Last week, a friend was venting his frustration about being blocked on his iPhone. For me, however, someone blocking you feels more sad than frustrating, primarily if you constantly interacted with them before.
Even if it isn’t someone close to me, being blocked feels like losing someone who’s been a part of your life. But how can you tell if you’re blocked on your iPhone without having to call and be upfront about it?
It sounds like a tall order, right? But don’t worry; in this post, we’ll show you six ways to check if someone blocked you without going through the hassle of calling them — along with three tricks to ferret out the truth without revealing your identity.
How to Tell If You’re Blocked on iPhone Without Calling
Below are proven ways to tell if you’re blocked on your iPhone without calling your suspected person. Please note that we’ve included bonus tricks that involve placing a call in case the other methods are unsuccessful.
1. Check your iMessage’s Read Receipts
Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
Number of Steps | 3 |
Time to Perform Fix | 15 seconds |
Things Needed | An iPhone |
A simple trick to confirm whether someone has blocked you on your iPhone is to check your read receipts on your Messages app. Read receipts are the small texts below your iPhone messages, telling you about their delivery status.
These read receipts will tell you if your message’s status is “sent, delivered, not delivered, or read.” However, if you think the read receipts’ usability ends here, you couldn’t be more wrong because they’re clues for checking if someone blocked you.
Believe it or not, checking the read receipts to monitor changes to your message’s delivery status will tell you if you’re blocked on your iPhone. For example, your message’s “delivered” status turning into “read” means the other person can see it.

Since users can’t access messages from the people they block, the changes to your read receipts confirm they haven’t blocked you yet. Of course, they can still block your phone number after reading your messages, so this trick isn’t failproof.
If you can’t see the read receipts below each message on your iPhone, it means the feature hasn’t been enabled on your device. The instructions below should walk you through the steps for activating your read receipts on iMessage.
Step 1: Go to Settings. |
Step 2: Scroll down and select Messages. |
Step 3: Scroll down and turn on the Show Read Receipts switch. |
2. Send your message as an SMS
Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
Number of Steps | 4 |
Time to Perform Fix | 30 seconds |
Things Needed | An iPhone An active cellular network connection |
Instead of using iMessage to send your messages on iPhone, you can switch to SMS to tell if you’re blocked without making a call. This alternative is an excellent solution if you can’t see any read receipts below your iMessages.
So, it’s important to note that messages you send via iMessage and SMS use different channels to reach their designated recipient.
After all, iMessages go through Apple’s servers, while SMS messages are under your local cell carrier’s control. And so, you can continue to send messages to someone via SMS even if they block you on iMessage.
You can still see read receipts when sending SMS messages and use this information to judge whether they blocked your phone number.
Step 1: Open your iPhone’s Messages app. |
Step 2: Tap and hold your unsent message to view additional options. Note: You can do this on messages with failed delivery statuses or before receiving the “delivered” read receipt. |
Step 3: Click “Send as Text Message.” |
Step 4: Wait as the Messages app resends your message with a “Sent as Text Message” receipt below. Note: Aside from the read receipt, you can tell your message is now a text message because its text bubble changes from blue (iMessage) to green (SMS). |
3. Switch to another device or phone number
Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
Number of Steps | 1 |
Time to Perform Fix | 30 to 60 seconds |
Things Needed | Another iPhone Another SIM or phone number |
Using a different device is another way to tell if you’re blocked on your iPhone without calling the person in question. This way, you can confirm whether or not your iPhone is suffering from other issues that can cause its iMessage deliveries to fail.
For instance, network connectivity problems and device errors can cause the iMessage service to malfunction.
After all, you need a working internet connection to send messages to the Apple server and ensure they reach the recipient without issues.

By using another iPhone, you can check whether your suspicions about the possibility of network or device errors are correct.
You can tell this is the case if your messages work without issues using the other device and read receipts are available.
Alternatively, you can try using another phone number if you don’t have access to a different device. Of course, if you have access to a new phone number and iPhone, you can use them together to find better results or for good measure.
4. Check whether you received an automated reply
Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
Number of Steps | 1 |
Time to Perform Fix | 10 to 20 seconds |
Things Needed | An iPhone A working internet connection |
Sometimes, the other person might be unable to read your messages because they focus on a specific task. For example, they could be away from their iPhone during an important meeting or because they’re currently driving a car.
In such cases, their iPhone might be in a bag or pocket, making them unaware of your messages.
Fortunately, those who own iPhones with iOS 15 or later versions can access the Driving Focus feature that lets them send automatic replies when busy.

