You’re texting a friend, and suddenly they stop responding. Perhaps you’ve had a disagreement, or the person seemed a bit quiet, responding only with “lols” and “k.” Now, you’re left wondering if the conversation is done for good. Fortunately, there are some tell-tale signs to know if someone blocked you on iMessage.

Apple’s iMessage gives us some great feedback on whether our recipient received a message. Unfortunately, when someone blocks us on iMessage, we won’t receive a bright, flashing receipt that says, “This person blocked you!” So, we’ll need to learn to see if someone blocked our iMessage.

If you’re worried that you can’t communicate with a contact anymore, we’ll walk you through the steps to determine if you’re blocked and give you some helpful tips.

How to Know if Someone Blocked You on iMessage

iMessage is an Apple-exclusive feature that lets people send text-based messages to other iPhones, Macs, Apple Watches, and iPads. You only need a good internet connection, an iCloud account, and an iOS or OSX device to send iMessage.

But the company also gives us peace of mind with our iMessage. You can block people who are bothering you, or you don’t like. Unfortunately, those of us on a blocklist can feel confused, sad, or upset.

As mentioned previously, there isn’t a notification for blocking, so you won’t know if the other person is getting your messages. However, there are some iMessage behaviors that indicate a block and some ways to test whether you’ve been blocked.

1. Look At the Delivery Status

The most obvious sign that someone blocked you on iMessage is the Delivery Status. You’ll see a Delivered or Read option whenever you send an iMessage. However, you won’t see the Read or Delivered status when another person blocks you. Your message will sit at the bottom of the text window with no indicators below it.

Of course, other phone problems indicate this same behavior. Sometimes your friends will disable read receipts, so you may not receive the Read indicator. But you will still see the Delivered status if they have their read receipts disabled.

If their phone doesn’t have a cell phone signal or the carrier disconnected it, it won’t show either status. So, we’ll need to work through a few more options to discover whether you’re blocked.

2. Make a Phone Call

You can’t block someone on iMessage without blocking them from calling too. If you still suspect your friend blocked your iMessages try giving them a call. If the phone doesn’t go to voicemail or they don’t answer, you’ll hear a message telling you the number can’t be reached.

This means either you’re blocked, or your friend’s phone is disconnected.

3. Use Another Friend’s Phone

If you tried calling and texting but received the “This number is unavailable” response, we need to determine if the phone has no service or if you’ve been blocked. The best way to check is to call from another unrelated phone number.

Your friend added you to the dreaded block list if the call goes through on a secondary phone number.

4. Check Social Media

One way to know for sure if your friend meant to block you on iMessage is by checking your social media accounts. Although it may sound odd initially, most people will block others on all platforms, not just iMessage.

Head over to any accounts where the two of you are friends. If you don’t find their profile, they probably blocked you on iMessage and social media. If you’re still friends on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc., try step number five.

5. Ask Them

The absolute best way to find out if someone blocked you is to ask the person. Perhaps you have a mutual friend who can ask on your behalf, or you’re still Facebook and Instagram friends. Send them a message or have a friend ask if you got blocked on iMessage.

How to Know if a Contact is Blocked on iMessage?

Perhaps you’re the one who’s doing the iMessage blocking. Maybe you wanted to block someone but can’t remember if you did. Or, you noticed you aren’t receiving messages from a friend and want to make sure you unblocked them. Fortunately, it’s easy to see your blocked contact list.

Step 1: Open Settings

The fastest way to see who’s blocked on your phone is through the Settings app on your iPhone. You can also go to the Messaging or Calling app. But this is sometimes unreliable because you may see the option to block the caller even when they’re already on the Blocked Contact list.

So, open your iPhone’s Settings app.

Step 2: Tap on Phone

Next, scroll down the list until you see the Phone settings. This option is typically listed in the same section as Passwords, Mail, Contacts, Calendar, etc.

Step 3: Tap on Blocked Contacts

Now, scroll down this page and tap on Blocked Contacts. This selection will be near the bottom of the page.

Step 4: Scroll the List of Numbers

If you blocked your friend, you’d see their number in the Blocked Contacts list.

Unfortunately, you can’t unblock your friend’s phone on this page. Open the Messaging or Calling app and tap on their contact information. Then, tap Unblock this caller.

What to Do if Someone Blocked You on iMessage

Sometimes, iMessage blocking happens by accident. Your friend was playing around with their phone and inadvertently added you to the iMessage block list. It does happen, and we’re hopeful this is your situation.

Perhaps, the person blocked your number, but it’s imperative that you reach them! What can you do when someone blocks you on iMessage? Well, you can’t reach them on iMessage. So, we’ll have to figure out other ways to get through.

If you must get an SOS message to your friend, the first thing to try is reaching out to them on another platform. Reach out to your friend on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, email, or Twitter.

The next thing to try is to reach them on someone else’s phone. But beware, reaching out to a friend who blocked you isn’t always the best idea. Sometimes people need a little time to cool off and open up to conversations again. Unless it’s an emergency, we don’t recommend reaching out to a blocked contact using the options outlined here.

Left on Read or Blocked?

While Apple doesn’t tell us our friends blocked our numbers, we can figure it out relatively quickly using the steps above. If you don’t see a Delivered status, your friend definitely didn’t receive the iMessage. But that doesn’t always mean they blocked your number.

You can check social media or another person’s phone to really know whether the person blocked you on iMessage. However, this is tricky because you may even make your friend madder. So, beware because sometimes it’s best to let your friend have a little space.

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