My 22-year-old phone number was silently blacklisted by Apple — iMessage, FaceTime, and Find My are completely disabled with zero notice
Apple Community,
I’ve been an Apple customer since the iPod Mini (2004), had one of the early versions of the iPhone and have used the same phone number since 2002. Last week I discovered that Apple has fully blocked that number from iMessage, FaceTime, and Find My — with no warning, no email, no in-app alert, nothing.
Here’s why this is a serious problem:
• Anyone trying to iMessage me sees nothing — no “Not Delivered,” no error, just radio silence. They have no idea I’m not receiving their messages.
• Because iMessage is turned off, I cannot send a simple text to my 11-year-old son’s Apple Watch. He is 11. This is now a safety issue.
• My carrier (Verizon) confirms the number is 100% active on their network. The block is Apple-side only.
How did this happen?
A few weeks ago I personally reached out — one at a time — to long-time contacts in my phone (old colleagues, college friends, family) to say hello and share a career update. These were all saved contacts who had previously given me permission to message them. Apple’s system flagged my number as spam, instantly disabled core services, and gave me no notice until I noticed the problem myself.
I have already:
• Submitted multiple support tickets through the proper channels
• Spent hours on the phone with regular support and different senior advisors
• Been told the “only” solutions are: get a new phone number or switch to Android
There is no formal appeal process, no way to speak to the team that actually controls the blacklist, and no transparency about who reported it or why.
A 22-year Apple customer who has paid thousands of dollars for devices and services should not be forced to abandon their number or their entire Apple ecosystem because of an automated spam filter with zero due process — especially when it affects a child’s safety.
If anyone from Apple Support or the engineering team sees this, please escalate. If you’ve experienced the same silent blacklisting with no appeal, please reply so we can get this fixed for every loyal customer it’s happening to.
Thank you.
— Long-time Apple customer (number active since 2002)
