iPhone not blocking calls/emails/voicemails after iOS 26.4

Thank you for the feedback. I waited for an iOS update to resolve the problem but unfortunately it didn’t happen. I was able to restore the block function by going to Settings / General / Transfer or Reset IPhone / Reset / Reset All Settings. Keep in mind when selecting this option you will lose all current settings and all the numbers previously blocked. I lost over 17,000 but I’m back in the game of blocking trash calls.

Here’s why according to Grok:

“Apple limits the number of blocked contacts on iOS (and related platforms) primarily for performance and practical system reasons, though the company has never published an official explanation. 

The blocked list is checked in real time against every incoming phone call, FaceTime call, iMessage/SMS, and related communication. A very large list (reports commonly cite limits around 8,000–20,000 entries, with 20,000 frequently mentioned as the effective ceiling) can slow lookups, increase battery use, and risk lag or responsiveness issues in the Phone, Messages, or FaceTime apps. It also functions as a practical safeguard rather than a pure hard database size limit, and the list syncs across devices signed into the same Apple Account via iCloud, which adds further constraints on scale. 

Some variation in the exact number users encounter may relate to how entries are stored, duplicates, or carrier-level factors, but Apple does not document this. Before iOS 26.6, hitting the limit caused new blocks to fail silently (new spam could still get through with no clear feedback). Starting with that update, the system shows an explicit alert: “Blocked Contacts Limit Reached: You’ve reached the maximum number of blocked contacts. To block additional callers, remove a blocked contact in Settings.” 

Most people never reach this threshold. For heavy spam, Apple and carriers encourage alternatives that scale better than manually blocking individual numbers, such as Silence Unknown Callers, call screening features, carrier spam filters, or third-party CallKit apps. There is no user-facing way to raise the limit; the only option is to prune older entries from Settings > Privacy & Security > Blocked Contacts (or the Phone/Messages blocked list).”

Ok folks I just got the latest update 26.6 update and if you have more than the max amount of call block the setting will tell you when you go to block a number ! So get busy unblocking numbers ! I had 3,500 numbers blocked and it wouldn’t let me block until I got below 3,000 and blocked emails counts in that! So I went ahead and unblocked emails all now I’m in the business of blocking again ! So get busy unblocking !

Ok folks I just got the latest update 26.6 update and if you have more than the max amount of call block the setting will tell you when you go to block a number ! So get busy unblocking numbers ! I had 3,500 numbers blocked and it wouldn’t let me block until I got below 3,000 and blocked emails counts in that! So I went ahead and unblocked emails all now I’m in the business of blocking again ! So get busy unblocking !

They are not device dependent if they are linked to the same iCloud account and have the device enabled to sync contacts with iCloud. I can’t block phone numbers or email addresses from my iPhone 17 pro max. However, I can block them from my 12 pro max, 14 pro max, or iPad Pro without issue. Once they are blocked using one of those other devices. The contact becomes blocked on my 17 pro max. It’s just can’t be blocked directly from my 27 pro max.

SOLVED IT (Indian workaround…)

i simply added numbers I want to block to any previous contact I have blocked earlier. You can add max 500 numbers per blocked contact. So as long as you have at least a few earlier blocked contacts, this should work.

Caveat: In one case, an unknown number I wanted to block could not be added to the blocked contact. I simply added a name to the unknown number (“added a name”; NOT “added the number as a contact) and then added it to a previously blocked contact…

Let me know if this works foe you all.

Chiot777 wrote:

Removed over 100 blocked contacts in settings and still unable to block anyone.

You will need to get the number of blocked contacts to under 3,000. If you have a Mac, you can bulk delete those numbers by going to Mail > Settings > Junk Mail > Blocked Contacts, and they will sync to any device that uses the same Apple Account.

Otherwise, it would be best to send a Feature Request to Apple directly to add that same bulk deletion feature to the iPhone.

Feedback - iPhone - Apple

I have iPhone 13 Pro Max. I did the recent update to 26.5.2 and I am still unable to block any additional numbers or emails. I had to manually go in to all of my blocked numbers and emails and unblock them one by one - once I was able to get my count to 2000 blocked I was able to add in some blocked phone calls and emails. Not quite sure if Apple decided to put a limit on how many blocked calls or emails you could have but it would be nice if they had sent something out or if they would tell you how many numbers you can have total.

I was having the same issue - not being able to block contacts with 26.4. The issue is fixed for me with the 26.4.1 update.

26.4.1 did resolve the issue on my iPhone 15. I definitely had the issue on 26.4

Steven Sokolich wrote:

This is happening in ios 26.5.2 to me as well. It may be time to switch to Android. Why limit the number of blocked contacts? If by design, at least explain why. Or implement a rolling delete of oldest entries first as new blocks are added.

