How to block a phone number on your Android phone

Keeping in touch with family and friends has become easier and faster thanks to our Android smartphones. However, not all people who can contact us through our mobile phones are people that we love and cherish. Some are spammers, annoying strangers, telemarketers, or other unwanted callers. You don’t need to suffer these unwanted calls. Go ahead and block them!

In this guide, learn how to block a phone number on your Android smartphone.

How to block a phone number with built-in call blocking features

Most Android phones have a native way to block specific numbers. There didn’t used to be a generalized way to do this, though, so manufacturers often had to build the feature into their own software skins.

This is why the procedure can be unique on your specific device, as it varies from phone to phone. Needless to say we can’t go into detail about the necessary steps for blocking calls on every single phone out there, but we can give you an idea and show you how it’s done with the most popular devices.

Stock Android

If you want to know how to block a phone number on a stock Android handset like the Google Pixel or the older Nexus 6P, you’ve come to the right place. There are two ways to do this. The simplest one is to open your Phone app and access the section containing your recent calls. Long press on any of them and select “Block number.”

The second method consists of opening the Phone app and tapping on the 3-dot menu icon on the top-right corner and selecting “Settings.” From the menu, just hit “Call blocking” and add the numbers you want blocked.

Some carriers make it easier!

Want to really get rid of those annoying callers? Doing it from your phone works, but what if you switch handsets often? Maybe you want this done in a more systemic way. Some carriers allow you to block specific numbers on a service level. And this does include the 4 major carriers in the U.S. (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint).

There are some limitations to these, though. For example, Verizon only allows up to 5 blocked numbers per line. AT&T also does it on a device-by-device basis. On the other hand, you have T-Mobile, which only allows blocking with family plans. And then there’s Sprint, which seems to be more helpful about doing this.

Call blocking on Samsung phones

Most of you likely have Samsung phones, so you might be wondering how to block a phone number. Samsung is the biggest Android smartphone manufacturer, after all. Trying to get rid of those pesky callers? Let’s show you how.

1. Open the Phone app.
2. Select which number you want to block and hit “More” (located on the top-right corner).
3. Select “Add to Auto-Reject List.”
4. To remove or make more edits, go to Settings — Call Settings — All Calls — Auto Reject.

Call blocking on LG phones

Now we’ll show you how to block a phone number if you own an LG phone. The process is pretty similar to the other phones we’ve shown you, but there are slight differences. Here we go:

1. Open the Phone app.
2. Tap the 3-dot icon (top-right corner).
3. Select “Call Settings.”
4. Select “Reject Calls.”
5. Tap the “+” button and add the numbers you want blocked.