How to unblock a number on iPhone from texting

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A great iPhone is a spam-free iPhone, and that's why it's so great that you can easily block messages, calls, and FaceTime calls from unrecognized numbers very easily in iOS 15. You can also block contacts or people you know if you just don't want them to be able to contact you. Of course, if you accidentally block someone you shouldn't have, or just decided to let someone out of "communication jail," you can always unblock them.

In iOS 15, you'll need to go into your iPhone's Settings app to unblock a contact or number. Here's how to remove someone from the blocked list on your iPhone or iPad.

Launch Settings from your Home screen.
Tap Phone. You'll likely need to scroll down the menu a little.
Tap Blocked Contacts.

Unblocking A Contact From iPhone on iOS 15: Tap Settings, tap phone, and then tap blocked contacts. (Image credit: iMore)

Swipe left on the contact or number you want to unblock.
Tap Unblock.

Unblocking A Contact From iPhone On iOS 15: Swipe left on the contact you want to unblock and then tap Unblock. (Image credit: iMore)

That's all there is to it. The nice thing about the blocked list in iOS is that you can have only a certain email address or phone number for a person blocked, and you can remove only certain ones if you'd like. However, remember that this will only unblock contacts from contacting you via Messages, Phone, or FaceTime, so if you've blocked someone on a social media app (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.), you'll need to unblock them on that app if you so choose.

Don't just block spam — report it!

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Blocking spam numbers is a great way to earn some peace, but don't forget that when you get a spam text, you can report it directly in the Messages app. I highly encourage reporting any numbers — in addition to blocking — so these scammers have a much harder time doing their unsavory deeds.

Updated February 2022: For iOS 15.

You can block phone numbers, contacts and emails on your device. You can also filter iMessages from unknown senders and report iMessages that look like spam or junk.

There are a few ways that you can block phone numbers, contacts and emails.

If you're in the Phone app under Recents, tap the Info button

next to the phone number or contact that you want to block. Scroll down, then tap Block this Caller.

If you're in the FaceTime app, tap the Info button

next to the phone number, contact or email address that you want to block. Scroll down, then tap Block this Caller.

If you're in Messages, open the conversation, tap the contact at the top of the conversation, then tap the Info button

. Tap info

scroll down, then tap Block this Caller.

If you're in the Mail app, open the email that has the contact that you want to block, then tap the contact at the top. Tap Block this Contact.

When you block a phone number or contact, they can still leave a voicemail, but you won't get a notification. Messages that are sent or received won't be delivered. Also, the contact won't get a notification that the call or message was blocked. When you block an email address from Mail, it goes to the Bin folder. Email blocking works across all your Apple devices.

You can also enable settings to block spam phone calls.

To see the phone numbers, contacts and email addresses that you've blocked from Phone, FaceTime, Messages or Mail:

Go to Settings > Phone and tap Blocked Contacts to see the list.

Go to Settings > FaceTime. Under Calls, tap Blocked Contacts.

Go to Settings > Messages. Under SMS/MMS, tap Blocked Contacts.

Go to Settings > Mail. Under Threading, tap Blocked.

From these screens, you can add or remove blocked phone numbers, contacts or email addresses.

To add a contact from Phone, go to Settings > Phone > Blocked Contacts scroll to the bottom of the screen, then tap Add New. Then tap the contact that you want to block. To add a contact from Messages or FaceTime, go to Settings > Messages or Settings > FaceTime, tap Blocked Contacts. Then scroll down, tap Add New, then select the contact that you want to block. To add a contact from Mail, go to Settings > Mail, then tap Blocked. Scroll down, tap Add New, then enter the contact you want to block. To unblock a phone number, contact or email address, swipe left over the entry, then tap Unblock.

You can filter messages from people who aren't saved in your Contacts.

To filter messages, go to Settings > Messages and turn on Filter Unknown Senders.

In Messages, tap

Filters, then tap Unknown Senders. You won't get notifications for these messages.

You can report iMessages that look like spam or junk from the Messages app. If you get an iMessage from someone who's not saved in your Contacts, you'll see a Report Junk link under the message.

Tap Report Junk, then tap Delete and Report Junk. Messages will forward the sender's information and the message to Apple, as well as delete the message from your device. You can't undo deleting a message.

Reporting junk doesn't block the sender from being able to send another message. If you don't want to receive these messages, you need to block the contact.

To report SMS and MMS messages, contact your carrier.