Unable to block email in Apple Mail after iOS 26.4 update

Javier Huerta wrote:

After updating to iOS 26.4, I can no longer block incoming inbox/junk email. Does Apple Mail have a block limit?

When the Spammer email message arrives in the Inbox

Swipe Left >> and look for " More "

Click on More

Additional actions become available

Scroll down to bottom

Look for " Block contact "

Limits, not that I am aware of.

I have about 250 " Blocked Contacts " and still counting

richphoto wrote:

Correct but it is not moving them to trash and now not allowing to even block them , this is going on for me now over two years with one small window after an update it did work and then no more.

Did you update to iOS 26.6? The new release gives a message when you have reached your block limit where previously no message was seen and it simply did not work any longer. The exact limit has not been published by Apple and may have certainly varied across different iOS versions, but those that have reduced the blocked contacts to below 3,000 have found they will once again work.

If you reduce your blocked contacts to under 3,000, the problem will be solved. Beyond that you could wait to see if Apple decides to publish the limit or see if it is changed in a future update, but nobody knows if that will actually happen or when.

Luckily it is very easy to bulk delete blocked contacts on the Mac, as opposed to the iPhone where it has to be done one at a time.

Another thing to consider is that spammers spoof the email addresses and it is very rare that you would ever get spam from the same email address again, so blocking them is ineffective. The addresses are completely made up and nothing more than a text string.

Probably because it changed several iOS updates ago. Now:

• Swipe left and pause with all 3 buttons displayed
• Tap More
• Scroll down and tap Block Contact

OR

• Hold your finger on the message in the message list
• On the menu that appears scroll down and tap Block Contact

OR

• With the message open, Tap the left pointing arrow at the bottom of the message
• Scroll down and tap Block Contact

OR

• Go to Settings/Apps/Mail, scroll down and tap Blocked, then Add Blocked Contact and paste the email address

Blocking emails or phone numbers stopped working for me on the 4th last Apple update. Tried all the fixes everyone keeps repeating on this Apple community page and tech articles on internet, but these don’t work for me or other people. Read forums that said the next update will fix issue, but it never did. Contacted Apple support who told me it’s a bug with the update that it changed on. Told me to reset my phone which I was reluctant to do saying I will lose all settings set up. Was 100% reassured I would not lose anything apart from my blue tooth pairing and it will 100% fix the issue. Did reset and lost all what was set up on iPhone as well as not fixing the not blocking issue. Had to sit and fix all what was changed, but still not sorted it all. Struggled to set up my CarPlay again. Contacted Apple support again very angry and lodged complaint. Was told developers are looking into this issue as it’s a common one. Still awaiting an update. I have a 13pro.

Ah, then you don’t understand what “blocked” on a device means. You cannot stop email from arriving on your phone (or on any other device that supports email) unless your email PROVIDER supports blocking at the server before the message is sent you your device (some email providers do). Your options are to move it to trash, to junk to spam, or view it. Your iPhone is recognizing that the address was marked by you as blocked, and you have chosen to view it anyway instead of sending it automatically to trash.

The same is true for texts and phone calls.

For a MacBook Pro, Apple has a limit of 3000 blocked email addresses. Once you reach that max you can no longer block any current emails received without deleting old blocked addresses.

Mail, Settings, Junk Mail, Blocked tab, Manage Blocked Contacts

For iPhone I have been able to block past 3000 but do not know if there is a limit.

You're a lucky man! The latest update (26.5.1) did not help me solve this problem, in fact that update is when it all started for me. Are you using 26.5.1 or 26.5? I just spent an hour on the phone with Apple Support, where we discovered that I can also not block telephone numbers in Messages or block contacts within my address book. The man who was helping me finally agreed it was a known issue (I told him!) and said it usually takes Apple a few days to make a fix. I explained this has been going on for a while and that if he checked the Support Community he'd see it has been much more than a few days with no fix. Argh!

Javier Huerta wrote:

Thanks for that Owl-53. I was aware of the blocking process, and the messages would show the blocked icon before the last iOS/Mac OS update. After the new update, I can still go through the blocking process but there is nolonger a blocked icon nor do the senders appear in my blocked contacts. list.

While searching for answers, I saw that some folks were talking about either Apple having a Block limit or possibly my ISP.

-javier

It would appear otherwise as per " I can no longer block incoming inbox/junk email. "

Blocked List on iPhone

Of all the places for Apple to put this list of Blocked

Setting >> Messages >> Scroll way to bottom

Notice the > in image below

Open it

As for " While searching for answers, I saw that some folks were talking about either Apple having a Block limit or possibly my ISP. "

That is BUNK, untrue

Same. Just installed the 26.4.2 and it still won’t block emails. I tried going to the contact card to block them that way and it says it’s blocked but as soon as you close the contact card it unblocks them again.

I’ve been using Apple’s Mail block feature for many years, successfully until about a month ago. I really valued this function and the way it worked. Based on posts here, it seems it’s an issue known to Apple resulting from a software update.

I’m really surprised Apple hasn’t already brought out a fix which resolves this issue on MacOS and iOS since the issue to me is that it seems to fundamentally to weaken the previously workable defensive functionality of Apple’s core software, Mail, because of the change in the blocking function. This weakens its security because it degrades the ability of users to defend against spam and phishing attacks. Are there workarounds? Maybe. But none that provide easily visible evidence like before that my blocking action has worked. Plus, like most Apple users, I imagine, I choose Apple for its holistic approach, high quality, security and intuitive functionality. This apparently small change seems a significant retrograde step.

Come on Apple. Please resolve this issue quickly either by providing an explanation of the new steps needed to block senders which is at least as effective, visible and quick/easy as before, or, by restoring the way the previous blocking actions visibly worked - or provide an evident improvement.

acmeplant wrote:

I actually do get repeat messages from people trying to sell me services that will improve my website traffic, place an article on my website, protect my identity, etc., so being able to block them is helpful.

Rarely are spammers using the same originating email address/phone number, so the message may be the same, but blocking is not effective because the next one will appear to come from a completely different sender. That is called "spoofing" and is used for both Emails and Text Messages where the sending phone number/address is spoofed.

That has always been the case.

Have the same problem with my MacBook. contacted apple support- they said there maybe a change with the iCloud settings. They advised to contact apple support- the more that do this the quicker the tech team will look at it and hopefully fix the issue. So report the issue directly to apple support

I also read an article that the maximum blocked addresses is 3,000. But I could block over 7,000 on my old Mac.

the official statement from Apple support is that the maximum no. You can block is not listed anywhere. They are enquiring how many that should be. Maybe we’ll get an update soon