Quick Answer
No, when you block a number, it does not go straight to voicemail. Instead, the call will either be rejected altogether, so the caller hears a network message that the call cannot be completed, or it will ring once and then disconnect on the caller’s end. The call does not actually ring on your phone at all if you have blocked the number.
Does Blocking a Number Send it Straight to Voicemail?
When you block a phone number, either through your phone’s settings or through your wireless carrier, the blocked calls will not go to voicemail. There are a few different things that can happen when you try to call a blocked number:
- The call will fail to connect at all and you will hear a network message saying the call cannot be completed.
- The call will seem to ring once on your end and then immediately disconnect.
- The call will go to a fast busy signal.
In all cases, the call is not actually ringing on the receiver’s phone. The phone’s ringing sound is simulated on your end by the network. So there is no opportunity for the call to go to voicemail, since the receiver’s phone is not actually alerting for an incoming call from your number.
If the receiver has voicemail enabled, then unblocked calls that are not answered will go to voicemail as normal. But blocked calls will be rejected before they have a chance to continue on to voicemail.
What Happens When You Block a Number?
Blocking a phone number prevents any calls from that number from reaching your phone. When the caller tries to call you, here is what happens:
On the caller’s end
- The call may fail with an automated message saying the call cannot be completed.
- The call may seem to ring once and then disconnect.
- The call may encounter a fast busy signal.
The key thing is that the caller will not hear normal ringing like the phone is alerting on your end. The ringing or busy signal is simulated by the network, but your phone is not actually ringing or busy.
On your end as the blocker
- Your phone will not ring at all.
- You will not receive any missed call logs or notifications.
- The caller will have no way to leave a voicemail.
In essence, the blocking function prevents the call from ever reaching your device, so you will have no indication that the blocked number tried to call.
Can Blocked Calls Go to Voicemail?
Since a blocked call is rejected by the network and never actually reaches your phone, there is no voicemail option for blocked calls. Here are some key points:
- Your phone never rings or sends a busy signal for a blocked number.
- Without ringing, there is no way for the call to roll over to voicemail.
- So blocked calls will never result in a voicemail notification.
- From the caller’s perspective, it appears the call failed to connect or was rejected.
The only way a blocked caller could potentially leave a voicemail is to call from an unblocked number that you have not prevented from going to voicemail when unanswered. Or they could leave a voicemail on a different phone line that they are not blocked on.
But if you completely block a number at the network level, any calls from that number will be unable to reach your voicemail.
Can You Tell if a Blocked Number Left a Voicemail?
Since blocked phone calls do not actually ring on your phone and cannot go to voicemail, there is no way for a blocked caller to leave a voicemail message.
Your voicemail only becomes active if a regular, unblocked call rings your phone and is not answered. In that case, after several rings the call forwards to voicemail so the caller can leave a message.
But if you have proactively blocked a number in your phone’s settings or through your carrier, the network will prevent any calls from reaching your phone in the first place. So you will never see any evidence that a blocked number tried to call or leave a voicemail.
The call blocking creates a complete barrier where blocked calls are rejected upfront and have no ability to connect with your phone, go to voicemail, or leave any logs or notifications of the attempt.
So if you see a voicemail appear, you can be confident it was left by someone who was not blocked from calling you, as blocked callers have no path to reach your voicemail box.
Voicemail Options When Blocking a Number
When you make the choice to block a number, you prevent any calls from that number from ringing on your phone or reaching your voicemail. But you have a few options to consider regarding voicemail and blocked numbers:
Turn off voicemail
You can disable your voicemail function altogether. This means no callers, blocked or not, will have the option to leave voicemail messages. You will have to answer every call to speak to someone.
Leave voicemail active
You can keep voicemail enabled as normal. Unblocked calls will be able to leave a voicemail if you do not answer. But blocked calls will never reach the voicemail system.
Set up a custom greeting
Some voicemail systems allow you to set up a custom greeting for blocked calls only. This way, if any do sneak through, you can provide them with a different message than your standard voicemail greeting.
Use visual voicemail
If your phone system includes a visual voicemail function, you can easily skim through a list of voicemail messages and see who they are from. This allows you to ignore any voicemails that may have gotten through from unwanted blocked numbers.
Conclusion
In summary, blocking a phone number prevents calls from that number from ever reaching your phone or voicemail. The network rejects the call, providing the blocker with complete communication blocking.
The caller will not hear normal ringing, and the blocker’s phone will not ring or keep any record of the attempted call. Without the ability to ring the phone, blocked calls cannot go to voicemail.
Blocking a number provides call blocking only, not voicemail blocking. But by preventing the call altogether, it indirectly prevents blocked callers from leaving voicemail messages.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can blocked calls ring your phone?
No, blocked calls will never cause your phone to actually ring. The network prevents the call from connecting, so your phone will remain silent. The ringing sound is simulated on the caller’s end only.
Do blocked calls go to voicemail iPhone?
No, blocked calls do not go to voicemail on an iPhone. As with other phones, the blocked call fails to connect and so it has no ability to forward to an iPhone’s voicemail system.
Can you tell if a blocked number left a voicemail?
No, there is no way to tell if a blocked number left a voicemail, because blocked calls are unable to reach your voicemail box to leave a message. You will never see a voicemail logged from a successfully blocked number.
Should I leave my voicemail on or off if blocking calls?
This depends on your personal preference. You can turn voicemail off to ensure blocked callers have no voicemail option. Or you can leave it on to get messages from allowed numbers, since blocked calls will be filtered out automatically.
What happens when you block a number and decline the call?
If you block a number, there is no need to decline the call because it will be automatically blocked from connecting to your phone. If you also hit decline, it will likely just hang up on the caller’s end with no indication you declined.