How can you tell if someone has blocked your number without calling them

It's easy to communicate with people anywhere in the world. You don't have to wait for the mail delivery. Instead, you can send a text message. However, people can cut communication quickly by blocking a phone number from an unwanted sender. And this can happen without you knowing. While the best way of knowing if someone is avoiding you is by asking them directly, there are other ways to find out.

How to know if someone blocked your number

When someone blocks you, you don't receive a notification of the action. Still, there are a few key signs. For example, a phone call that goes straight to voicemail instead of ringing many times. You do not want to trust this, because the recipient may have their phone turned off or they're on another phone call. You can leave a voicemail, but the recipient does not receive notification of the message if you're blocked. Another example is when you receive an automated message that the recipient is unavailable. The odds are the recipient blocked you.

Attempt text messages

iOS and Android phones work in different ways with their messaging services. iMessage makes it easier to know if someone blocked you. On Android, it depends on the recipient's phone and message type.

How to tell if you're blocked on your iPhone

iMessage uses two notifications to let senders know when message delivery and reading occur. One notification says "delivered" and the second says "read." While not a surefire way of knowing, they are among the methods available. It's possible the recipient is out of signal range or has their phone off. Still, there are other ways to find out if someone has blocked your number on iMessage.

How to tell if you're blocked on Android

Android phones use a service that doesn't notify you of the delivery or reading of messages. Therefore, a text message is not an ideal way of determining if blocking has occurred. If you send a text and don't hear back, they may not be able to respond or do not care to respond.

Similar to the iPhone, it's best to wait a few days to see if you get a response. If you still don't hear from the recipient, try a different method to determine if blocking occurred.

Attempt calling on iPhone or Android

Calling is an easier way to determine if someone blocked your number. First, call from your phone number. If the call goes to voicemail, listen to the message. If you receive a message that the number is unavailable, it generally means the recipient blocked you. If you don't, the recipient may not be in signal range or their phone is turned off.

In this case, your next option is to call from a different phone number or use *67 to hide your number. If the call goes through on that number, blocking may have occurred. You don't need to talk to the person, but rather see if it rings more than once.

Can you know for sure?

There's no clear way to use your phone to determine if someone blocked you. You'll see signs, such as undelivered messages and straight-to-voicemail phone calls. The only way to ensure someone blocked you is to find out from the recipient. Either ask them yourself or talk to a mutual friend.

The Do Not Disturb settings silence all calls and text messages unless the recipient has set a contact or application as an exception. This means the recipient still receives notifications of a call, but the notifications won't make a sound. The purpose of this setting is to allow people to get work done and only be disturbed by important notifications or calls.

Android has a setting that allows calls to come through if the caller phones twice in less than 15 minutes. You can use this to determine if you are blocked, but only if you know the recipient has the Repeat callers setting turned on.

Airplane mode on the phone also disables the recipient's Wi-Fi, data, cellular, and Bluetooth connections. This setting prevents them from receiving text messages or phone calls until they turn off the setting. It prevents people from emitting signals that interfere with piloting equipment. However, some use this to preserve battery life on their phones. Many people also use it while traveling to prevent roaming charges when they are outside their service areas.

Call, text, or walk away?

The short answer is that there is no definite way of determining if you've been blocked without talking directly to the person in question. Sure, there will be a few signs, namely silence from the person in question. Even if you purchase one of the best Android phones, you will remain blocked unless you change your number.