Can't block easily caller on iPhone SE after iOS 26.3 update

pierpaolo131 wrote:

I tried in both views to find the button, the behaviour of the phone is exactly the same, no differnces

There have been other threads on this as well and one person contacted Apple Support who acknowledged this is an issue which will need to be resolved on the Apple side. Until then, you'll need to save the call as a contact, then you can block the number and then delete the contact. Extra steps for sure, but until it's addressed on the Apple side, that may be your best solution.

To make sure this issue is still on Apple's radar, use this link to provide feedback to Apple directly --> https://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone/

I posted this on another thread but it keeps getting deleted and edited for reasons that are not clear to me.

In summation:

• The issue

Share Contact, Add to Favorites, Add to List, Add to Emergency Contact, Block Contact/Block Caller and other options/information will not appear/render when you select the "i" (information) icon on the recent calls list in either the Classic or Unified views. This issue seems to affect mainly iPhone SE models, and I have confirmed the issue exists on my iPhone SE 1, 2, and 3 that are on the T-Mobile network. I have updated to iOS 26.2.1 and the issue persists. Others have posted similar issues with iPhone models that are not the SE. Although it has been mentioned that the issue may be related to specific carrier, no one has posted conclusive evidence that this is so, and it appears to be a software issue caused by iOS. A glitch if you will.

• The workaround

1. Hitting the i button in Classic mode, scrolling down, long press the home button for about 2 seconds or so. In Unified mode select the caller, scroll down and long press the home button.  (Works consistently on the first try)
2. Hitting the home button repeatedly after selecting the i icon. (Works intermittently)
3. Closing the phone app after selecting the i icon by double clicking the Home button and swiping up on the Phone app and reopening the phone app. (Works intermittently and usually takes at least two attempts)
4. Waiting several seconds for the options to render. (Works intermittently and is the least reliable of the options)
5. Scrolling up a few times, like refreshing a window, will force the screen to render the missing options. (Works intermittently but is faster and less of hassle than pushing the home button)
6. Every once in a while, the Block option will just pop up as it's supposed to. Holding down the home button is way less annoying than going in and out of the Phone app repeatedly to get the options to appear.

• The white hand in the orange circle mystery

In Classic mode on my iPhone SE 3 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 or did not have a caller identification related to them. In Unified mode it also only appears on the phone numbers that are not on my contact list. This method did not work on my iPhone SE 2, and I did not try on the SE 1.

If anyone eventually finds a real fix and not a work around, please post and thank you in advance for your much needed help.

• From the Phone app, tap Recents, then tap the phone number or contact you want to block or the Info button  in Classic view. Scroll down, then tap Block Caller.

Block phone numbers, contacts and email addresses on your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support (IN)

In the call list, if you're using the unified view, tap the call, scroll down, tap block caller.

In the classic list, tap the ⓘ to the right of the call, scroll down, tap block caller.

I added a “spammer” contact about a gazillion years ago, and set the ringtone to silence and with haptics (vibrate) off. The silence ringtone was added and selected for that contact, and that ringtone can either be created locally with GarageBand or such, or can be scrounged.

Spammers then get added to that existing “spammer” contact.

That written, most spammers usually fake the calling numbers, so blocking numbers won’t work. The numbers are not re-used. Muting unknown callers or sending unknown callers to the new iOS 26 call-screening support (currently) works, as few spammers are getting around the screening (so far).

LD150 wrote:

To add to the accumulated knowledge, I noticed that If I use the Phone app Recents on my iPad 10 I can get the Block Contact button immediately even though I cannot do that with my iphone SE Phone app

My SE 2020 experience as well, and it started with 26.2 and was not fixed in 26.3. All the forums reports I've see of this where the iPhone model was identified are limited to SE 2 and 3.

In the "Recents" list on your iphone, find the number you want to block and swipe left, you will see a hand icon. That's the block caller button.

See the pic below about Classic and Unified View

• iOS 26 and higher versions have two views in the Phone App in the Recents tab
• Use the classic view to block callers. Tap the More Info button  next to the name of the Contact in the Recent list of calls.

iPhone SE 2nd generation with iOS version 26 has lots of issues.

My wife has it and cannot block numbers, cannot add number to existing contacts and several other issues.

I have an iPhone 16 and I do not have all these problems.

I was hoping on a fix with the update but it never came.

I was hoping on a fix with the update but it never came.

Fixes come when enough people use this:

• Feedback - iPhone - Apple

Apple does not participate in these user forums, but the above link will put your concern before an Apple employee.

Looks like this may be a bug effecting devices with a home button (2nd and 3rd gen iPhone SE).

It looks like you're currently using the classic view. What do you see if you switch to the unified view?

To add to the accumulated knowledge, I noticed that If I use the Phone app Recents on my iPad 10 I can get the Block Contact button immediately even though I cannot do that with my iphone SE Phone app

pierpaolo131 wrote:

Hello, just updated my iOS version with the last with 23D127.

The bug is till there, no fix deplyed.

I tried to register the spam calling number as a normal address but ... the "BLOCK" option continues to be not available.

Pierpaolo

Report it again https://apple.com/feedback

By the way I have 23D8133 as the latest build ie 26.3.1

Okiemj wrote:

In the "Recents" list on your iphone, find the number you want to block and swipe left, you will see a hand icon. That's the block caller button.

Please see the other responses. That action is what is NOT working on iPhone SE 2020 and 2022 since iOS 26.2. It does not seem to affect larger phones.