How To Unblock A Phone Number After Blocking It

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If you don’t want to receive someone’s phone calls, you can always block their number on your smartphone. But what if you have blocked a number by mistake? Or if you changed your mind and decided you want to unblock someone?

Either way, this article will show you how to remove someone’s number from the blocked list easily.

Unblocking a Phone Number

The steps you need to take to unblock a specific phone number depend on your device’s operating system. Feel free to scroll down to the tutorial that matches your phone’s operating system.

Unblocking a Phone Number on Android

Some of the following steps only work on Android 6.0 and newer versions. However, even if you have an older version of the Android OS, the steps might be very similar. It is worth trying them out.

Here is how you can unblock a certain number after you have blocked it on your Android:

1. Open your smartphone’s Phone App.
   
2. Tap on the ‘More’ icon.
   
3. Select the ‘Settings’ option.
   
4. Under Incoming Calls, tap on ‘Set rules.’
   
5. Select ‘Blocklist.’
   
6. Select the number you’d like to allow to contact you. Then, tap Remove.
   

After doing this, you should see a list of blocked numbers. Simply locate the one you wish to unblock, and tap on Remove or Unblock. That will remove the number from the blocked numbers list so that you can receive calls and texts from it.

Some Android users need to follow these steps:

1. Open the dialing app and tap on the three vertical dots in the upper right corner.
   
2. Tap on ‘Settings.’
   
3. Tap ‘Block numbers.’
   
4. Tap the red subtraction symbol to the right of the number you’d like to unblock.
   

Now, the number’s owner can call and text you.

Unblocking a Phone Number on iPhone

iPhone users need to take different steps to unblock numbers. However, these are also very simple. Again, you might find slight differences in older versions of the operating system.

1. Select ‘Settings’ from your home screen. Then, scroll down and tap on ‘Phone.’
   
2. Find and tap on ‘Call Blocking & Identification.’
   
3. Select ‘Edit.’
   
4. Find the number that you want to unblock.
   

Once you have found the number, tap on the minus icon located right next to it. Tapping the minus icon will unblock the number and allow it to call you again.

Some iOS users will see a different screen. If the instructions above didn’t work, do this instead:

1. Open the Settings on your iPhone and tap on ‘Phone.’
   
2. Tap on ‘Blocked contacts.’
   
3. Tap on ‘Edit.’
   
4. Select the red subtraction symbol to the left of the contact you’d like to unblock.
   
5. Tap ‘Unblock.’
   

There are no other prompts after you tap ‘Unblock.’ The user can contact you via text and phone call now.

Remember to tap on Unblock in to confirm your action. After all of that, tap on Done.

How to Enable Call Forwarding on Your Mobile Phone

What if you want to redirect calls instead of keeping them blocked? Here is how you can enable the call forwarding feature on your smartphone. Make sure the number is unblocked first.

Enabling Call Forwarding on Android

1. Tap on the Phone App.
   
2. Select the Action Overflow icon – usually represented by three dots.
   
3. Tap on ‘Settings’ – this option is called ‘Call Settings’ on some Android phones.
   
4. Select ‘Carrier call settings.’
   
5. Select ‘Call forwarding.’
   
6. Choose an option you want to set – always forward, when busy, unreachable, etc.
   
7. Enter the forwarding number.
8. Tap on the ‘Check mark’ or ‘Enable’ to activate.
   

Enable Call Forwarding on iPhone

1. Tap into your phone’s Settings.
2. Scroll down and select Phone.
3. Tap on the Call Forwarding option.
4. To enable this feature, simply move the slider.
5. Select Forward To.
6. Enter the phone number where you wish to receive your phone calls.
7. Tap on Back.

Frequently Asked Questions

It was incredibly difficult to block callers in days past, especially on flip phones. But today, it’s really simple. However, with new technology comes new questions. This section will answer some of your other questions.

Will someone know if I block their phone number?

Of course, there is no flashing alert to let a caller know that you’ve blocked them. In most cases, when the blocked user calls your phone number, they’ll get a message letting them know that the number they’ve called is not accepting phone calls at this time. Ultimately, your phone number will behave like it has been disconnected.

The only way a caller will know for sure that you’ve blocked them is if they call you from another phone number.

Can I block an entire area code?

Unfortunately, no. Blocking an entire area code is a highly requested feature that both carriers and manufacturers have not yet implemented. More often than not, your spam calls will come from the same area code that you use anyway. This is an attempt by scammers to look more legitimate.

But, some calls come from random area codes. While blocking an entire area code would be helpful, it simply isn’t possible yet. Although, it is a good idea to keep an eye on the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store for reputable applications that can help block these spam phone calls.

Can a blocked caller leave me a voicemail?

Yes, but you won’t receive a notification. When you follow the methods we’ve listed above, you are essentially only blocking notifications in a sense. This means that the caller cannot get through to you, and your phone will not acknowledge they ever tried to make contact.

The caller will have the opportunity to leave a voicemail, but you won’t know it unless you check your phone’s voicemail app.

How can I know if a blocked number called me?

Sometimes we block phone numbers, but we wonder if the caller has tried to reach us. If this is you, the only way to tell if the user called you is if they leave you a voicemail.

As mentioned previously, you won’t receive a notification about the voicemail from the caller, so you will need to check your phone’s voicemail app.

If I block a phone number from calling me, will I still get text messages?

No. At least not in your phone’s native text messaging application. The other user can still message you on other platforms like WhatsApp, social media, etc.

If you want texts from the other person, you’ll have to unblock them entirely.

I unblocked a number, but the call won’t come through. What’s happening?

If you followed the steps above and unblocked a number, communications should work correctly. If you can’t receive a call or text from the number in question, go back through the tutorial and ensure you have confirmed that you’d like to unblock the number.

Assuming the number no longer appears in your blocked list, power cycle your phone. A simple restart of your device should fix the glitch and allow the number to communicate with you.

Will I see texts or calls received while the number was blocked?

No. Any communications initiated while the number was blocked went to a dead end, not a queue. Therefore the messages and calls will not appear after unblocking. However, any voicemails left by the caller may appear in your voicemail box.

How do I unblock a number on a landline?

If you use a landline you’ll need to call your phone provider to block or unblock a phone number.

Use Your Smartphone’s Full Features

Most users don’t actually know the full power of their smartphone devices. Since we are practically carrying small computers in our pockets, it’s best to learn how to use all of the features at our disposal.

This article has shown you how to control the calls you want to receive.  There is so much more to explore and use, so don’t stop here.