How to Silence Unknown Callers on Your iPhone

[dannyyankou]

While this feature sounds great in theory, there’s a couple issues, one of which I encountered the other day. I called a doctor’s office and asked to speak to my doctor, but he was with a patient. So I was told he can call me back. Unfortunately, my phone blocked the number he called from.

 

[Maetzle]

"Unknown number" as in "not in your contacts" or when the number is hidden? I often get calls (expected ones) from people/companies I haven't saved. What I don't like is when the number is hidden though and those are the ones I'd like to block.

 

[kerr]

There is an app in the App Store called "Number Shield" that will do this (there are other similar ones as well). It lets you block numbers using wildcards, like (212) ###-#### or even (212) 617-#### etc. It really helps with the spammers, especially ones that use your area code and exchange number.

Thank you, sounds promising. Two days ago I received two calls within a minute. The numbers were almost identical yet one looked like it was Australia and the other USA.
Call one: 02-6355-0181 (which suggests NSW, Australia)
Call two: +1-263-550-181 (which suggests USA)

 

[aneftp]

It will take about a year before the scammers reinvent themselves. Next step will be to try to steal ur iPhone contacts. Facebook already tricks so many people into uploading ur contact list when u sign up for their service or their instagram/whatsapp servuce. Even if you deny facebook. It won’t help. Cause chances are SOMEONE you know has ur contact and will click on to allow facdbkkk to upload your contact. Facebook. Adds this to their servers.

Once ur contact list gets out there. They will all start selling ur contacts list to others. It’s a whole market in itself.

And start spamming away again.

 

[neliason]

This will cut down on spam calls since no one with an iPhone will pick up. They’ll get idea soon enough, and leave us alone.

They work on volume. They have no cost to dialing numbers. They don’t mind calling my phone number every day and getting no answer. This new feature makes the experience the same for them. So while I may not see the call it will still occur.

I get between 10-15 calls a day from numbers I don't know who don't leave messages. Blocking doesn't work because they spoof their numbers. This has been an amazing week with this feature. I'd guess over 90% of my calls are spam callers.

Every time you get a spam call call your US congressman and senator. Maybe then they’ll care about spam calls and do some.

While this feature sounds great in theory, there’s a couple issues, one of which I encountered the other day. I called a doctor’s office and asked to speak to my doctor, but he was with a patient. So I was told he can call me back. Unfortunately, my phone blocked the number he called from.

It’s not a nice feature. It is an embarrassing hack. It doesn’t really solve the problem as in your case it created one. Solving the problem would be stopping the harassing calls.

In the US we live in a country where our government has firm control over technology. US spy agencies are able to work with technology companies to grab every phone call and email made. So we have the technological and legal framework in which to stop this harassment and abuse. And yet nothing is done. It is a great shame.

(By the way I don’t advocate for the spy state. I’m just pointing out it exists, is powerful, and is deployed against American citizens)

 

[doelcm82]

While this feature sounds great in theory, there’s a couple issues, one of which I encountered the other day. I called a doctor’s office and asked to speak to my doctor, but he was with a patient. So I was told he can call me back. Unfortunately, my phone blocked the number he called from.

Add your doctor as a contact.
[doublepost=1560521126][/doublepost]

It’s not a nice feature. It is an embarrassing hack. It doesn’t really solve the problem as in your case it created one. Solving the problem would be stopping the harassing calls.

That goes for other new features as well. The Apple Watch can let you know if you’re being exposed to high levels of noise, but why doesn’t Apple do something about the noise itself? Half-measures!

/s

 

[artfossil]

Add your doctor as a contact.
[doublepost=1560521126][/doublepost]
/s

The problem with that, for me, is that the numbers my doctor's offices use to call me back are not generally the public numbers listed in my Contacts for them. So, there's nothing to identify the call as coming from that doctor's office and no association with my Contacts.

Because of this, my policy is to answer local (unknown) calls and decline all others.

 

[dannyyankou]

Add your doctor as a contact.

I mean yeah I can do that, but there’s still a lot of important calls I’ll probably get from people that aren’t contacts.

 

[neliason]

That goes for other new features as well. The Apple Watch can let you know if you’re being exposed to high levels of noise, but why doesn’t Apple do something about the noise itself? Half-measures!

Apple is a big player in the telecom industry. They aren’t a big player in the ambient noise industry. Apple is happy to promote all sorts of agendas that are outside of their core business. Stopping harassing phone calls is within the sphere of their core business. Why isn’t Tim Cook using his soapbox for this problem that affects all of his customers?

 

[jclardy]

I just guess that 90% are legitimate calls and wonder who actually activates this feature. That counts even more in the business environment. Sending the calls to the mailbox won’t stop the caller to try again till his goal is reached. But well, I guess to have the option is a good thing.

For me and I’d guess a large majority, 90% are spam and 10% are legitimate. I rarely get a call from an unknown number, unless I am expecting it (Like say, leaving my car at an auto-shop.) All other calls are from contacts, and everything else is just spam from random local numbers. Work calls are all via Slack or Google Meet.

