Being blocked is not an enjoyable situation to find yourself in, and if you think it has happened to you, you might be wondering what you can do about it and how to deal with it. Being blocked means you will no longer be able to send messages to or call the person who has blocked you, and it can happen on all kinds of social media, as well as on cell phones and other platforms.
In this article, we’re going to find out the answer to how you know someone blocked your number, and we’ll also look at what you can do about this. Frustrating and hurtful as it can be, you can at least work out where you stand.
Signs Your Number Has Been Blocked
Sign 1: Calls Go Directly To Voicemail
This is the first major sign that your number has been blocked. If calls go directly to voicemail, the other person’s phone could be off or out of reception, but if this happens consistently, there’s a high chance that they’ve just blocked your number.
Sign 2: Text Messages Are Not Delivered Or Show As Undelivered
Again, text messages refusing to deliver are a reliable sign that the individual has blocked you. Your carrier won’t be able to send the text message through if you have been blocked, because the block will prevent it from being delivered. The text will therefore say something like “undelivered” alongside its status.
This can happen for other reasons, but in general, it will be because of a block.
Sign 3: No Response To Calls Or Messages
If the other person never responds to your calls or messages, there’s a high chance that they have blocked you. They aren’t seeing your calls or texts, so they will not respond to them.
Sign 4: Unable To See The Person’s Online Status On Messaging Apps
Most messaging apps will hide the individual’s online status on messaging apps if they have elected to block you. They might appear offline or unavailable, even if you’re fairly sure that they are online. However, they may not directly say that you’ve been blocked, as this is often considered sensitive information.
A lot of your previous interactions with the individual will become unavailable if they block you. This is designed to minimize contact between the two parties and often makes implementing the block simpler for the platform.
Sign 6: Automatic Disconnection During Voice Or Video Calls
A block will usually result in video and voice calls being automatically disconnected when you try to place them. You will not hear the call ring for a while before disconnecting; it will just disconnect.
Be aware that this can happen for other reasons, like the individual not being logged in, or not having reception.
Sign 7: Receiving A Message Or Notification Indicating That You Have Been Blocked
In some cases, you will be notified that you have been blocked. However, this is relatively rare because platforms usually opt to keep this action private to reduce the chances of causing friction. However, you will sometimes get a notification informing you that you can no longer contact the individual.
Sign 8: Social Media Activity Suggests You Have Been Blocked
Sometimes, someone will do something on their social media that suggests you’ve been blocked. That might just be updating their statuses while also appearing offline to you, or it might be as blunt as saying that they have blocked certain people lately.
Sign 9: Mutual Friends Or Acquaintances Confirm The Block
You can sometimes confirm a block by getting a mutual friend or acquaintance to check what they see when they visit the person’s profile, or if they can get through by texting or calling. If they get a different response from you, there’s a high chance that you’ve been blocked.
Sign 10: Testing With Another Number Or Messaging Platform Confirms The Block
If your number has been blocked or you’ve been blocked on a specific messaging platform, you may be able to confirm the block by using a different means of contacting the individual – such as a new number or an alternative account.
Reasons Why Someone May Block Your Number
There are many reasons why somebody might block your number. If you’ve been abusive or angry, or if you’ve sent multiple unwelcome messages, you could get blocked. Leaving rude voicemails or sending unwanted pictures can be a reason for blocking you.
Harassment is another obvious thing that leads to blocking, and this could have occurred if somebody else has used your phone, or even spoofed your number, enough for the person to believe that you are doing it. This is upsetting and frustrating, but it does sometimes happen.
In some cases, people will block numbers that they’ve had spam from in the past, so if your number has been recycled from a disreputable company, you may find you’re already on multiple block lists. Similarly, if your number has been used to send marketing texts or other spam, you might be blocked.
How To Confirm If You Have Been Blocked
So, how else can you tell if someone blocked your number? It’s pretty hard to tell for sure, but there are a few more things you can try. These are often fairly conclusive (although not absolutely definite) ways to determine that you’ve been blocked.
Firstly, try calling from a different number. If your call goes through, the person doesn’t have their phone switched off, and they do have cell reception – so it’s just your number that is unable to connect with theirs.
Next, sending a message from a different messaging platform can work, for the same reasons. If you’ve been blocked on Facebook, you may be able to communicate through Instagram. This will give you an idea of whether you’re blocked in certain places. It will only work if you haven’t been blocked on all platforms.
It’s a good idea to be aware that making secondary accounts to contact people who have blocked you may be a violation of the platform’s rules, depending on the situation.
A final way to test could be by checking the individual’s social media profiles or asking mutual friends whether they have been able to get in touch. If other people are managing to communicate without a problem, you’ve likely been blocked.
What To Do If You Have Been Blocked
If you have been blocked and you think it was a mistake, you may want to reach out to the person through another platform or get mutual friends to do so. However, if you think the block was implemented deliberately, it’s usually best not to do this – as it can look like more harassment.
Instead, you should wait for a while, and then reach out to apologize for your past behavior. Depending on the circumstances, the individual might decide to unblock you. It is usually a good idea to wait for a few months before you decide to do this.
Don’t simply swap to other platforms and start spamming them, demanding an answer, as this will usually just result in further blocking.
Common FAQs
Q: Can I send a text message to someone who has blocked my number?
A: No, you usually won’t be able to send a text to a person who has blocked your number. The text will show as “undelivered.”
Q: Will the person who blocked my number be able to see missed calls from my number?
A: No, they will only be able to see missed calls if they unblocked the number. If they unblock you, they will be able to see the missed calls in their recent call history. They can then re-block you if they choose to.
Q: Can a blocked number still receive calls or messages from the person who blocked them?
A: A blocked number won’t receive any messages or calls from a blocked number. Blocking is designed to prevent all forms of communication from a number.
Q: Can a person block my number temporarily and unblock it later?
A: Numbers can be unblocked and re-blocked multiple times; there are no limits on this.
Q: Can I use third-party apps or services to find out if someone has blocked my number?
A: On the whole, third-party apps won’t be able to tell you if your number has been blocked. You can get some great information from services like NumberTrackerPro, but only the person’s service provider will know for sure if a block has been implemented.
Q: Can platforms tell me if I have been blocked?
A: Although platforms will know if you have been blocked, they will not usually offer this information. This is to protect the privacy of the person blocking you.
Q: Can I ask a platform to unblock me if I think it was an error?
A: No, you can’t get platforms and service providers to unblock your number, even if you are sure that the person blocked you in error. This isn’t done.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are quite a few signs that will help you to determine whether your number or account has been blocked, although none are surefire ways to tell. Platforms often make it deliberately ambiguous to reduce friction among users and to protect privacy.
Use the tricks above to help yourself work it out, and remember that you should be respectful of another person’s desire for personal space and privacy.