How to block unknown callers on iOS 26

You apparently did not do your research on this. one. Voicemail is a carrier feature, so no matter what you do on your phone, your carrier is going to record that message on a blocked call. It is not actually being recorded on your phone, and blocking the number is only able to prevent your phone from ringing. If you think switching to an Android phone is your answer, you need to look no further than their Support Page here:

• You can't. You have to check with your carrier some have a feature that won't let blocked numbers from leaving VM.
• Voicemail is carrier service, only they can answer that question
• You cannot. When you block a number it only prevents your phone from ringing through, but all blocked calls are sent directly to voicemail
• As stated above, blocked numbers will not ring on your phone, but will go directly to voicemail, where some might leave messages.

Blocked calls going to Voicemail on Samsung phone

Now it seems that you think you used to be able to do this before iOS 26, but that is also not true as seen here in the iOS 18 Support Article for Silencing Unknown Callers where they are sent to Voicemail.

Silencing Unknown Callers - iOS 18

So that leaves us with iOS 26, where now Call Screening and additional features have been added. Call Screening requires an unknown caller to first identify who they are, and the reason for the call before it even rings on your phone. Most spammers are simply going to hang up at this point, but if they continue you can then see that information on your screen and decide to answer/decline the call. Declining the call at this point no longer gives them an option to leave a voicemail. It appears you are not using this feature, so you can learn more about it here:

https://www.macworld.com/article/2935514/my-favorite-ios-26-feature-has-banished-spam-callers-once-and-for-all.html

As others have stated, Apple actually expanded the options available with respect to how disruptive or not unwanted calls are (vs. carriers who ultimately determine your voicemail functionality). I personally have found that the new "Ask Reason for Calling" option is a great balance.

In prior iOS versions I used to "silence unknown callers" most of the time but there were many occasions where that feature needed to be disabled when specifically expecting a call but from a previously unknown number. The silence unknown callers feature also relied on an iPhone user to take the time to add numbers to Contacts regularly so calls were not missed.

With the new "Ask Reason for Calling" option, I find that spammers simply hang up immediately but legitimate callers will follow the prompt, giving me the opportunity to answer. This is far easier than needing to toggle on and off the old "silence unknown callers" setting throughout the year depending on current life circumstances.

Hopefully you can also find a balance in the new settings options that Apple provides.

ldschwalbe wrote:

iOS26 is infuriating. It used to be that I could silence all unknown callers, they never went to voicemail, and I never had to deal with them. NOW I get constant notifications and voicemails of the same scam, all day long, all from different numbers so blocking each individually does no good. I just have to process this endless parade of calls. Apple is actively assisting scammers. I need to switch to Android.

I’ve researched it and found nothing, but is there any way to truly silence unknown callers so that I don’t have to deal with all these voicemails and numbers?

If anything, Apple brought more call blocking options with iOS 26. You might benefit from reading this --> https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/screen-and-block-calls-iphe4b3f7823/ios

The same feature is still available. Apple just added additional options for flexability:

Settings > Apps > Phone > Screen Unknown Callers > Enable "Silence"

Settings > Apps > Phone > Call Filtering > Enable "Unknown Callers"

Settings > Apps > Phone > Call Filtering > Enable "Spam"