Block Sender in Apple Mail No Longer Works

On Mac, I was able to solve this issue by manually going in and deleting all previous blocked contacts and starting fresh.

Open mail, go to settings, junk mail, blocked. Select "Manage Blocked Contacts". Manually delete all blocked contacts. (You can click drag multiples or click/shift+click).

(This may take some time and repeated efforts to clear everything, I had over 5000 blocked contacts)

This automatically fixed the same issue on my iPhone without doing anything on the phone itself.

Worked for me anyway.

Yes it unblocks them and you have to start fresh. I haven't seen a bombardment of spam (yet). Double check that on the phone: I could 'block' and the red circle/slash would show. If I went to any other mailbox and then back, the red circle/slash would be gone and the contact was not blocked or in my blocked list.

I went nuclear and deleted all previous blocked contacts on the Mac, It could be just one blocked contact that triggers the issue but I didn't have time to go through one-by-one to determine which one it might be.

Since deleting all previous blocked contacts, the blocking function works again across all of my devices.

To verify if the Blocked Sender has been added to the Blocked Sender list

Apple Mail >> Settings >> Junk Mail tab >> Click on " Blocked " tab

Then, below that, click on " Managed Blocked Contacts "

This will open System Setting >> Privacy and Security

In my case, there are " 255 unknown "

Click on whatever number appears for your list

Inside there will the last of all email addresses and Phone numbers you have " Blocked "

In my setup using macOS 26.4.1 Current version

Blocked Senders do have the slashed circle icon

In most cases and over time

The Blocked Sender bypass the Junk folder and are automatically placed in Trash ( Bin )

grandy1214 wrote:

In Tahoe 26.3.1, when I execute the "Block Sender" command on a specific e-mail address in Apple Mail, I no longer get a slashed circle icon to indicate the sender is now on my blocked list. Any work arounds out there or is this a bug that Apple has not acknowledged yet?

The current stable release of Tahoe including bug fixes, security updates is macOS 26.4.1 - I would start there

Keep your Mac up to date - Apple Support

Keep your Mac up to date - Apple Support

ref: Change Blocked settings in Mail on Mac - Apple Support

ref: Mail User Guide for Mac - Apple Support

grandy1214 wrote:

I have not heard of SpamSieve prior to your mention of it.

. The Woz recommended this years ago, is how I heard about it.

I have been using SpamSieve for a decade+ with no issues

ref: https://c-command.com/spamsieve/

It is a one time purchase; and updated regularly all the time... far out pacing the baked in Mac mail filtering limits.

you can read an old post here

ref: email spam

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253863691

Beej63 wrote:

I'm having this issue too - it's annoying! Apple, PLEASE fix this!

Apple is not here and will not honour your request

These are Apple User to Apple User Forums

To get the attention of Apple

Use Product Feedback

It is an issue on that version (26.4.1)

Have heard, using SpamSieve, maybe more robust than the Apple Junk Mail filters

grandy1214 wrote:

I have not heard of SpamSieve prior to your mention of it. Similar products on anti-virus products that I used in the past really slowed things down on all my Macs. I no longer use them because of the loss of speed and interference with software I use routinely (Adobe, Luminar Neo, Final Cut Pro). Any experience with how this affects other third party software operations in Tahoe 26.4.1?

The suggested & mentioned software is not an Antivirus software

Using https://xyproblem.info/ to solve your computer issue " Block Sender in Apple Mail No Longer Works "

Is really not going to solve the current tissue

grandy1214 wrote:

I have not heard of SpamSieve prior to your mention of it. Similar products on anti-virus products that I used in the past really slowed things down on all my Macs. I no longer use them because of the loss of speed and interference with software I use routinely (Adobe, Luminar Neo, Final Cut Pro). Any experience with how this affects other third party software operations in Tahoe 26.4.1?

Windows-like viruses that self-replicate and affect macOS don’t exist because of the underlying UNIX Foundation and permission limitations.

The macOS operating system resides in a sealed and read-only volume that can’t be opened by users or third-party applications.

Mac app security enhancements are sufficient to protect computers from malware.

Effective defenses against malware and other threats

Adware and Malware can affect computers and are often downloaded from “shady” websites or developers who inject them into downloads.

Source: User tip from @Kurt Lang

What is malware? - Apple Community

Owl-53 wrote:

Using https://xyproblem.info/ to solve your computer issue " Block Sender in Apple Mail No Longer Works"

Thank you for posting that link! Someone posted it a while back, but I forgot to save it.

I have the same issue since one of the most recent updates. currently using MacOS 26.5.2 and the problem still exists. @ Apple please fix this as it is getting very annoying and frustrating as the number of spam emails seems to be increasing!