If someone has an issue and needs to reach me they can leave a voicemail and I can get back to them.

 

[david.hold]

will this also block spammers using a caller id of my own phone number????
[doublepost=1560527596][/doublepost]

FINALLY!

Now the FTC and carriers and drag their butts all they want. Now anyone who calls (who I haven’t added to my contacts) will go straight to voicemail. If it’s important they’ll leave a VM.

This will cut down on spam calls since no one with an iPhone will pick up. They’ll get idea soon enough, and leave us alone.

So so happy.

tip if u want start filter calls now

get a silent ring tone set it as default
assign all your contacts a real ring tone.

or. do not disturb always on
option only allow calls from contacts

 

[lennyeiger]

This is not enough. I can't block all calls that aren't in my contact list. I have a business, and I hope that people that I don't know will call me and buy my services.
The only way this works is if the phone companies get serious about blocking calls from fake numbers.

 

[MisterSavage]

I removed all the numbers in my block list after I installed iOS 13. I haven’t been flooded with calls. I get 2 or 3 spam from hell calls a day that now go straight to voicemail. Only 1 voicemail has been left. From the spammers.

Please tell me they added a 'delete all' for the block list.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Please tell me they added a 'delete all' for the block list.

I wish they did. You have to delete one at a time. It took me a while to delete the entire list of numbers.

 

[gotluck]

i wish there was an option to only silence callers that call with no ID and it actually shows 'unknown caller'

 

[Douglas B]

While this feature sounds great in theory, there’s a couple issues, one of which I encountered the other day. I called a doctor’s office and asked to speak to my doctor, but he was with a patient. So I was told he can call me back. Unfortunately, my phone blocked the number he called from.

Exactly, because you couldn’t anticipate what number he would call from.

And herein lies the problem, do we know the number of every hospital or police station that might call us about a loved one? And do we know the number of every person who might find our Mother in need, check her phone for her Medical ID, see our number and call us?

I get that the feature is handy. But it’s going to work on some ‘false positives’ so to speak.

 

[kilcher]

...

 

[MisterSavage]

And herein lies the problem, do we know the number of every hospital or police station that might call us about a loved one? And do we know the number of every person who might find our Mother in need, check her phone for her Medical ID, see our number and call us?

If it was an emergency wouldn't they leave voicemail?

 

[TheIntruder]

This is an opt-in feature that will provide a basic, and welcome, level of spam filtering that will suit the needs of most users.

Such a feature is already available for Messages, and in essence, little different than the spam filtering applied to email, except that instead of a separate list, or spam folder, the voicemail box serves as the holding cell.

Of course, no AI is perfect, and that does result in some false positives, but for the most part, modern email spam filters are very effective. Ad blockers can break some sites, but those who opt to use them obviously feel that they bring more benefit than harm.

Phone calls are in desperate need of similar measures, and they will improve over time as well.

Those with use cases where it could be troublesome, or desire a greater level of granularity are free to leave it disabled, or seek third-party solutions that better satisfy those needs.

Unfortunately, standing still is fast becoming an untenable option so Apple deserves credit for bringing forth a feature that many of its users will find beneficial.

 

[lennyeiger]

Exactly, because you couldn’t anticipate what number he would call from.

And herein lies the problem, do we know the number of every hospital or police station that might call us about a loved one? And do we know the number of every person who might find our Mother in need, check her phone for her Medical ID, see our number and call us?

I get that the feature is handy. But it’s going to work on some ‘false positives’ so to speak.

Exactly, again.

I can understand the use for someone like a college student, where they might not want to talk to anyone else other than those in their contacts. However, for the rest of us, these false positives make it utterly useless.

 

[fairuz]

Did I miss something? You've been able to do this for quite a while by getting/setting the default ringtone to silence, with the custom ringtone for contacts set as usual.

That's jank
- have to set it for every single contact
- still blocks your screen when someone calls
- won't work for vibration maybe, unless you can also do a custom vibration pattern with nothing in it
- probably won't persist to iCloud contacts
[doublepost=1560670968][/doublepost]

While this feature sounds great in theory, there’s a couple issues, one of which I encountered the other day. I called a doctor’s office and asked to speak to my doctor, but he was with a patient. So I was told he can call me back. Unfortunately, my phone blocked the number he called from.

I hope there's a quick toggle for it in those situations

 

[DeepIn2U]

I just guess that 90% are legitimate calls and wonder who actually activates this feature. That counts even more in the business environment. Sending the calls to the mailbox won’t stop the caller to try again till his goal is reached. But well, I guess to have the option is a good thing.

My point exactly. I’d rather block “unknown” caller ID displayed as well as spoofed numbers (where a caller Display states one number yet the caller ID is another) outright. No calls come through, no voicemail. I don’t have the time day to day to deal with annoyances that are becoming pains in the tush!
[doublepost=1560692802][/doublepost]

Love this feature but have found a small bug.

