Some of your contacts or unfamiliar callers may bother you with unnecessary calls during your busy hours. If you have finished receiving calls from these contacts or unknown identities, you can easily block them on your Android phone.
Maybe your mobile number has been the victim of some data breach and now you are constantly getting calls for top up offers from marketing companies and unknown banks. Follow the steps below and block contacts and unknown callers on Android.
Block Contacts on Android
First, we’ll show you how to block contacts saved in your contact list. We’ll show you the steps for Pixel and Samsung phones running One UI.
Pixel Phones
Google has supported the Block function directly into the Contacts app on Android. Anyone using the default Contacts app on Android can use this trick to block contacts on Android.
Stage 1: Open the Contacts app on your Pixel phone.
Step 2: Search for a contact you want to block.
Stage 3: Tap the three-dot menu in the top right corner and select Block numbers.
Step 4: People will ask for confirmation. Select Block from the drop-down menu and mute incoming calls from a specific contact.
Repeat the steps for each contact you want to block on Android.
Samsung Galaxy Phones
Samsung is using a revamped UI with One UI on its Galaxy phones. The company has an answer to every Google app on Android.
Follow the steps below to block contacts on Samsung Galaxy phones running One UI.
Stage 1: Open Samsung’s Contacts app on the phone.
Step 2: Search for the person you want to block.
Stage 3: Open the contact information menu.
Step 4: Tap the More menu at the bottom.
Step 5: Select Block contact and confirm your decision.
The blocked contact will no longer bother you with calls or messages.
Block Unknown Callers on Android
There are two ways to block unknown callers on Android. First, you can save unknown callers as contacts. But this is time consuming and why would you want to add unknown callers as contacts in the first place? It doesn’t make sense.
Another way is to access the Blocked callers list and manually add unknown numbers to the list. Here’s how.
Pixel Phones
On Pixel phones, follow the steps below to add unknown callers to the Block list.
Stage 1: Open the Phone app on your Pixel phone.
Step 2: Tap the three-dot menu at the top and go to Settings.
Stage 3: Select Blocked numbers from the General menu.
Step 4: Tap Add a Number and type the number manually and select Block.
From the same menu you can also enable the ‘Unknown’ toggle at the top to block calls from anonymous callers.
You can add as many unknown callers to the list as possible to reduce spam in the future.
Samsung Galaxy Phones
Those using Samsung Galaxy phones can use the below number to block unknown callers.
Stage 1: Open the Phone app on Samsung, it will open the Keypad menu.
Step 2: Tap the More menu at the top and select Settings.
Stage 3: Select Block numbers.
Unlike other Android phones, you don’t need to add contacts to the list manually. You can tap Recents and add unknown callers directly from the Recents menu. This is a thoughtful and nice touch from Samsung.
Step 4: You can always add phone numbers to the list manually.
Enable Caller ID and Spam Protection
Android comes with default caller ID and spam protection to identify and prevent unwanted calls from bothering you. Here’s how you can enable and use it.
Pixel Phones
Caller ID and spam protection are hidden in the Phone app.
Stage 1: Open the phone app and select the more menu at the top.
Step 2: Go to Settings and open the Caller ID & spam menu.
Stage 3: Enabling See Caller and spam ID toggling will identify business and spam numbers.
Step 4: Activate the Filter unwanted calls button; your phone prevents suspicious spam calls from reaching you.
Samsung Galaxy Phones
Samsung offers a similar function. Open the Phone app and go to Call Settings from the top menu.
Open the Caller ID and spam protection menu. Turn on the Block spam and scam calls switch.
What Happens When You Block Someone On Android?
Now that you have blocked contacts and unknown callers on your Android phone, they cannot call or text you.
However, they can still reach you via email, WhatsApp or Telegram. To completely block the person from reaching out to you, you should block them on social media.
To learn more, you can read our exclusive post on what happens when you block someone on WhatsApp.
Remove Unwanted Calls on Android
If you change your mind, you can go to the Block numbers menu and unblock selected numbers and contacts from the list.
