iPhone 15+ running iOS 26.5 cannot block spam callers

silver_mica wrote:

Call Screening isn't a solution. Period.

Only call blocking will work. Period.

Call Blocking is useless for Spam calls!

• There is no way you can keep up with every "spoofed" number used by spammers. You are likely to never even receive a spam call from the same number you had blocked, because they are completely made up. You really think they are using a single known number to automate those spam calls?
• Call Blocking is also useless for avoiding spam when the sender has blocked their Caller ID. Your phone is still going to ring and you will have to grab your phone and then make the choice on whether you are going to answer it or not. To prevent your phone from ringing for a blocked caller ID you would need to use one of the Call Screening options, such as Screen Unknown Callers and if you are going to do that, you are better off using Ask Reason for Call.
• Call Screening does work and especially well when you choose the Ask Reason for Call option. If you don't think so, you have not tried it at all. Spammers are not giving their name and reason for their call at the prompt, and that means your phone is not ringing at all. The calls can still be seen in the Unwanted Call list, but of course those can be easily bulk deleted whenever you feel like it and the badge number of missed calls on the Phone app does not reflect those unwanted numbers.
• Another benefit of Call Screening over Call Blocking is that since Voicemail is a cellular service, even if you block the call on your device they are still able to leave a voicemail with your cellular provider. That voicemail from your cellular provider is synced to your phone and you will see the badge count in the Phone app until you go in and delete that voicemail. Call Screening does not allow your cellular provider to record the voicemail, because the call has been answered by Siri in the background where you are not bothered at all.

There is a very good reason why you would use Call Blocking and it has nothing to do with Spam. For example, if you have a particular friend you are mad at, then absolutely block that number. If you have more than 3,000 of these friends, you may have bigger problems where Call Blocking is not that solution. That is also why Verizon gives you 5 numbers to block for free, they understand the purpose of call blocking.

Hi buzzoff13,

Worth checking Settings > Phone > Blocked Contacts — sometimes the block registers there even if it doesn't show in the call log. If it's not there either, try this: instead of blocking from the info screen, go directly to Settings > Phone > Blocked Contacts > Add New and add the number manually. That path tends to stick more reliably.

If neither works, a quick reset of network settings (Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset > Reset Network Settings) sometimes clears whatever's interfering with the block list.

There have been multiple reports of issues with Call Blocking subsequent to recent iOS 26.x updates.

You would be best advised to submit a Bug Report via Apple's Product Feedback portal.  For iPhone and iOS:

Feedback - iPhone - Apple

When submitting your Bug Report, please ensure that you include details of your iPhone model and installed version of iOS within the body-text of your report along with details of the problem.  Do not rely upon the pick-list alone - as this rarely includes the current version of iOS.

Every Bug Report counts.  Unless sufficient reports are submitted (with adequate detail), Apple may not assign resources to investigate and correct the issue.

I was at 17,000 if you can believe that. I read something on a post about this same issue where a guy said that Apple lowered the number of contacts allowed to 3,000. Since I don't have faith in Apple fixing anything soon I figured if this guy knew what he was talking about. So I started deleting blocked contacts. With the number I had, plus they can only be deleted one at a time, this took me some time. Once I got below 3,000 I tried blocking a contact again and it worked. So, since in iOS 26 apple starting listing blocked contacts by phone number rather than chronologically as was done earlier, I decided to delete all of them to give me more room. This has been over a week and it still working as intended.

From your comments, it appears that you don't really know how many numbers you have blocked. You can find out the exact number by going to Settings>Privacy & Security>Blocked Contacts. If you are in fact over 3,000 you may want to give this a try.

The guy that mentioned it said that is when it was reduced. And yes, it would have been nice of them to tell users. Funny thing is I have been on the phone 3 different times with Apple support and the support people don't even know about it. They kept saying that they are aware of the issue and currently investigating.

So try and delete some of the blocked contacts and then try and block one of your current ones and see if it works. Maybe just start with deleting 25 or so. If it works then you can take the time to delete more.

Let me know if it works for you.

Thank you for your post. I was wondering about the maximum blocked contacts allowed also. I had the same issue as of the iOS 26 update. My blocked contacts had hit 3,000 and I couldn’t block contacts any longer by use of the block contact option or by manually adding to the blocked contact list. I tried deleting some of them and it worked. I can block contacts once again, so I guess I’ll be deleting my whole list now. Thank God I don’t have 17,000. lol. Thanks again for posting this!

silver_mica wrote:

This is extremely disappointing.

Blocking numbers is not an effective tool for Spam control. Spammers "spoof" the sending numbers so you are not likely to ever receive another call from that number anyway. The only real purpose for call blocking is blocking known contacts that you no longer want to communicate with or if by chance you happen to see continuous calls from the same number.

For Spam control, Apple introduced Call Screening in the latest OS version, and there are also other third party Spam services you can check into. Most Cell Providers also offer some kind of Spam Service, with some being free and others requiring a subscription, but Call Blocking is not intended for spam control.

That's frustrating, especially with high spam volume. One thing worth trying: Settings > Phone > Silence Unknown Callers — it won't block them but silences any number not in your contacts automatically. Not perfect, but much less manual than blocking one by one.

If you want to report the issue to Apple directly: apple.com/feedback.

For those having issues, a workaround: create a Spam contact (or whatever you want to name it), configure that that contact with a ringtone and text tone of silence, and with no haptics, and add the callers you don’t want onto that existing contact.

• From the Phone app, tap Recents, then tap the phone number or contact you want to block or the Info button  in Classic view. Scroll down, then tap Block Caller.

Block phone numbers, contacts and email addresses on your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support (IN)

Awrosey426 wrote:

I was at 17,000 if you can believe that.

Blocking calling numbers is futile, unless you block numbers from 000-000-0000 to 999-999-9999.

Spammers fake the calling number, just like email spammers fake the “sending” email address.

Enable the iOS 26 call-screening support, and mute unknown callers.