Set Up Call Blocking on Any Phone in 6 Steps or Less

Consumers buy More than 1 billion automated searches per month. These robocallers bombard people with telemarketing offers or fraudulent and scammy offers to scam people out of their money. As technology advances, the tactics of these robocalls are also evolving and becoming more difficult to avoid.

Fortunately, call blocking is a simple and effective solution that’s surprisingly easy to set up.

What are my call blocking options?

There are many ways to block unwanted calls. You can use built-in features on your phone, install third-party apps, or use devices designed specifically for landlines.

Smartphones like iPhone and Android make it easy to block specific numbers in their settings. For more control and customization, a third-party app like RoboKiller is a more comprehensive solution.

Landline users can block up to 5,000 numbers with a single click using devices such as the CPR V5000.

If you are a business that receives a lot of spam calls, most of them VoIP systems offers automatic call blocking features. There’s usually a setting somewhere in your account. If you can’t find it, contact your provider and ask them to turn it on.

How to set up call barring on iPhone

The iPhone is known for its simplicity and user-friendly interface — blocking calls is no different. There are a few ways to do this, depending on what you want to do.

Exclude certain callers

If you know which numbers you want to block, here’s how:

We open the phone application.
Go to Favorites, Recents, or Voicemail.
Find the caller you want to block.
Tap the i icon next to the contact or number.
Select Block This Caller.

They will no longer be able to contact you by phone, FaceTime, or text until you unblock them.

To unblock a number, open the Settings app, go to Phone, select Blocked Contacts, and tap Edit. You can add or remove callers from the list.

Silence unknown spam calls

You can easily block spam calls automatically, even if you don’t know their numbers. All you have to do is:

Open the Settings app.
Scroll down and tap Phone.
Select Call Blocking & Identification.
If your carrier supports it, you’ll see an option to Mute Unwanted Calls. Toggle the toggle to On to automatically mute calls that your carrier identifies as spam or scams.

Another useful setting is Business Caller Identification, which you’ll see on the same screen. When turned on, your phone will attempt to verify the number and display the business’s name when they call. This makes it easy to spot legitimate calls.

You can protect yourself even further by automatically blocking calls from anyone who isn’t in your contact list. Tap the Back button, turn on Mute Unknown Callers, and move the toggle to On.

Once you enable these settings, your phone will automatically silence unknown calls and send them directly to voicemail. You will still see the call in your recent calls list, which is useful if the call is not spam.

How to block unwanted calls on Samsung Android

To block known numbers on your Samsung device, all you need to do is:

Open the Phone or Contacts app.
Go to the People tab.
Long-press on their name or number and tap Block Number.
Alternatively, tap a number in your Recents tab to open it. Select the option to block the number.

People you’ve blocked won’t be able to contact you unless you unblock them in the Phone app. Tap the three dots in the top right, tap Settings, and then tap Blocked Numbers.

Here you can remove any numbers you want.

Use Samsung’s smart dial feature to automatically block spam calls

Samsung offers a Smart Call feature that blocks spam calls while providing call details before answering the call. Here is how to enable it:

Open the phone app.
Click on the three dots in the upper right corner.
Select Settings.
Select Block Numbers.
Turn on the toggle for Spam Protection.

This feature uses a database of known spam numbers to automatically block calls. It’s not perfect, but it does a good job of minimizing the number of unwanted calls.

How to block calls on Google Pixel phones

To block a number on your Pixel phone, you can:

Go to your Phone or Contacts app.
Long press on the name or number to open the details.
Select Block Number in Contacts or Block/Report Spam in Phone. You’ll see a warning that you won’t receive calls or messages from them anymore.
Press Block to confirm.

This easy action will prevent that number from calling or texting you again. Pixel phones also automatically identify calls from known spam numbers. When you receive one, you’ll have the option to answer, scan, or automatically hang up.

Alternative 1: Use a call blocking app

Call blocking apps If the above doesn’t work, add an extra layer of protection – especially useful if you’re getting a lot of calls or if the automatic option on your phone hasn’t registered the number as spam.

These apps use a variety of methods to identify and block calls, including:

Comparison with crowd-sourced databases.
We analyze call patterns to identify possible spam numbers.
Allowing users to manually block or report spam calls.
Full coverage calls as well as text blocking.

Some popular call blocking apps include RoboKiller and Nomorobo, which can be found on the App Store for iPhone and the Google Play Store for Android.

TO SEE: Compare RoboKiller and Nomorobo To see which one is right for you.

Alternative 2: Temporary call blocking

If you don’t want to permanently block calls or specific numbers, Do Not Disturb is an easy, temporary way to gain some peace of mind. It lets you silence calls except those from selected contacts or groups of contacts. You can also set it to silence notifications from other apps.

The process may vary slightly from device to device, but here’s a summary:

Open the Settings app.
Find Do Not Disturb mode. Depending on your phone, it may be a standalone setting or under Sound & Vibration. Toggle the switch to On.
To allow calls from specific contacts, find the Allow Calls From setting.

Some phones also let you schedule Do Not Disturb mode so you can automatically enable or disable it throughout the day.

For landlines: Install a call blocking device

Blocking calls on landline devices isn’t as easy as changing a few settings, but you’re not completely out of luck.

Devices like the CPR Call Blocker and Digitone Call Blocker connect to your phone line and use technology to identify and block spam numbers. Most allow you to whitelist approved numbers, ensuring people you trust can always reach you.

Although the installation varies depending on the brand and model, it is generally as follows:

Use the provided cables to connect to your phone.
Program the device as needed. It will come with instructions on how to do this — it will probably involve pressing certain buttons in a specific order.
Whitelist numbers by adding them manually or by importing a contact list.
Call yourself from another device to make sure it works normally.

You can purchase these physical devices online or at places like Best Buy and Walmart. They can cost anywhere from $15 to $150, depending on what you need.