How to Block a Number on Android: Pixel, Samsung, and What Blocking Doesn't Do (2026)
NoDial Editorial ／ 2026-09-21Blocking a number on Android takes about ten seconds once you know where the button is — and the button is in a slightly different place on a Pixel, a Samsung, and inside the Messages app. This guide gives the exact steps for each, plus the two settings people usually want next: blocking unknown callers and blocking texts. It also answers the question most guides skip: what blocking actually covers. One direction is handled completely. The other direction — calls you place to that number — is not covered at all, and we explain what to use if that is the problem you came to solve.
Steps are current as of September 2026. Menu names shift between Android versions and phone makers; if a label differs slightly on your phone, the path will still be recognizably the same.
1. The short answer
On any recent Android phone, the fastest route is the same three moves: open the Phone app → find the number in Recents → Block. Once blocked, that number's calls no longer ring your phone, its texts stop arriving, and the caller is not notified. You can also block numbers that have never called you by typing them into the blocked list, and block all unknown or private callers with one switch.
Blocking is one-directional. It stops that number from reaching you — calls and texts in. It does nothing to calls you place to that number. If you block someone and then dial them, the call connects normally.
2. Block a number on a Pixel (Google Phone app)
Pixels — and many other phones — use Google's Phone app. Two ways in:
- From a recent call: open the Phone app → tap Recents → touch and hold the number (or tap it to expand) → tap Block / report spam → confirm with Block. You can optionally tick "report as spam" before confirming.
- From settings, for a number that has never called you: Phone app → tap the three-dot menu → Settings → Blocked numbers → Add a number → type it in.
Blocked calls are sent away without ringing — routed to voicemail on most setups — and blocking a number in the Phone app also stops its text messages. To undo it, go back to Settings → Blocked numbers and remove the number from the list.
3. Block a number on a Samsung Galaxy
Samsung ships its own Phone app, so the path is slightly different:
- From a recent call: open the Phone app → Recents → tap the number → tap Block (on some models it sits behind the ⋮ menu as Block contact) → confirm.
- From the blocked list, for any number: Phone app → ⋮ menu → Settings → Block numbers → type the number into the field and tap the + (add) icon.
The same Block numbers screen is where you remove a number to unblock it. Samsung phones also offer Smart Call, which flags likely spam callers on the incoming-call screen so you can decide before answering.
4. Block unknown and private callers
If the calls you want to stop come with no number at all — "Unknown", "Private number" — blocking them one by one is impossible, so both makers give you a single switch:
- Pixel / Google Phone app: Phone app → ⋮ → Settings → Blocked numbers → turn on Unknown. This blocks calls from private or unidentified numbers.
- Samsung: Phone app → ⋮ → Settings → Block numbers → turn on Block calls from unknown numbers (wording varies slightly by model).
Note the trade-off before flipping it: legitimate calls that hide their number — some clinics, some workplaces — get caught by the same switch.
5. Block texts in Google Messages
Blocking in the Phone app already stops texts from that number on most phones. If the problem starts as a text, you can block directly from the conversation:
- Open Google Messages → touch and hold the conversation → tap Block (or open the conversation → ⋮ → Block & report spam) → confirm.
The sender is not notified. Their future messages are moved quietly to the spam folder instead of your inbox.
6. What blocking covers — and the direction it doesn't
Here is the complete picture of what happens after you block a number:
| Covered by blocking? | |
|---|---|
| Their calls to you | Yes — your phone doesn't ring |
| Their texts to you | Yes — stopped or moved to spam |
| Notification to them | No notification is sent |
| Your calls to them | Not covered — the call connects normally |
| Your texts to them | Not covered — the text sends normally |
That last part surprises people, because "block" sounds like a wall between two phones. It is actually a filter on your inbox. Android has no built-in setting that stops you from calling a number — not in the Phone app, not in Contacts, not anywhere in system settings. If that is the direction you need — a number you have decided not to call, and you want the phone to hold the line for you — that takes a different tool entirely. The options, from the SIM's allow-list to carrier barring to a per-number outgoing blocker like NoDial, are laid out in our guide to blocking outgoing calls to a specific number on Android, and if the harder part is the impulse itself, start with how to stop yourself from calling someone.
Blocking protects you from their fingers. It does nothing about yours. Incoming is built into Android; outgoing needs a per-number outgoing call blocker.
7. FAQ
- How do I block a number on Android?
- Open the Phone app, go to Recents, touch and hold (or tap) the number, and choose Block. To block a number that has never called you, add it manually under Settings → Blocked numbers (Pixel) or Settings → Block numbers (Samsung).
- Will the person know I blocked them?
- No notification is sent. Their calls stop ringing your phone — typically going to voicemail — and their texts stop arriving. Some people infer it over time, but the phone tells them nothing.
- Can I block calls from unknown or private numbers?
- Yes. Both the Google Phone app and Samsung's Phone app have a switch for it under the blocked-numbers settings. Be aware it also catches legitimate callers who hide their number.
- Does blocking a number also block their texts?
- On most phones, yes — blocking in the Phone app covers calls and texts. You can also block from inside Google Messages by holding the conversation and tapping Block.
- If I block a number, can I still call it?
- Yes — and it will connect normally. Blocking only filters what comes in. To stop your own outgoing calls to a number, you need a per-number outgoing call blocker; Android has no built-in setting for that direction.
- How do I unblock a number?
- Go to the same list where blocks live — Settings → Blocked numbers on a Pixel, Settings → Block numbers on a Samsung — and remove the number. Unblocking is instant.
8. Summary
Blocking a number on Android is quick and works well for what it does: their calls and texts to you stop, silently. What it never touches is the other direction — your calls to them connect as if nothing happened. Know which problem you are solving before you rely on the block button.
- Pixel: Phone app → Recents → hold the number → Block / report spam. Manual adds and the Unknown switch live under Settings → Blocked numbers.
- Samsung: Phone app → Recents → tap the number → Block. The list and the unknown-callers switch live under Settings → Block numbers.
- Texts: blocked along with calls on most phones, or block the conversation inside Google Messages.
- Your own outgoing calls are never covered — for that, see how outgoing call blocker apps work.
Sources
- Google Phone Help, "Block or unblock a phone number" support.google.com
- Google Phone Help, "Blocked numbers" (adding numbers manually and blocking unknown callers) support.google.com
- Google Messages Help, "Block senders & report spam in Google Messages" support.google.com
- Samsung Support, "Block a phone number or contact on your Galaxy phone" samsung.com
Phone makers rearrange these menus between versions. If a step does not match your phone, search your phone maker's help pages for "block numbers" and your model.