These days you have to put down your phone number on so many forms that it’s almost impossible not to be bothered by 1-800 numbers a couple of times a week. So much personal information is sold from one company to another that call blocking has become a necessity.
Marketing campaigns are just part of the problem. What about those crazy exes or long lost high school friends that you want nothing to do with? How can you make sure that they never bother you? Here are some simple tricks that you can use with your Pixel 3.
Block Contacts
- Open the Phone App
- Tap Call History
- Tap on a Call from the Number or Contact That You Want to Block
- Tap Block
As a side note, you can also choose to report a number as spam.
Unblock Contacts
- Open the Phone App
- Tap More (The three vertical dots icon used across all Google apps)
- Tap Settings
- Tap Blocked Numbers
- Unblock
If you have multiple blocked numbers, just scroll down until you find the one that you want to unblock.
Third-Party Apps
If you feel like the Pixel 3 lacks the customization features that you would like, you can always resort to a third-party app. Safest Call Blocker is one of the most popular apps on Google Play. Not only can you block specific numbers but you can use other features such as:
- Block all calls
- Block unknown numbers
- Block private numbers
- Block numbers not in the contacts list
You can also block calls from all numbers with the same prefix, such as 800 numbers. To do this, you have to open the block list and add 1-800-###-#### to it. This will block any incoming calls from companies trying to sell you stuff or bothering you with surveys.
Note that Safest Call Blocker can also display notifications for when a call has been blocked if you enable the option from the settings menu.
Ignore Calls
Maybe you don’t actually want to block someone but still want to make yourself unavailable to certain contacts. If that’s the case, you can easily route their calls directly to your voicemail. Here are the steps:
- Home Screen
- Tap Contacts
- Tap a Contact
- Tap Menu (It’s the triple vertical dot icon in the upper-right corner)
- Tap Route to Voicemail
If you want to disable the feature and let a certain contact’s call go through, simply follow steps 1 through 4 and then tap on Unroute.
Use Your Carrier
Verizon, which has been partnered with Google’s Pixel for a while now, also lets you block certain calls made to your device. The service is free but has a nasty limitation. You can only block five numbers for free and you have to reblock them every three months.
To use Verizon’s call blocker, you have to log into your account on the carrier’s website. From there, you can follow these steps:
- My Plan & Services
- Blocks
- Select Line
- Click the Plus Sign Next to Block Calls & Messages
- Input Phone Number and Click on Save
Keep in mind that by doing this you’ll also be blocking incoming messages from those numbers. When blocking certain numbers from the Pixel 3’s settings, you have to specify whether you want to block calls, messages, or both. Verizon does both by default.
A Final Thought
Android devices have multiple ways in which you can block or ignore contacts and unknown numbers. Not only can the phones be used for targeted blocking but there are also a variety of third party apps that allow you to do this. Carries also offer this, but with clear limitations. If you want to make yourself unavailable to more than a few callers, always use the smartphone’s blocking feature, just to be on the safe side.
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