text received.
Here's a great tip for how to tell if you've been blocked on imessage: If an iPhone message is not delivered (as is the case if you're blocked), you won't see "Delivered" below the text bubble. Now, keep in mind that you'll typically only see these delivery notifications on the most recent iMessage in a string of delivered messages, but you won't see "Delivered" on the most current text in a conversation if it wasn't delivered.
Look underneath the last text you sent before you suspect you were blocked. If the previous iMessage says "Delivered" under the message bubble but the most recent one doesn't, it can mean that you've been blocked.
If you see an iMessage Not Delivered error instead, that can be another indication as well. If this happens, you may want to try the trick in the next section.
3. iMessage Not Delivered Error & Sent as Text Message Notifications
Here's another great method for how to tell if someone blocked your number from texting them: if you're seeing the iMessage Not Delivered error, try enabling SMS texts on your iPhone. This way if an iPhone message is not delivered via iMessage, your device will automatically reattempt the text using your cellular plan, or you can manually reattempt with SMS instead of iMessage. If your SMS message also fails to receive a reply or a delivery confirmation, it's another sign that you may have been blocked on an iPhone.
To manually resend a text via SMS after an iMessage Not Delivered error:
- View the attempted text and tap on the red info icon.
![iMessage Not Delivered error]()
- Tap Send as Text Message.
![iMessage Not Delivered error]()
- Your device will attempt to resend the text.
4. Number Blocked on iPhone, or Is It Do Not Disturb?
So you've tried the methods above, but you're thinking the person could have just temporarily silenced all incoming calls and texts, and that's why they're not getting your communications. In this situation, you need to learn how to tell if someone blocked your number, or if they're just on Do Not Disturb instead.
In order to test the difference, I had my friend set her iPhone to Do Not Disturb for one text, and then block me for a second text. When I texted her while she was on Do Not Disturb, I got a delivery notification right away, despite the fact that she didn't receive the text until after she turned off Do Not Disturb.
For the blocked iMessage, my text looked like it sent, but I didn't get any kind of confirmation; it just sat there. Therefore, I must conclude that if someone has Do Not Disturb mode turned on, you'll still receive delivery notifications for your messages, but you will not if you've been blocked.
Related: How to Check Voicemails from Blocked Numbers on iPhone
5. Call on iPhone Goes Straight to Voicemail
Calling someone can be a great way to tell if someone blocked you on the iPhone. However, because there can be other reasons a call you make from your phone rings once and goes straight to voicemail, it's best to combine this step with the iMessage test to be more certain you've been blocked.
Note: Our recommendation, unless there's an emergency, is to wait to call your friend or family member for a few hours after the iMessage Not Delivered test, just in case they're out of their cellular service area or otherwise unable to reply temporarily. If your text still isn't answered after a few hours and you decide to call, here's how to know if you've been blocked on an iPhone.
For this experiment, I asked my sister to block my number, and here's what I discovered. The phone rang, but very briefly, not even a full ring before connecting to voicemail. I was able to leave a message as with any unblocked call, but it appeared in a separate section of the voicemail on her iPhone, called Blocked Messages. While I was blocked, there was no way at all for her to know I'd called, and no notification to either her or me about the blocked voicemail.
For me, I know I'm almost certainly blocked when I've tried the iMessage steps and then called, but their phone rings once and goes straight to voicemail.
How to Call Someone Who Blocked You
While there can be many reasons a number gets blocked, sometimes emergencies happen and users need to contact someone who has previously blocked their number. This is a tough area, and we do not recommend using this tip unless it's a true emergency. There can be legal ramifications to contacting someone who has made it clear they do not want you to do so! We strongly recommend respecting people's privacy, and we do not accept responsibility for users who act otherwise.
However, if you truly need to contact the person who has blocked your number, you can try hiding your caller ID by using *67. This will hide your phone number and allow the call to go through; it will show up as No Caller ID or similar message. This means that many users will still decline the call, but it at least hides your caller ID. Note that this still doesn't always work depending on carrier settings, but it's an option in an emergency.
Now that you have a few helpful clues to check for in your texts and calls, you'll be able to tell with reasonable assurance whether your number has been blocked or not. If this has happened to you, hopefully there's been a misunderstanding! However, if they did intend to block you and no longer want to be in contact, please respect their wishes and privacy.