This feature allows your iPhone to detect when you’re driving a car and turn off your notification alerts so you can focus on the road.
Subsequently, you can set an automatic reply when using this feature to let the sender know you’re currently unavailable.
Thus, receiving an automatic reply on iMessage is one way to tell if you’re blocked on your iPhone without calling the other person. After all, the automatic reply feature will only trigger if they can receive your messages in the first place.
Remember, you can’t receive messages from someone you blocked on your iPhone’s iMessage. Therefore, the automatic reply from Driving Focus confirms that the communication line between you and the recipient is working without issues.
5. Check whether there’s a moon icon under your messages
Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
Number of Steps | 1 |
Time to Perform Fix | 10 to 20 seconds |
Things Needed | An iPhone A working internet connection |
Before the Driving Focus feature was available on iPhone, everyone used the Do Not Disturb (DND) mode to stop their notification alerts. Even now, it remains a popular feature to stop notifications that can break your focus while conducting essential tasks.
When active, the DND mode will silence all messages the recipient receives from you through iMessage or SMS. Fortunately, it doesn’t prevent you from confirming whether the other person blocked your iPhone on iMessage.
Conversely, you can utilize the other person’s DND mode to reveal if you’re blocked on your iPhone without calling them.
After all, iMessage lets you know if the recipient’s iPhone is under DND mode because a moon icon will appear on your chat box.

You can’t miss the moon icon because next to it is a text saying the other person silenced their notifications. The good thing is that you can only see the moon icon on your iMessage if your communication line with the other person is in working condition.
Thus, the moon icon’s appearance indicates that they haven’t blocked you on iMessage yet. However, not seeing this icon doesn’t necessarily mean they blocked you on iMessage, either.
6. Use another messaging app
Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
Number of Steps | 1 |
Time to Perform Fix | 30 to 60 seconds |
Things Needed | An iPhone A working internet connection |
If you can’t use iMessage to tell if you’re blocked on your iPhone, you can contact the other person using other messaging apps. If you can reach them using another messaging app, you can ask whether they blocked you on iMessage.
Of course, this is assuming they haven’t blocked your accounts on these other messaging apps. After all, someone who blocks you on iMessage will likely do the same on different communication platforms to stop you from contacting them in any other way.
Fortunately, telling if someone blocked you on other messaging apps is easy because you get specific telltale signs. Thus, you can use this information to affirm your suspicion that the other person blocked your iPhone on iMessage.
We recommend popular messaging apps like Facebook, WhatsApp, or Instagram for this trick because the telltale signs of being blocked are easy to spot.
Refer to the examples below to confirm if the other person blocked you on these messaging apps.
Facebook Messenger
Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
Number of Steps | 4 |
Time to Perform Fix | 20 seconds |
Things Needed | Any smartphone A working internet connection |
Step 1: Launch your smartphone’s Facebook app. Note: You can also launch the Messenger app. |
Step 2: Tap the Facebook Messenger icon in your home page’s upper-right corner. |
Step 3: Locate and open your conversation. Note: Their name will turn into “Facebook user” once they block your account. |
Step 4: Look for a text that says, “You can’t message this account” or “You can no longer reply to this conversation.” |
Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
Number of Steps | 8 |
Time to Perform Fix | 40 seconds |
Things Needed | Any smartphone A working internet connection |
Step 1: Launch your smartphone’s WhatsApp app. |
Step 2: Open your conversation. |
Step 3: Check if there’s an online status below their username. Note: WhatsApp accounts that haven’t blocked you will tell you when they’re online or the last time you saw them online. However, this isn’t a reliable indicator, so continue with the following steps to be sure. |
Step 4: Return to Chats and click New Group. |
Step 5: Select the other person and click Next. |
Step 6: Provide any name for the chat group and click Create. |
Step 7: Open the chat group’s info. |
Step 8: Scroll down to view the group chat’s participants. Note: The other person won’t appear there if they blocked you. Instead, WhatsApp will duplicate your account’s participation to make a substitute for the other person’s unavailability. |
Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
Number of Steps | 3 |
Time to Perform Fix | 15 seconds |
Things Needed | Any smartphone A working internet connection |
Step 1: Launch your smartphone’s Instagram app. |
Step 2: Tap the lens icon at the bottom panel. |
Step 3: Tap the search bar to look up the other person’s Instagram profile. Note: It won’t appear on the search results if they blocked your account. |
Beyond this point, the following methods will involve calling the other person to confirm if they blocked you. If, for some reason, you can’t make calls, please skip the methods below.
7. Turn off the Show Caller ID switch
Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
Number of Steps | 4 |
Time to Perform Fix | 15 seconds |
Things Needed | An iPhone |
iPhones can hide your Caller ID during calls to prevent the other person from seeing your phone number and name. This way, you can call them like usual to confirm if you can reach them.
It also helps if the other person is purposely ignoring your phone calls specifically. However, they may not answer because a “No Caller ID” text will appear on their phone screen once they receive your phone call.
Still, this will tell you if you’re blocked on your iPhone, depending on whether the call pushes through. Unfortunately, the other person blocked you if the call didn’t redirect to their voicemail.
Step 1: Go to Settings. |
Step 2: Scroll down and open the Phone option. |
Step 3: Select the Show My Called ID option. |
Step 4: Turn off the Show My Caller ID switch. |
8. Ask someone
Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
Number of Steps | 1 |
Time to Perform Fix | 30 to 60 seconds |
Things Needed | An iPhone A working internet connection |
If you can’t make the call to confirm if you’re blocked on your iPhone, ask a friend to do it on your behalf. Doing so will let you check whether a network connectivity problem prevents you from contacting the other person.
Your friend should successfully make the call if there aren’t any network connectivity problems or faulty coverage in your area. It confirms that the other person blocked your iPhone or phone number to stop you from contacting them.
9. Conceal your phone number when calling
Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
Number of Steps | 3 |
Time to Perform Fix | 20 seconds |
Things Needed | An iPhone An active cellular network connection |
Aside from turning off your iPhone’s “Show My Caller ID” switch, you can conceal your phone number using a simple trick when making a call.
This trick involves typing a code before the other person’s phone number when calling them on the Phone app.
This way, your call will appear as “No Caller ID” on the recipient’s phone screen. The good thing is that this will work even if you enable the “Show My Caller ID” option on your iPhone.

