Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
From time to time you receive some unwanted calls and when those unwanted calls quite regularly this means that, those calls become worrisome for you. In the long run, you do not want to receive those calls to disturb you or making you feel irritated. Many times like internet bots there has been so many forms of automated spammers who used to send calls and messages and this guaranteed for the need of blocking those numbers.
Android is open source to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) which means they can customize and add or remove features into it. There are some OEMs who provide these features in the settings of its Android phone and some other manufacturers omit this feature. How to block calls on the Android smartphone?
There are some native features include inside phone, as well as some apps, are there which can help users to stop these spammers and automated spammers from calling. From android 6 onwards by downloading Google’s phone app users can easily block unwanted calls. Sadly, there is no shortcut and the universal methods to block such annoyances in the phone android 5 and its previous versions.
Some devices which have android 5 and previous versions do provide the option to block spammers on per user basis.
From Google Phone App, in android 6 and later versions, tap for more options icon next to the microphone and then select SETTINGS and the CALL BLOCKING and then add the number you want to block. Alternatively, you can go to CALL HISTORY or RECENT CALLS and from there you can choose which phone number to be blocked. Tap the number and then select BLOCK. From here, you can report numbers as spam also.
From android messages app of Google, long press the contact which you want to block inside messages app and then tap the block icon situated at the upper-right hand corner. Alternatively, you can tap more options and then SETTINGS and then CALL BLOCKING and then add the number you want to block. This can be done in android 5 also where the installation of Google messages are allowed.
You can block specific callers from call log of android. From the call, log select the number to be blocked and then select MORE and then in its upper right corner choose to ADD TO REJECT LIST. In this way, this will reject such specific numbers from receiving incoming calls.
If you have the number in the contact list and the particular friend or relative is trying to contact you time and again and you do not want to receive those calls, then, just reach to that contact in the contact list, then move that number to receive ALL CALLS TO VOICEMAIL and in this way, the calls and contacts will now be redirected to voice inbox of your sim career.
Most of the reputed sim careers generally block the numbers on user’s request and you can do this exactly by contacting them and this can be a good option to block such numbers. On Samsung phones, touch the phone icon and then move to its LOGS and then long press the number you want to block and this will show a drop-down menu and from their touch ADD TO REJECT LIST and that number is blocked afterwards. Depending on the model of Samsung phone the moving towards SETTINGS does take some different modes but most of the times, the procedure to block phone numbers remains exactly the same.
In some models, there is no chance to do it as the OEMs tend to ignore this and in those models, it is a good idea to install apps so that this can provide you with easier solutions to block phones. Connect to the internet and open Google Play Store and then tap the search bar located at the top of it and then type there ‘should I answer’ and it will show the list of apps and from there choose the right apps and then reach to that page.
You should download ‘should I answer’ personal edition so that unsolicited calls should not bother you at all, and you can block any call in any smartphone. This application is completely free to use, and it will from time to time notify, you about dangerous or unsolicited incoming calls. In this way, it will save your precious time and money. The graphical user interface (GUI) of this app is very easy, and it is easier for the layman.
This app uses Google Gmail account and this means that even if you uninstall that app for some time and again install it, all of your data can be retrieved and in this way, it stays with complete synchronization. The level of warning of calls beginning from the danger level of unsolicited calls varies with different propositions.
This app allows you to create your own lists, as it can block foreign and premium numbers. This app can work in offline and updates its data when it connects to the internet through Wi-Fi and when you do not connect to WiFi for a long time, and then it updates its database with the help of data connectivity. Most of the users who installed this app used to rate phone numbers and these ratings are then gathered inside central server of this app.
Then, the administrator checks those and approves those and then sent to the local database of the users and the phone and the blocking features work even when the phone is in offline as the databases are downloaded when the phone connects to the internet. In this way, you fight effectively against unfair trade practices and telemarketing calls.
This app shows ads on one page and if you want to get rid of advertisements then you can pay small contribution and then your app will not show these ads once again. The most prominent part of moving and creating such apps or removing such unsolicited calls are that of remove such calls or reject such calls so that you should always not to be disturbed by such unwanted calls.
I wonder till to this date why the Google Phone App is not compatible with Android 5 and its previous versions especially until android jelly bean. If this app can be available for these android versions then for sure ultimately we could find better usability options with android devices. Ultimately there are many users who are using such devices and blocking such unsolicited calls needs urgent attention.
I hope Google listen to this and can create another app that could have been very much compatible with such older Android operating system. In fact, if you look carefully with these operating system updates you will find that most of these are hard and barely one or two years old and now becomes older because of the speed in which Google is releasing new versions of the Android operating system.
