Our smartphones are so advanced and so full of features that we often forget that their primary purpose is to make calls and receive calls. Unfortunately, however, just as regards the reception of calls, calls are not always received from known contacts or in any case belonging to our trusted circles.
So here is a guide for those who want to block any unwanted calls on Android by taking advantage of the system features, i.e. those that Android itself or the manufacturer responsible for our device makes available to us, or third-party apps available on the Google Play Store.
Let’s start from the system features and then move on to a couple of useful applications for users who cannot take advantage of any integrated features.
Block Numbers on Android
There are many Android smartphones and for this there are also many different ways to block a call from an unwanted number.
Let’s start by explaining the procedure for “generic” Android smartphones, which usually include a large part of cheap smartphones, dual SIM ones and phones with the Android operating system not modified by the manufacturer.
Android 7.0+
If you have a smartphone with at least Android 7.0 Nougat (or later) the procedure is very simple. From the list of your calls, just press on a contact and then select Block / Report as spam.
In the next screen, you will then have to click on Block and you can also choose whether to report it as spam (if it is simply a person you dislike the advice is not to do it). If you have made a mistake blocking a number, you can reverse it and press Unblock number.
From the call application, you can press the three dots at the top, then Settings and finally Call blocking, to find all the numbers you have blocked. From here you can choose to unblock contacts.
Android up to 6.0.1
Unfortunately, there is no universally valid method of blocking calls or forwarding them to voicemail. The screenshot that we have just proposed shows us on the left the typical interface of the most recent Samsung.
You can access it from Phone -> Other -> Settings -> Call Rejection -> Blocked list, a lot of steps that lead us to an interface that allows you to manually enter a phone number to block or to search for it from the Registry calls or address book.
On the right is the Google Contacts interface (you can download it manually from this link): by opening, Contacts go to the contact you want to block, press the pencil icon at the top right to edit the contact, press the three dots at the top right and press All calls to voicemail. This system therefore does not permanently block the phone number but diverts the call to voicemail.
Every other smartphone with a different interface, such as Huawei, HTC, Sony or LG, has different methods. The advice is to consult the settings of the various directories or to look in the individual contacts if there is any useful settings precisely to block the phone number.
In this regard, if you want to block an unwanted phone number, you should add it to the phone book and block it manually.
Block number on Samsung smartphone
On Samsung smartphones, there is a simplified functionality to block contacts. From the contact list or in the call list you can press the More button and then Block/unblock a number. Immediately after you can also choose whether to block SMS from the selected number.
Block number on HTC smartphone
Similarly, even on HTC smartphones there is an integrated functionality inside the smartphone. From the contact list, you can press and hold Block contact to quickly block the number and add it to the list of unwanted contacts.
Recognize and block call center calls
For those who just can’t find this functionality on their smartphone, here are some solutions that rely on third-party applications available on the Google Play Store. Let’s see the applications called TrueCaller and Calls Blacklist.
TrueCaller
TrueCaller is a really useful application that, think about it, has more than 90 million users. It is integrated within CyanogenOS and will soon be pre-installed on Huawei smartphones. But what does it owe so much success to and why is it appreciated by so many users?
Very simple: basically the application has a large database that will be used to analyze the calling phone number when receiving a call.
Thanks to an on-screen pop-up you will be notified of the caller’s identity, even if the number that is calling you is not in the directory. Very useful therefore to recognize any unwanted calls, including call center calls.
TrueCaller also offers a search function that allows you to call people or services not present in your contacts but whose information is available in the application database.
Once the app is installed and started, you will be asked to enter your data and choose which people will be able to see them (friends, friends of friends, public, a bit like on Facebook), and it is on this point that the database is based of TrueCaller numbers. In addition, part of the numbers are taken from classic telephone directories or provided by third party users.
If you then want to delete your number from the TrueCaller database you must deactivate your account, uninstall the application and fill in the appropriate request on the service website, which you can find at this link.
However, the application is not only used to identify phone numbers but also to block unwanted ones.
Once opened, you will notice the Unwanted tab. From there you can activate the flags Greater nuisances and Private numbers in order to automatically block incoming calls from numbers such as those of call centers or similar.
Still, in the Unwanted tab, you will notice a +-shaped key, through which you can manually enter a number or select one from the phonebook or call history to block it.
Any second thoughts? From Unwanted -> Unwanted management you can remove blocked phone numbers and re-enable them to call on your number.
Calls Blacklist
Call Blacklist is in some ways an even less intrusive app than TrueCaller and really easy to use. As soon as it is opened it will welcome you with the interface that you see represented in the screenshot below.
Simply press the + button located at the bottom right to open a special menu from which to select the number to add to your ” Black List “, that is, to the list of your blocked contacts.
You can, a bit like the apps or features seen so far, select a phone number to block from the call log, from your contacts, from the message log or even by entering it manually.
There is even a Calendar feature to block calls from unwanted numbers only during certain times of the day or only on certain days. The latter functionality is however only accessible from the Pro version, which brings us to the price factor.
Calls Blacklist is available for free on the Google Play Store. The free version, however, includes ads advertising.
The Pro version available for a fee (the price is variable) on the Google Play Store allows you to remove the advertisements and to enable the additional features of the Calendar section.
How to block Android SMS
Since we are on the subject, it can also be useful to block SMS messages from unknown phone numbers or unwanted contacts. In this regard, we have dedicated an extensive guide to the topic that you can find by following the link in the title of this paragraph.
The guide lists the steps necessary to block SMS based on telephone numbers or even the sentences contained in the SMS, and also a couple of alternative applications, including one of the authors of Truecaller, if your smartphone was not equipped with the necessary features to the block.
Thus you can block numbers on android phones. If you have any issues, comment us in the comment box.