Thus, this method is a faster way to make a call while hiding your caller ID simultaneously. Similarly, you discover if you’re blocked on your iPhone when the call doesn’t take you to the other person’s voicemail.
Step 1: Launch your iPhone’s Phone app. |
Step 2: Go to Keypad. |
Step 3: Enter “*67,” followed by the other person’s number, and tap the call button. Note: This code only works for the US and Canada. You must use the code “141” if you’re in the UK and Ireland or “#31#” in other parts of the world. |
How to Tell If Someone Blocked Your Phone Number Without Texting Them
Calling someone is the best way to tell if they blocked your number without texting them. If the call goes through, the other person hasn’t blocked your phone number because you can’t contact them if they do.
Note: You can use the previous tricks to conceal your Caller ID when calling them.
How to Know If an Android Blocked You on iPhone
Similarly, calling is the best way to tell if an Android user has blocked your iPhone. After all, you can’t use your iPhone’s Messages app to confirm this because read receipts won’t appear below your messages.
Sadly, iMessage isn’t compatible with Android’s RCS messaging technology, even though they have similar features. Instead, you must use the Beeper messaging app to see read receipts when communicating with Android devices.
How to Text Someone Who Blocked You
Below are proven methods for texting someone who blocked your iPhone. You can use either method depending on whether the other person blocked you on iMessage or through your phone number.
1. Use another Apple ID
Difficulty | Very Easy ●○○○○ |
Number of Steps | 9 |
Time to Perform Fix | 50 seconds |
Things Needed | An iPhone A working internet connection |
Step 1: Go to Settings. |
Step 2: Scroll down and open the Messages option. |
Step 3: Select “Send & Receive.” |
Step 4: Click your Apple ID. |
Step 5: Click Sign Out. |
Step 6: Click “Use Apple ID for iMessage.” |
Step 7: Click “Use Other Apple ID.” |
Step 8: Enter your Apple ID’s email address and password, and click Sign In. |
Step 9: Send a text message to the other person using your iPhone’s Messages app with the new Apple ID. |
How can I call someone who has blocked me?
The abovementioned tricks to turn off your iPhone’s “Show My Caller ID” switch or use a code before the other person’s phone number will bypass the blocking mechanism. This way, you can call them without a caller ID, even if they blocked your iPhone.
Does a caller know when they’re blocked on their iPhone?
Callers won’t know when they’re blocked on their iPhones because they don’t receive a notification. However, once they suspect that you blocked them, they can use the tricks above to confirm it.
What will a blocked caller hear?
Since a blocked caller can’t tell that you blocked them, they will only hear the normal phone ring before being redirected to your voicemail. You can still listen to their message through the voicemail unless you ask your cellular carrier to block them.
Does the “Do Not Disturb” mode block calls?
Technically, Do Not Disturb silences incoming calls, so it doesn’t necessarily block or prevent you from receiving them. After all, the calls will still appear on your missed calls list.
Does blocking someone on their iPhone block them on other Apple devices?
If the other person uses the same Apple ID on their devices, blocking them on one will block them on everything. Sadly, these devices use your Apple ID to connect with other users, so sharing one identification affects them simultaneously.
Can you know if you’re blocked on your iPhone without calling?
You can know if you’re blocked on your iPhone without calling the other person using the steps we’ve listed above. Only the first six methods work without making a call, so skip the last three on our list.
FAQs about Being Blocked on iPhone
Is there a direct way to know if my phone number is blocked?
Calling the person you suspect is the straightforward way to know if they blocked your number. If they did, your call will take you to the voicemail.
What can you do when someone blocks your number?
Call them by hiding your caller ID to bypass their block on your phone number. Otherwise, stop contacting them and move on if they no longer want to interact with you.
Can I still leave a voicemail if my phone number is blocked?
You can leave a voicemail even if the other person blocks your number. However, they can ask their cellular carrier to block and prevent you from doing so.
Will my iMessage be delivered when the sender is blocked?
iMessages won’t be delivered when the recipient has blocked the sender.
Will SMS be delivered if blocked on iPhone?
SMS is only blocked on iPhones if someone blocks your phone number. If they only block you on iMessage, you can send them text messages through your cellular carrier.