How to block numbers on iPhone after iOS 26 update?

Recap: I have iPhone SE 2 and 3 running iOS 26.01 and 26.1 respectively and my carrier is T-mobile. I have the same issue on both phones and no magic orange hand. Hitting the home button repeatedly or waiting several seconds works intermittently to restore the missing options of add to favorites, share contact, block caller, etc. I backed up to my Mac mini completely erased my SE 2, updated to iOS 26.2 and then restored from my back up. It did not solve the problem that add to favorites, share contact, block caller, etc., is not rendering as it should without the work around and other hassles. I didn’t try on my SE 3 and don’t plan on trying it tonight. Doesn’t appear anyone else has had better luck.

Glad you were not surprised. I am surprised however that you have not been able to offer a solution to the problem that the option is not showing up. As I stated, it appears to be a rendering issue that is not limited to the block option not appearing as there is other information that does not show up, including but not limited to, Share Contact, Add to Favorites, etc. If the thread can be refocused on the original poster's concern, that is shared by many, I am open to all ideas and suggestions to address why the Share Contact /Add to Favorites options, in addition to Block Contact option is not rendering unless you hit the Home Button multiple times or in some instances wait for several seconds for some of these options to appear. I have an iPhone SE 1, 2, and 3. The SE 2 is on iOS 26.0.1 and the SE 3 is on iOS 26.1. I don't have the SE 1 handy. The orange hand does not appear on the SE 2 or 3 and the SE 2 does not even give me the i option at all. Just a blue phone icon. The rendering issue is happening on both but the hitting the home button two or three times seems to work better on the SE 2.

Send a bug report to Apple.

The more that sends a report the sooner a fix will be issued .

blue23rose wrote:

Thanks for responding, IdrisSeabright. I have an SE2 that is TracFone and carrier is Verizon 66.0. Maybe that is the issue.

I have Verizon and don't have this issue. I'm guessing the problem may lie with TracFone. MVNOs like TracFone can be problematic.

Rope89 wrote:

NO orange hand appears when I swipe left and I note that many others this orange icon also does not appear. Can apple fix this?

To block MAIL contacts:

• Swipe from right to left in the mail list
• Tap on More
• Scroll down and tap Block Contact

To block PHONE contacts:

• Tap on the i next to the number in Recents
• Scroll down and tap Block Contact

This is how it has always worked.

But I will raise the point again: You should only use this to block people you know who you do not want to contact you. There is absolutely no reason to block spam contacts, because spammers never use the same number or email a 2nd time. So you will end up with hundreds of blocked contacts who will never call or email you again.

If there is a pattern to calls the app Number Shield can block calls from a specific area code or other number pattern. As I don’t know anyone in the 609 area code, for example, I can block all calls from that area code (and I do). As they go to voicemail, any legitimate caller can still leave a message and won’t know you blocked them.

blue23rose wrote:

Lawrence, your solutions may work on your phone, but it seems that the issue might be related more with SE2 and SE3 iPhones.

It appears this is also not happening on all (most?) SE phone. So, while there does appear to be a bug, it's not universal.

Let Apple know what you're seeing here:

Product Feedback - Apple

I don’t often block nuisance calls unless it’s a repeat call from the same number , but I noticed the issue yesterday. Also running IOS 26.1 on an SE2 (and my provider is EE in the UK). My work around for now is to create a new contact called “Nuisance”. Then go to Privacy & Security >> Blocked Contact and add it to the list. When unwanted calls come in repeatedly from a new number, I will be adding them to the existing contact “Nuisance” until this ever gets sorted out.

In Classic View if I tap the i the next screen displays a contact page that is incomplete and only renders Incoming Call and Call History UNLESS I use a workaround including hitting the home button.

In Unified View if I tap on the name in the phone list the next screen displays a contact page that is incomplete and only renders Incoming Call and Call History UNLESS I use a workaround including hitting the home button. Every time. iOS 26.2. EVERY TIME.

blue23rose (the original poster) is having the same issue I am having. That issue is that "after IOS 26 update, that option is gone on my phone". We have since learned that it appears to be a rendering issue that no one has been able to solve as of this post, but have submitted workarounds including the one I just mentioned.

In Classic mode I toggled between All and Missed in the recent calls list and when I swiped far left i finally saw the white hand in the orange circle to block numbers. It only appeared with phone numbers that were not on my contact list. I switched back to Unified mode and it would also only appear on phone numbers that were not in my contact list. Have no clue as to the rhyme or reason. This method is not working on my iPhone SE 2.

Steve-V-Vee wrote:

Another issue is blocking a number from a text message. There's no option to find the number in the recent calls list, then.

It still works the way it has for years on my phone. Go to the top of the page. Tap on the number that messaged you. Go to the bottom of the page. Tap on "Block Contact."

whisperquiet wrote:

Extra useless steps to block spammers…..is there anything ios26 made easier to use?

Have you considered that it is useless to block spammers, period? You end up with thousands of blocked numbers that will never call you again. The purpose of call blocking is to block calls from people you know who you don’t want to hear from again (a ex, perhaps).

The slightly better call blocking strategy is to use a call blocking app such as NoMoRoBo, which currently is blocking 13 million numbers, but even then there are numbers that aren’t in their database and get through.