Buzz
Curious what occurs when you text someone who’s blocked you—or someone you’ve blocked?
This Mytour article reveals exactly what happens when you try messaging a blocked contact. Whether it’s someone who blocked you, or a person you blocked yourself, we’ll show you what to expect and how to tell if you've been blocked.
What Happens When You Text Someone Who Blocked You?
If you send a text to someone who blocked you, you won’t get any notification—but your message won’t be delivered. Usual signs like “Delivered” may disappear, and if you’re used to seeing blue iMessage bubbles but now they’re green, chances are you’ve been blocked.
Instructions
Messaging a Number You Suspect Has Blocked You
Texts to a blocked number won’t reach the recipient. You won’t get a warning, and the message will seem to send as usual. There’s no alert that you’ve been blocked, and the message won’t fail outright. If your app typically shows a "Delivered" tag, that indicator will be missing.
- A missing "Delivered" doesn't confirm you’re blocked—it just means the message wasn’t delivered.
- On iPhone, if your messages usually appear as blue bubbles with iMessage but now show green, it could mean you’re blocked—or it could just be poor connection, airplane mode, or iMessage being off.
Ways to Know If You're Blocked
Look at the bubble color on iPhone. Messages between iPhones via iMessage are blue. If they suddenly turn green, you might be blocked.
- Green bubbles can also mean the other person is using Android, has their phone off, or isn’t online.
- They may also appear green if "Send as SMS" is enabled in your Settings. Check this by going to Settings → Messages and seeing if "Send as SMS" is toggled on.
Check if your message shows as delivered. Usually, texts show "Delivered" when they reach the other phone, and "Read" if read receipts are enabled. If you don’t see "Delivered" after several days, it’s a sign you might’ve been blocked.
- However, the issue could also be due to poor reception or the recipient not having access to their phone.
Try calling the number. While texts don’t always reveal if you’ve been blocked, a phone call might. Typically, if your call rings once and then goes to voicemail, you’re probably blocked. If the call rings randomly before going to voicemail, they may have rejected it. Calls to phones that are off or on Do Not Disturb also go straight to voicemail, but just one ring is a strong hint you've been blocked.
- You can leave a voicemail, but the person won’t be notified. Some carriers may route voicemails from blocked numbers to a hidden inbox.
Use Android's Suggested Contacts feature. If you’re using Android, delete the person from your contacts first. Then, search their name. If they don’t show up under Suggested Contacts, it’s a likely sign they’ve blocked you.
Just ask them. This option won’t always work—especially if they’re avoiding contact—but if you can, ask directly. Try talking in person, messaging them on social media, or using apps like Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp. Phone blocks don’t carry over to third-party apps.
Sending Texts to a Number You’ve Blocked
You can still text someone you've blocked. Blocking someone on Android or iPhone stops them from contacting you, but it doesn't stop you from texting or calling them. Just know you won’t see any replies unless you unblock them.
- If you’ve blocked the number through your wireless carrier instead of just on your phone, you may not be able to send or receive texts at all, depending on how the carrier handles blocked numbers.