Switching is your choice and if that is what you decide, by all means do it. You see those same posts in the Android forum where users say they are going to switch to iPhone, so the point is really irrelevant.

If you think blocking contacts is the answer to Spam control, you are not using it correctly. Spammers rarely use the same number/email as they are just spoofed to prevent blocking. You would not likely ever receive the same communication again from that blocked contact. The Block Contact feature is intended for blocking known contacts for people you no longer want to communicate with or those that always appear from the same number/email.

Reduce your blocked contacts to under 3,000 and don't rely on any AI claims of the reported numbers of blocked contacts as they vary dramatically and are even different across OS versions. Not likely you would have 3,000 of them when used correctly. Look no further than here from another poster, who did follow the recommendation where they are now able to block calls.

• YOU ARE BRILLIANT!!!! Thank you so much for your help.!!!! Reducing blocks to less than 3000 solved the problem.

How do I fix the inability to block email… - Apple Community

For Spam control, you should be using the Call Screening feature and I would recommend the option for Ask Reason for Calling. That way your phone will only ring when the caller identifies themselves and the purpose of their call. Since I have used that, my spam calls have been virtually eliminated. They will still appear in an Unknown Caller list, but those can be bulk deleted and do not clutter up your UI with your recent calls. There are also third party spam solutions and services provided by most cellular provider.

Same issue here too on iPhone and iPad. On my Mac I opened mail preferences then clicked Junk then clicked Blocked then clicked the top blocked one hold shift key and click the bottom one so they are all highlighted then click the minus button at bottom, it will spin and spin but eventually delete them all. That worked for me.

But if you don’t have a Mac computer, the iPhone Settings -> General->Transfer or Reset iPhone -> Reset->Reset all settings will erase blocked messages but also does this:

What this action removes:

    •    Network Settings: Saved Wi-Fi passwords and paired Bluetooth devices are forgotten. 

    •    Apple Pay: All payment cards added to Apple Wallet are removed. 

    •    Keyboard & Display: Custom keyboard dictionaries are cleared, and features like dark mode, display zoom, or custom brightness revert to factory defaults. 

    •    Privacy & Location: Any permissions you previously granted to apps to access your location or photos will be reset, forcing apps to ask for permission again

I agree to the nth degree. It tool quite a long time deleting all the numbers of my 17k+ in order to get below the new 3,000 maximum. I also wish that they would go back to the old was of listing the blocked numbers chronologically rather than by the phone number as they are now doing. That way one could just delete the oldest. because I didn't know which were older, I just deleted them all. Blocking has at least been working fine since they did this. You would think Apple support would know about the change in maximum allowable, but I spoke with three support members and none mentioned this.

Best I can tell, urge likely reason is the latest update to 26.5. I can’t say for certain, as I had given up even trying to block emails, so the day I updated I didn’t attempt it. Several days later I did, and it appears to work. That is the only thing I’ve changed on my phone recently aside from restarts (several times actually, as I’m still having issues with RCS messaging, but that’s another thread).

Do I have specific proof it worked and blocked - no. However, the mechanism is working now and showing the 🚫 symbol again, when that hadn’t happened for a long time. I’m blocking junk emails (20-30 at a time), not contacts, so I’m not able to verify through contacts.

blocked not working solutions 

Solution 1: 

Reduce the number of blocked to under 3000. To view and manage your blocked contacts, go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Blocked Contacts. It will show how many you have blocked. Then click the blocked numbers and then edit and delete one at a time. This is way too time consuming for me.

Solution 2:

simply add numbers you want to block to any previous contact you have blocked earlier. You can add max 500 numbers per blocked contact. So as long as you have at least a few earlier blocked contacts, this should work.

Issue: In case of an unknown number ! you want to block and could not be added to the blocked contact. Add a name to the unknown number ("added a name"; NOT "added the number as a contact”) and then add it to a previously blocked contact.

Solution 3: On a Mac open mail preferences then clicked Junk then click Blocked then click the top blocked item hold shift key and click the bottom one so they are all highlighted then click the minus button at bottom, it will spin and spin but eventually delete them all. That worked for me. 

Solution 4: But if you don’t have a Mac computer, the iPhone Settings -> General->Transfer or Reset iPhone -> Reset->Reset all settings will erase blocked messages but also does this:

What this action removes:

    •    Network Settings: Saved Wi-Fi passwords and paired Bluetooth devices are forgotten. 

    •    Apple Pay: All payment cards added to Apple Wallet are removed. 

    •    Keyboard & Display: Custom keyboard dictionaries are cleared, and features like dark mode, display zoom, or custom brightness revert to factory defaults. 

    •    Privacy & Location: Any permissions you previously granted to apps to access your location or photos will be reset, forcing apps to ask for permission again.