How to block an area code on an iPhone

I was struggling with this as well and then noticed something weird in the phone app's blocked contact settings.

I had setup one contact named "Blocked Area Code" with ~25 different area codes to block in the format "+1 (xxx)" without quotes. Then, I clicked "block caller" at the bottom of the contact page. Despite that, I was still getting calls from area codes I'd expect to be blocked according to this thread.

I went into the phone app's blocked contact settings and noticed 4 entries for my "Blocked Area Code" contact. Clicking info on them would load the contact page and take me to one specific area code out of the ~25 or so registered to the contact, and that area code would have a tag on it "[recent]".

What I did next was delete those 4 entries, clicked "Add New" at the bottom of the blocked contacts list, and re-selected my "Blocked Area Codes" contact. What this did was create ~25 new entries in the list (as opposed to just the 4 that existed previously) and each one seemed to represent a specific area code belonging to the blocked contact. I suspect this is the bug/issue that people are running into when they claim the original method doesn't work.

TLDR; For those people who are not seeing advertised/expected results:

1. Create a new contact, name it something like "Blocked Area Code."
2. Add all the area codes you want to block to that contact in the format "+1 (xxx)" without quotes.
3. Open Settings > Apps > Phone > Blocked Contacts
4. Delete any reference to the "Blocked Area Code" contact that may already exist in that list.
5. At the bottom of the list click "Add New..."
6. Select the "Blocked Area Code" contact in order to re-add it to the list.
7. You should observe one entry in the blocked contacts list for every area code you added to the contact.

Note: I'm assuming that any time a new area code gets added to the "Blocked Area Code" contact, it will be necessary to re-do all of this to ensure the area code actually gets blocked.

Dear Apple (Bug Report):

This seems like a bug. I'm on an IPhone 13 Mini running 18.3.1. When handling blocked calls, it should be enough to have a single contact entry registered in the phone app's "Blocked Contacts" list and have every associated number for that contact be blocked. Currently, it seems that each associated number for the same contact must have its own entry in the "Blocked Contacts" list - which defies user expectations and is leading to a ton of confusion around a feature that would otherwise be an incredible tool in the fight against SPAM.

I'd also imagine that this bug is affecting people who block a contact and then add a new (or edit an existing) phone number to the contact. The new information doesn't get registered to the blocked contacts list even though the contact appears blocked from the contacts page.

Tried that, wasn't seeing any "Block this Caller" option under the contact. Forced closed Contacts and re-checked the contact, still not there. Checked other contacts, and it was under any of those either, even though I remember seeing it before.

Went to Settings > Phone > Blocked Contacts, and I have a fairly long list of blocked contacts that I've collected over more than a decade, so I deleted a bunch that hopefully won't still be trying to spam me, and then went back to Contacts, and lo! Now the "Block this Caller" appeared for that area code's entry.

Apparently the Blocked Contacts list only allows a limited number of entries, ~36?

masochistmonkey wrote:

I am having a big problem with spam callers from one particular area code. I keep searching for a solution online and this is the one I am finding, but it does not work whatsoever. I’m doing everything right, but it just doesn’t do anything. it seems you can only block individual numbers.

The 3rd party app Number Shield will do what you want. It works completely consistently.

Anotherdeafguy wrote:

Tried that, wasn't seeing any "Block this Caller" option under the contact. Forced closed Contacts and re-checked the contact, still not there. Checked other contacts, and it was under any of those either, even though I remember seeing it before.

Try swiping down further.

Went to Settings > Phone > Blocked Contacts, and I have a fairly long list of blocked contacts that I've collected over more than a decade, so I deleted a bunch that hopefully won't still be trying to spam me, and then went back to Contacts, and lo! Now the "Block this Caller" appeared for that area code's entry.

Apparently the Blocked Contacts list only allows a limited number of entries, ~36?

No, there doesn't appear to be a limit. I stopped counting mine and 60 and there were a lot left.

Unfortunately you will have to either do this through carrier settings, or through a filter app that you could personalize to something like “only in my contacts list”. There are several third party options that would work as well as the default iOS filtering if you look under the Settings>Phone>Silence Unknown Callers as well as Text filtering under Message Settings, AND your carrier can possibly give you the option to block incoming SMS/DATA/Calls from specific parameters in numbers.

Personally I believe a third party service would be most user friendly for what you’re trying to do. MWBS for iOS is one I’ve used. This is more so for the message filtering aspect, as calls can be whitelisted by being in your contacts or not. (Not sure messaging works the same).

I recommend the Support app for guides on what these settings do.

good luck!

Just an update for Feb 2025

tl;dr this does not work. But here are some more details in case anyone is curious.

• Yes there is a "block caller" option in the current version of iOS.
• You may have to scroll to the bottom of the contact to see it...
• Adding as an example +1 (901) as a contact number and blocking it will not prevent calls from the 901 area code.
• In my experience 3rd party spam blockers don't work consistently, I would definitely not pay for one.
• The only thing that kind of works is "Silence Unknown Callers" but you're still going to get notifications if you have them enabled. There is no way to make them never reach your phone that I have found, even with a paid application.

I hope this helps some of you out. Spam has been a problem for decades and there never has been, nor do I anticipate a solution as the problem makes too much money for those that would be required to fix it.

Binone wrote:

Perhaps this technique worked for older versions of iOS, but there is no longer a "Block" button in the contacts page.

You can still block people through Contacts. If you don't see the option, scroll down further. It's there.

What you can't do (and have never been able to do) is block all calls from a specific area code.

I also tried this, and it does not work. I have an iPhone 14 Pro with iOS 18.1.1. Created and blocked the contact per the post and I'm still getting multiple daily calls from the blocked area code.

Apple cannot do this. Ask your phone service provider.

They can certainly do this, but whether or not they will will be open to question.

ridgecritter wrote:

As noted earlier, this does not work. Is there a third-party app that will block an entire area code?

I believe some of the third-party apps will do this. Search for "call block" or similar in the App Store.

illy5603 wrote:

Sending it to voicemail and not "ringing" is not blocking in my opinion.

That's precisely what it means on iPhone. Apple cannot block calls at the switch level. Only your carrier can do that. If you want the call blocked so that it never gets to the phone, you'll need to explore your carrier's options. My carrier, the last time I checked, lets me block 5 numbers for free, but the block expires after some period of time (90 days? Don't really remember). For a fee, I could get more books that lasted longer.

Note that the voicemail of a blocked caller is routed directly to the Deleted folder. You could see it if you wanted to, but you're not notified. Blocked calls also do not appear in Recents.

Lawrence Finch wrote:

The 3rd party app Number Shield will do what you want. It works completely consistently.

I will give it a look, thanks for the reply.

Try Number shield only cost 2.99 works great

The 3rd party app Number Shield will do what you want. It works completely consistently.

I worked on this for a long time. The best solution I could find was the app number shield. I’ve tried all the iPhone settings and none work.