Call Barred Meaning: Incoming or Outgoing Calls Barred, Why, and How to Remove It (2026)

You tried to call someone and heard that the number has incoming call restrictions, or your own phone refuses to make calls and says calls are barred. "Barred" means the mobile network refused the call on purpose, because a call barring rule is active on one of the two lines. This guide explains what each message means, whose line the bar is on, why a line gets barred, and how to remove the bar, whether you set it yourself or your carrier did.

Current as of September 2026. Carriers word their messages differently and change their policies. Check your carrier's help pages for the exact rules on your account.

1. The short answer

"Call barred" means the network refused the call because a bar is active. If you hear it when calling someone else, their line is barring incoming calls; there is nothing wrong with yours. If your own calls will not go through, your line has an outgoing bar: either call barring was switched on from the phone, or your carrier restricted the line, most often over an unpaid bill.

To check, dial *#33# (outgoing) or *#35# (incoming). If a bar you set is on, #330*PW# removes all of them, where PW is your 4-digit barring password. If you did not set it, contact your carrier through its app or chat.

2. Which "barred" are you seeing?

Vodafone Australia describes the two recorded messages this way. With an incoming bar, "the caller will hear a message stating that you have incoming call restrictions." With an outgoing bar, "Calls you make won't connect and you'll hear a recorded message letting you know call barring is active." The exact wording differs between carriers, but the meaning is the same.

3. What the network does when a call is barred

Call barring is defined in the 3GPP standard TS 22.088, which GSM and LTE carriers follow. It explains why the messages above are sent to one person and not the other:

• Outgoing bar: a call the bar does not allow "will be refused by the network. In this case the served mobile subscriber will receive an indication that the call is not permitted and has been barred." The person whose line is barred is told.
• Incoming bar: an incoming call the bar does not allow is refused, and "the calling mobile subscriber will receive an indication that the call is not permitted and has been barred." The caller is told, not the person being called.
• An outgoing bar leaves your "ability ... to receive calls and to set-up emergency calls" unaffected.
• An incoming bar leaves your ability "to originate calls" unaffected.

So if you hear the message when calling someone, the incoming bar is on their side. If you are told when calling out, the outgoing bar is on yours.

4. Why a line gets barred

Someone switched on call barring

Call barring can be turned on from the phone's settings or with a dial code such as *33*, protected by a 4-digit password. It stays on until someone turns it off. If you share or were handed the phone, it may have been set before. What each type blocks: What Is Call Barring?

Your carrier restricted the line for account reasons

This is the usual reason when you did not set anything yourself.

• Vodafone Australia: "Your service may be barred for account related reasons, such as an unpaid bill or high unbilled charges."
• O2 (UK): "If you don't pay your O2 bill, a bar will automatically be applied to your account. At first, this stops any out-of-bundle spend – although you can still use your usual allowance." Further limits follow if the bill stays unpaid.
• Telstra (Australia): if an AutoPay payment is still missing after 10 business days, "your services will be restricted and calls can only be made to emergency numbers." Its collection policy adds that while a service is restricted, "You will still be able to receive incoming calls" but "You will not be able to make outgoing calls, except for calls to emergency services".
• Vodacom (South Africa) shows an account status that can indicate the profile "is in collections", and says services are unlocked "once payment has fully cleared and been allocated correctly."

Other bars a carrier can add

• Lost or stolen phone: O2 says "Only our team can apply a bar to your account (and device) to stop any fraudulent use."
• Premium rate and adult services: EE switches bars on premium rate numbers, "such as those beginning with 090", when you call them. O2 says bars on adult services and premium rate numbers are added by its support team, and to remove them "you may need to call us again".
• Spend caps: Three (UK) blocks usage that goes over a cap you set.
• Barring controlled by the carrier: the standard lets barring be controlled "by the service provider". In that case "the supplementary service cannot be deactivated by the subscriber" and only the carrier can remove it.

5. How to check what is barred on your line

Type the code in the Phone app and press call. The network replies with whether that bar is active.

If these say barring is off but you still cannot call, the restriction is likely on your carrier account, not a call barring setting. Go to section 7.

6. How to remove call barring you set yourself

With a code: dial #330*PW# to turn off every kind of barring at once, or #33*PW# for outgoing and #35*PW# for incoming only. PW is your 4-digit call barring password. Vodafone Australia gives the same instruction: "If you placed the bar yourself using GSM codes, you can remove all bars by dialling: # 330 * [YOUR BARRING PIN] #".

From the menu: Vi (India) describes it as "Open the Phone app → Settings → Supplementary Services. Select Call Barring. Turn off the toggles … Enter your call barring code to confirm." On phones using Google's Phone app, the menu is under Settings > Calling accounts > your SIM > Call barring, if your carrier shows it.

If you do not know the password: the password is set by your carrier, there is no universal default, and there is no code that shows it. Published defaults and how to get it reset are in Call Barring Codes and Password. Avoid guessing: the standard allows the network to lock password requests after more than three wrong tries in a row.

