How Do You Know When You Are Blocked on iMessage?

Has someone blocked your number on their iPhone? With this guide, you can find out for certain if someone has blocked you from making calls or sending messages with iMessage (the integrated Apple instant messaging service.)

Have you ever sent an iMessage and not received a reply? Or maybe you find that your messages come through hours after you sent them? It’s possible that you’ve been blocked from iMessage. If you’re wondering how to know if someone blocked you on iPhone, it can be difficult to tell.

Thankfully, there are some surefire signs you’ve been blocked on iMessage that can help you figure out the truth.

In this article, we’ll explore 7 of the most reliable ways to tell if you’ve been blocked on iMessage.

By the way, I am Frankie Caruso – the instant messaging app expert and enthusiast of smartphone hacking. With today’s guide, I want to give you a trick for iMessage.

To date, Apple has no direct software or feature to indicate if your number has been blocked. Fortunately, there are some methods/tests that can show when someone is trying not to get your transmissions.

Let’s get started.

What happens when someone blocks you on iMessage?

Before we dive into the signs that you’ve been blocked on iMessage, it’s important to understand what happens when someone blocks you. When you’ve been blocked, it means that the other person has chosen to ignore your texts.

This means that any messages sent from your side will not be delivered to them, and you won’t be able to see if they have read your messages or not. The blocked user will also not be able to call the other person or send them FaceTime requests. In short, if you’ve been blocked on iMessage, you won’t be able to reach the other person in any way.

7 Ways to Know You’ve Been Blocked on iMessage

Since you do not have time to waste, I will get right to the tips you need to determine if you can still reach intended recipients through iPhone’s iMessage service.

Note: If you want to know how to block someone on iMessage, check out this guide.

Each of these methods listed will have a Reliability Coefficient (RC) value attached from 1-100 based on their success rates with discovering being blocked.

Frankie’s Take:

I personally tested all 7 of these methods and they are the result and culmination of hours of research.

1. Check the Color of Sent Messages (RC 75%)

Before we begin: I have mentioned before that blue messages are sent through iMessage (free to send and use the internet) and green are normal SMS (which is paid depending on your phone and can be sent without the internet)

iMessage conversations are blue. Once you send a message to a friend in blue, then it turns green a few minutes later and you never get a delivered response, you could have been blocked.

A single message cannot determine this, however. With the current technology, it is impossible for iMessage to fail consistently over time and send back messages.

To ascertain if you’ve been blocked on iMessage, send messages intermittently over a period of time. If each behaves in this same manner, you are blocked.

2. iMessage Not Delivered (80%)

Open iMessage on your iPhone. Open the thread with the intended recipient you believe might have blocked you. Confirm a notification below a sent message. On the last sent message, check for a read receipt. This is a default setting – so if this is not there, it is possible you have been blocked.

You can also look for a delivered indicator beneath the message. If this is missing as well when it used to be there, there is a good chance you are blocked from communication.

3. Check iMessage Status Updates (65%)

iPhone users have default read receipts, so if you send an iMessage text and the message stays blue (indicating delivered) but never gets read, you are likely blocked.

Let me give you a real-life example of this: in the image below, you can see that the first iMessage message has a read notification, while the second, sent after the user was blocked, shows no status updates.

This technique is good, but iPhones can disable notifications like read receipts. This technique will never be 100% effective because of this. It is still worth giving it a try, though.

4. Call the Suspected Blocker (85%)

You can always try to call the person you suspect has blocked you on iMessage. Listen to the receiving mode of the call when you do this. If the phone rings once, and your sent to voicemail, the person has definitely blocked you.

If the phone does not ring at all, and then head straight to voicemail, you are not blocked. You can give it a second try to confirm these results. If it happens the same way, you can clearly identify being blocked.

Once the call is sent to voicemail, you can leave a message to the individual who is blocked you. The person who did the blocking will never get a notification of the message that you left. Instead, this will appear in a subsection for Blocked Messenger users at the bottom of the voicemail messages.

This is a fairly efficient and reliable way of determining if someone blocked you from their phone.

Another way that you can utilize this option is to call someone from a masked number.

Doing this is simple: before you enter the number of the person you suspect blocked you, dial *67. The code for your country might be different, use this link to check out the country code list. Masked numbers can check if your phone number has been blocked. Your identity gets hidden so iMessage does not recognize your number being used.