Had a marketing company call me and it did the job, no ring, straight to voicemail.

Only problem was they didn’t leave a voicemail so my carrier in the UK (O2) sent a text saying I’d missed a call from them.

They called again the next day and because I’d had a text message containing their number the feature let them through as is documented (intelligent Siri I think they called it - looks through mails and SMS for numbers and whitelists any it finds)

This by far is THE most asinine feature a provider can do for its customers. Koodo here in Canada does this as well & I hate it!! Call you telco to remove the soc/feature.
[doublepost=1560693270][/doublepost]

They work on volume. They have no cost to dialing numbers. They don’t mind calling my phone number every day and getting no answer. This new feature makes the experience the same for them. So while I may not see the call it will still occur.



Every time you get a spam call call your US congressman and senator. Maybe then they’ll care about spam calls and do some.



It’s not a nice feature. It is an embarrassing hack. It doesn’t really solve the problem as in your case it created one. Solving the problem would be stopping the harassing calls.

In the US we live in a country where our government has firm control over technology. US spy agencies are able to work with technology companies to grab every phone call and email made. So we have the technological and legal framework in which to stop this harassment and abuse. And yet nothing is done. It is a great shame.

(By the way I don’t advocate for the spy state. I’m just pointing out it exists, is powerful, and is deployed against American citizens)

Let’s go one step further in alerting Congress person:

Report the number and frequency as it occurs. Present a log.
Make a vehement request for a bill that ANY business regardless of its dealings must have ALL numbers in its pool (primary business or subsidiary) have their business caller display name presented on every number they use! Else a major costly fine is resented.
Request consumers have their personal mobile phone number NOT available to collection agency’s: they should NOT be calling anyone to request restitution if they are NOT willing to provide full information to you without YOU giving up your personal credit information to them first! You hav won idea that company xyc has the legitimate credit file to be contacting you in the first place. Let them mail you confirmation they have the collection rights several times in 30 days before ever a call is made!
Finally have credit bureaus allow you to post two phone numbers with only one being made available to collection agency’s.

Done done done.

 

[doelcm82]

The problem with that, for me, is that the numbers my doctor's offices use to call me back are not generally the public numbers listed in my Contacts for them. So, there's nothing to identify the call as coming from that doctor's office and no association with my Contacts.

Because of this, my policy is to answer local (unknown) calls and decline all others.

You would probably miss a call or two, but I suspect your doctors don't use random numbers to call you. Once you receive a voice mail from a call you'd rather take, add that number to the appropriate content as an "Other" number. That way, the call would come through next time. It's sort of the reverse of blocking callers that you'd rather not have ring through.

You'd do the same with email addresses that you don't want accidentally getting filed in the "Junk" folder.
[doublepost=1560789895][/doublepost]

They work on volume. They have no cost to dialing numbers. They don’t mind calling my phone number every day and getting no answer. This new feature makes the experience the same for them. So while I may not see the call it will still occur.

You as an individual can't make much of a difference, but once everyone with an iPhone has the ability to send unknown callers directly to voicemail, the success rate of cold calls in generating business will fall. The value of the "service" that robocall operators provide to their clients will fall. They won't be able to charge as much for their services, or they'll be required to prove that they spoke to an actual person to get paid. As an iPhone user who has this feature turned on, your number will be a liability to them (uses their resources without any chance of revenue). They'll find a way to remove your number from their call lists, or (as the feature becomes ubiquitous) they'll find another way to earn money.

Or they'll get smarter about getting around your attempts to block them.

Remember when you'd come home every other week or so to find another "phone book" on your doorstep or in your mailbox? Smart phones made phone books obsolete, so the ad sales that financed them weren't worth the cost of printing them up. I think this will do the same thing to robocalls. Eventually your phone's assistant will answer most of your calls and intelligently decide which ones to ring through.

 

[neliason]

You as an individual can't make much of a difference, but once everyone with an iPhone has the ability to send unknown callers directly to voicemail, the success rate of cold calls in generating business will fall. The value of the "service" that robocall operators provide to their clients will fall. They won't be able to charge as much for their services, or they'll be required to prove that they spoke to an actual person to get paid. As an iPhone user who has this feature turned on, your number will be a liability to them (uses their resources without any chance of revenue). They'll find a way to remove your number from their call lists, or (as the feature becomes ubiquitous) they'll find another way to earn money.

I hope you are right. But I answer the phone for some of these robocalls. When I say hello I hear nothing in reply and the call is soon hung up from their end. I don’t think they care that much. I think it is like spam email which is still very prevalent.

 

[Apple_Robert]

T-Mobile has a free service for One Plus members via their "Name ID" app. It allows one to completely block a number (that isn't already identified as spam, scam etc.). The call will get immediately disconnected thus preventing access to voicemail. The block list is stored on T-Mobile's side. That way, if you change phones etc. the blacklist remains intact.

I am enjoying the feature iOS 13 feature. Combine that with T-Mobile's tool, and life has been so much more enjoyable on the iPhone and iPad front.