7. How to remove a bar your carrier placed

Codes will not remove these. The carrier removes them once the reason is sorted out.

• Find out why. Vodafone Australia: "If you didn't place the bar yourself, there may be an issue with your account that needs to be sorted out before it can be removed."
• Use the app, chat or another phone. A restricted line may only reach emergency numbers, so contact the carrier through its app or website. Vodafone Australia points to "Live Chat 24/7 in the My Vodafone app"; Telstra says to "pay the overdue amount in full via the My Telstra app."
• Pay any overdue amount. O2: "Once we receive payment to clear these restrictions it can take up to 24 hours for your services to be fully restored." Vodacom: "The line reconnects automatically once payment is allocated and requirements are met."
• Bars added by support (premium rate, lost or stolen) are removed by contacting the carrier again. O2 notes that for these, "you may need to call us again."

8. When the phone refuses to change barring

Sometimes the phone shows an error or says the request was rejected when you try to turn barring on or off. The standard describes these cases: when barring is controlled by the service provider, "an attempt to activate the barring services will be denied", and a request that is not fully specified is rejected. The common causes are:

• The carrier controls barring on your line, or does not offer it to subscribers. Only the carrier can change it.
• The password is wrong or locked. See Call Barring Codes and Password.
• The code was mistyped. Every * and # matters.
• Mobile data is off for that SIM, or the wrong SIM is selected on a dual-SIM phone.

The opposite situation: if you want to stop calls to one particular number yourself, call barring cannot do that, because it works by category. An app such as NoDial blocks outgoing calls to the numbers you choose, on your phone, with no barring password. See How to Block Outgoing Calls to a Specific Number.

9. FAQ

What does "call barred" mean?

It means the mobile network refused the call because a call barring rule is active. If you hear it when calling someone, their line bars incoming calls. If your own calls fail, your line has an outgoing bar, set from the phone or by your carrier.

What does "incoming call barred" mean?

Calls to that line are not connected. If it is someone you are calling, their line has an incoming bar and you cannot change it. If people say they cannot reach you, check your line with *#35# and turn it off with #35*PW# or ask your carrier.

Why are my outgoing calls barred?

Either call barring was switched on from the phone (check with *#33#), or your carrier restricted the line for an account reason such as an unpaid bill. Carrier restrictions often still allow emergency calls and incoming calls.

How do I remove call barring?

If you set it, dial #330*PW# with your barring password to remove every bar. If you did not set it, or the code is refused, contact your carrier through its app or chat; only the carrier can remove bars it placed.

Can I still call emergency numbers when my calls are barred?

The standard says an outgoing bar does not affect emergency calls, and carriers such as Telstra keep emergency calls available on restricted lines.

What does it mean if a message mentions collections?

Your carrier has barred the line over an unpaid balance. Pay or contact the carrier's collections or support team. Vodacom, for example, reconnects the line automatically once the payment is allocated.

10. Summary

• Incoming bar: the caller is told; the owner can still make calls.
• Outgoing bar: the owner is told; they can still receive calls and call emergency numbers.
• Carrier bars usually come from unpaid bills, lost or stolen reports, or premium and spend limits.
• Check with *#33# and *#35#. Remove your own bars with #330*PW#.
• If you do not know the barring password, ask your carrier. Guessing can lock it.

NoDial: block calls to the numbers you choseThe opposite of a bar you didn't want: stop calls to one number, on your phone. First number free.

Sources

• 3GPP TS 22.088 V13.0.0, "Call Barring (CB) supplementary services" (§1.1 and §2.1 what stays unaffected; §1.3.6 provider-controlled barring cannot be deactivated by the subscriber; §1.3.8 and §2.3.8 who receives the barred indication; §1.4.4 and §1.4.5 denied or rejected requests), ARIB copy of the 3GPP text arib.or.jp
• 3GPP TS 22.004 V13.0.0, "General on supplementary services" (password blocked after more than three wrong entries), ARIB copy arib.or.jp
• Vodafone Australia, "Call barring" (incoming and outgoing messages; barred for account related reasons; remove with #330*PIN#; contact via Live Chat) vodafone.com.au
• O2, "How to add or remove a bar on your O2 account" (bar for unpaid bills; lost or stolen; bars added by support) o2.co.uk
• O2, "Payment support" (up to 24 hours to restore services after payment) o2.co.uk
• Telstra, "Manage failed payments" (restricted to emergency numbers; pay via the My Telstra app) telstra.com.au
• Telstra, "Collection Policy" (restricted services still receive incoming calls; outgoing only to emergency services) telstra.com.au
• Vodacom, "Suspensions, collections and reconnections" (collections status; automatic reconnection after payment) vodacom.co.za
• EE, "Use call barring" (premium rate bars by calling EE; emergency numbers still work) ee.co.uk
• Three, "Spend Caps" (transactions over the limit are blocked) three.co.uk
• Vi, "What is call barring" (turning barring off in Supplementary Services) myvi.in

Carriers change their account policies and messages. Check your carrier's current help page for the rules on your line.