If they answer the call normally (though many ignore hidden numbers), you are blocked. If after a single ring you get sent to voicemail, the phone number might not be in use.

If you do not find your country code, you can can switch off your caller ID. Here is what you do: Settings > Phone > Show my Caller ID > Deactivate.

5. Use FaceTime Calling (RC 85%)

I don’t believe I need to spend a lot of time on this particular method. It is straightforward. Call the person using FaceTime. If the call begins normally, but after a few rings it hangs itself up (like it was rejected by the other end) you have been blocked.

This is an alternative to a normal call. If you are someone that never uses FaceTime, you might be better off sticking with the voice options.

6. Location Sharing Feature (RC 65%)

You can utilize the Location Sharing feature to determine if you are blocked on iMessage or not.

Sharing locations through ‘Find my Friends’ can use this as a clear indicator that they have been blocked. When you no longer see a shared location, this is usually enough to determine that you are no longer authorized to send messages.

7. Affirm with a Second Application Like WhatsApp/Facebook Messenger (RC 90-95%)

You can also employ other methods of communication into the equation to see how successful communication is, like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger.

People who block you on iMessage tend to block you everywhere. There is a trick I have for testing out if your suspicions are right.

First, send a voice message (only a few seconds long) through WhatsApp to the contact you believe has blocked you. If this voice message is played, the contact actually has likely blocked you across other services.

But Frankie, how will I know the message was heard? Why would I send a voice message and not a text?

The answer to this is easy – this trick exploits a bug in WhatsApp’s coding.

As you know, there are read receipts for messages sent through WhatsApp. Whenever a person reads a message or listens to one, two blue ticks appear on the right side of the chat. You can deactivate a read confirmation, and therefore, it is impossible to know if anyone read the message.

But there is a bug. If you send a voice message and it gets played, blue ticks appear regardless if this setting is active or not. I labeled this trick the Vocal Traitor Method. You can learn more about this method by clicking here.

Some other small signs that could indicate that you’ve been blocked on an iPhone

• You can’t find their contact in the Messages app
  Another surefire sign that you’ve been blocked is if you can’t find the person’s contact in the Messages app. If you search for their name in the Messages app, you won’t be able to find it. This is because, when you’ve been blocked, the other person’s name won’t appear in the Messages app.
• Their name appears in grey
  If you can find the other person’s name in the Messages app but it appears in grey, it could be a sign that you’ve been blocked. When someone blocks you, their name will appear in grey in the Messages app. This is because, when you’ve been blocked, you won’t be able to send or receive messages from the other person.
• You’re no longer part of group conversations
  If you’ve been removed from group conversations that you were a part of, it could mean that you’ve been blocked. When someone blocks you on iMessage, they will be removed from any group conversations that you are both a part of.
• You can’t add them to group conversations
  Finally, if you try to add the other person to a group conversation and you can’t, it could be a sign that you’ve been blocked. When you’ve been blocked, you won’t be able to add the other person to any group conversations.

In Summation

I showed you the top 7 methods to determine if someone blocked you on iMessage. Allow me to recap them, showing their reliability coefficient value next to them.

1. Check the Color of Sent Messages (RC 75%)
2. iMessage Not Delivered (RC 80%)
3. Check iMessage Status Updates (RC 65%)
4. Call the Suspected Blocker (RC 85%)
5. Use FaceTime Calling (RC 85%)
6. Location Sharing Feature (RC 65%)
7. Affirm with WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger (RC 90-95%)

Moreover, if you’ve been blocked on iMessage, you won’t be able to reach the person on FaceTime, find their contact in the Messages app, or send messages to them. Their name may appear in grey or give you an ‘invalid number’ error. You may also be removed from group conversations that they’re a part of and won’t be able to add them to any new ones.

Bonus Method: iMessage Tracker (RC 100%)

Perhaps one of the best methods of determining if someone blocked you on iMessage or other applications is to spy on their activities using special software.

Among the best of these apps, and the most widely used across the globe, is mSpy. This is a simple and easy-to-install program. You can even install it remotely if you know the iCloud login credentials for the intended target. You can be confident with 24/7 technical support backing you up, as well.

Because mSpy is updated regularly, it works well despite the frequent iOS updates to iPhones.

Not only will you be able to determine when/if you have been blocked, but also you can constantly monitor phone activity. You can read messages on all messaging interfaces, read emails, see GPS tracking updates, look at pictures taken and downloaded, check incoming/outgoing calls, and more.

