How to tell if someone has blocked your number on their ios 12 iPhone

Have you been blocked by an iPhone using iOS 11 or iOS 12? In this article we explain the telltale signs that you've been blocked by an iPhone: the way your phone behaves as you (unsuccessfully) try to get through, what the response will be as you call, text and attempt to leave a message, the giveaway number of rings before being diverted to voicemail and so on. We'll help you work out if someone has (for whatever reason) blocked your number on their iPhone.

We've also got links to articles that explain how to bypass the iOS call block if you wish (although there are ethical and potentially even legal implications to this), and how to block nuisance numbers on your own iPhone.

Who blocked my number? How can I tell if I've been blocked by an iPhone?

What is iOS call blocking? It's a brilliant feature, and exactly what it sounds like.

One of the simplest but most convenient new features added in iOS 11 - 2020's updated version of Apple's operating system software for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch - was the ability to easily block the phone numbers of nuisance callers. (We explain how this works in 'How to block a number on any iPhone'.) You can also block numbers in iOS 12, 2020's follow-up to iOS 12.

This is great news for those who are plagued by calls from salesmen or drunken ex-boyfriends. But what if you're on the receiving end? How can you tell if someone has blocked you on their iOS 11 or iOS 12 iPhone?

The simple - and sad - answer is that you can't easily find out for sure; but there are clues. We blocked one of our other phones to find out exactly what it's like to be blocked, to help us work out when we've been blocked in the future.

If you'd rather watch our experiment than read about it, however, have a look at the video of the top of the article. We first show how to block someone in iOS 12/iOS 11, and then demonstrate what effect that has on the blocked phone, so you can see the telltale signs.

Have I been blocked: What happens when you ring someone who's blocked your number on their iPhone?

We rang the iPhone that had blocked us. The phone rang exactly once, and then we were told that the number was unavailable. Then we were invited to leave a message. 

A single ring and then being diverted to voicemail is the giveaway behaviour you're looking for - but bear in mind that this can also result from the phone being switched off or set to auto divert. 

This time your number won't be visible and any block on that number will be bypassed. If the phone really is switched off or set to divert, it will once again ring once and then go to voicemail. But if you were blocked, either the person will pick up, or it will ring a few times until you ring off or they turn down the call because there isn't a caller ID they recognise.

Have I been blocked: How to tell if someone has blocked your phone number

So. Other than the obvious clues - you never seem to be able to get through to someone, despite ringing at various times and checking that you've got the right number - the main giveaway is the way you get diverted to voicemail after exactly one ring. If your call is manually declined, or if they're just not available, then you'd expect the phone to ring several times before you're diverted.

If you're getting a single ring before being diverted to voicemail, and then when you try again with caller ID hidden you get a different response (multiple rings and then declined or diverted, or they pick up) then something is probably up.

Remember that just because you are allowed to leave a message - or because your text seemed to go through without any problems - that doesn't put you in the clear. The blocking process is quite sneaky about letting you (the caller) know what's happened.

As we said, though, there's no way to be sure this is what's happened, so be careful before you start throwing around accusations! And if any amateur sleuths out there work out a foolproof method of finding out if you've been blocked,