Receiving repeated calls from unknown callers is irritating. The FCC mandates that phone companies make it freely available to keep your number private, but also that telemarketers are not allowed to hide their numbers. Fortunately, you can easily block a number on your iPhone, block unknown callers, block no caller ID, and even stop calls from hidden numbers.
How to Block a Number on iPhone
Open the Phone app.
Select Recents at the bottom of the screen.
Find the number you want to block and select the “i”.
Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and select Block This Caller.
How to Silence Unknown Callers & Those with No
Caller ID
This feature, introduced with iOS 13, will block unknown calls by sending all calls from unknown numbers straight to voicemail.
Open the Settings app.
Select Phone.
Select Silence Unknown Callers.
Toggle Silence Unknown Callers to On. It will be green when enabled.
There is a caveat to this approach: it doesn’t silence calls from numbers which Siri identifies as suggested contacts. If a number repeatedly calls you, for example a political operative trying to talk up their candidate, then Siri may identify them as a possible friend, and then their calls will start getting through again.
How to Block All Unknown Numbers Using Do Not Disturb
If you can’t or don’t want to update to iOS 13 or later, you can still block unknown callers. Simply set Do Not Disturb to a 24-hour schedule and allow calls only from your contacts. Keep in mind that if you receive an important call from someone who isn’t in your contacts, you’ll miss it. You can, however, check for voicemails even from blocked calls. There’s also an option to allow a second call from the same person within three minutes to go through, so you can be reached in an emergency. Like the Silence Unknown Callers method, the Do Not Disturb method will block all calls labeled “No Caller ID,” even if the call is being made by someone in your contacts. Here’s how to block calls from all unknown numbers:
Open Settings.
Select Focus.
Select Do Not Disturb.
Select People.
Select Calls From at the bottom.
From here you can select who you’d like to receive calls from.
Tap back twice to return to the Do Not Disturb menu and select Add Schedule or Automation.
From here, you can customize when Do Not Disturb will activate.
If you want it to be on all the time, you can set it to, for example, 9:00 AM to 8:59 AM and to repeat every day.
Set schedule for Do Not Disturb
Select Done to confirm your chosen schedule.
Now, your Do Not Disturb function will automatically stay on and only calls from your contacts will make a sound.