You can actually get a free demo of this service to see for yourself how well designed it is and what it is capable of finding.

This one application lets you know much more about the individual than they are likely to share with you on their own.

I have a guide all about installing mSpy step-by-step. I recommend you read it so that you have all the information you need to do it efficiently. This guide also has a voucher for a cheaper license fee for the software.

Frankie’s Take:

This is the best method out there right now. It leaves no margin for error and lets you find out the truth.

Can You Text Someone Who Blocked You on iMessage?

Since this guide began, I am sure this is a question that you are dying to get an answer for.

If you have followed the directions of this guide and you have determined that you have been blocked on services like iMessage, do not fret.

There are several methods for getting in touch with someone who has blocked you.

I would suggest starting with other messaging apps to see if you are also blocked on them, such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram, and Messenger. You can also send them an email or initiate a face-to-face meeting. Any of these can at least put the information out there to determine why you were blocked.

Frankie’s Take:

You should expect that if you have been blocked on iMessage, you have likely been blocked on Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp as well. You can read this guide to find out how to know this information for sure.

How Do You Get Unblocked?

There is little that anyone can do to unblock themselves. The only course of action is to find a way to communicate with the individual and determine why this happened in the first place.

You can apologize for whatever happened and promise to make up for/not repeat actions that led to the block in the first place.

Can Someone Who Blocked You on iMessage See Messages You Sent?

I should be as clear and concise as possible – the person DOES NOT see messages when they block you. The message never gets delivered to its intended recipient.

These blocked messages are not stored, so delivery does not suddenly occur for those messages if you get unblocked.

When you are blocked on iMessage, you can still get delivered notifications, and never get a read receipt. The text is sent like normal with no error messages. It used to be clear when you were blocked as the message was sent back to you as undelivered.

With the newly updated operating system, the message appears to have been delivered in blue, but the recipient never gets/reads the content.

FAQ

Q: How do you know when you are blocked on iMessage?
A: There are a few signs that may indicate that you have been blocked on iMessage. The most obvious sign is that you will no longer be able to send messages to the person who blocked you, and any messages you previously sent will not be delivered. Additionally, you will not receive any notification that you have been blocked, and you will not be able to see the recipient’s online status or their profile picture. However, it’s important to note that some of these signs may also occur for reasons other than being blocked, so it’s best to confirm with the person directly if possible.

Q: Will I still see the blocked person’s messages in a group chat?
A: If the person who blocked you is part of a group chat, you will still be able to see their messages in the group chat. However, you will not be able to send messages directly to them or see their individual messages outside of the group chat.

Q: Can I still call a person who blocked me on iMessage?
A: Yes, you can still attempt to call the person who blocked you on iMessage, but it’s unlikely that they will receive the call. When you call a blocked person, the call will go through as normal, but it will immediately go to voicemail or be declined.

Q: Can I unblock myself if someone blocked me on iMessage?
A: No, you cannot unblock yourself if someone has blocked you on iMessage. Only the person who blocked you can unblock you. You can try to reach out to them through a different method of communication to see if they are willing to unblock you.

Q: Will I still be able to see the person’s profile picture if they blocked me on iMessage?
A: No, you will not be able to see the person’s profile picture if they have blocked you on iMessage. When someone blocks you on iMessage, you will only see a generic silhouette image in place of their profile picture.

The Take Away

We have now reached the end of the guide. Hopefully the information I gave you can be of some help.

To avoid you missing something critical, I want to quickly recap the top points from this guide so you have all the things you need to know.

I started by showing you the best 7 methods to determine if you have been blocked on iMessage, which included:

1. Check the Color of Sent Messages
2. iMessage Not Delivered
3. Check iMessage Status Updates
4. Call the Suspected Blocker
5. Use FaceTime Calling
6. Location Sharing Feature
7. Affirm with WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger

I also introduced mSpy, the spy app that can be up and running within three minutes and show you all activity happening on the target phone. Read my step-by-step guide for setting up the program.

Now, all that is left is saying goodbye. Return to check out the blog again soon for more helpful tips and tricks. If you have questions or concerns, just leave a comment on the post here below. I will be sure to answer as soon as possible.

I recommend readers check out my YouTube for video tutorials.

Regards,

Frankie

PS – I have given you the information to help you learn if you have been blocked on iMessage, but you might want to know more about the person who chose to do the blocking. Take a few minutes to explore the complete guide I wrote on spying on iPhones to know everything about someone.