My carrier does not offer barring of domestic calls. What then?

The restriction has to live on the handset: a basic phone's contacts-only dialing, Fixed Dialing Numbers on Android, or a per-number call limit app. Carrier barring of international calls is usually still available and can be combined with any of them.

What if I forget the handset code, the barring password or PIN2?

Handset codes are reset through the maker's or carrier's support, often with proof of ownership. The barring password is reset by the carrier. PIN2 is unlocked with the PUK2 code from the carrier; do not keep guessing, because repeated wrong entries lock the SIM.

My parent has an iPhone. Which options work?

Carrier call barring works on any phone on that line. The handset-side options in this article are for basic phones and Android. On an iPhone, the practical choices are carrier barring or a change of handset.

Does the restriction survive a new phone or a new SIM?

It depends on where it lives. A handset lock stays with the handset and is lost on a new phone. FDN lists live on the SIM. Carrier barring is tied to the line, but on some carriers a SIM replacement clears it. A call limit app has to be installed and set up again on the new phone. Check after any change.

What if my parent turns the restriction off?

Each option has its own lock: the barring password, the handset code, PIN2, or the app's PIN. Set the code yourself and change any factory default. Without a code, a restriction is only a setting that anyone can change.

Family & seniors

How to Restrict Outgoing Calls on a Parent With Dementia’s Phone (2026)

NoDial Editorial ／ 2026-10-3014 min read

At some point many families caring for a parent with dementia or memory loss ask the same question: can we restrict the calls their phone makes, without taking the phone away? The answer is yes, in four different ways, and they do very different things. Some stop every call, some stop calls to everyone except a short list, and one only paces how often the same number can be called. This guide compares the four, so that you can pick the one that stops what you need to stop and leaves everything else open. If what you need is help with the calls you receive from your parent, that is a separate article: Parent with dementia keeps calling? What helps.

NoDial: Block Outgoing CallsBlocks calls to numbers you choose

NoCall: Blacklist Call BlockerBlock unwanted calls before they ring.

This article is written for family caregivers and describes settings on phones and mobile plans. It is not medical advice. If a change in calling comes with new confusion, distress or a sudden change in behavior, contact your parent's doctor or care team.

1. The short answer

There are four places where outgoing calls can be restricted, and each one draws the line somewhere else.

The carrier (call barring). The mobile network can refuse all outgoing calls, or only international ones. Nothing to install, but it is all or nothing, and not every carrier offers it for domestic calls.
A basic phone's own lock. Many basic phones have a setting that allows calls only to saved contacts, or disables voice calls entirely, behind the handset's security code.
Android settings. Fixed Dialing Numbers (FDN) limits calls to a short list stored on the SIM, protected by the PIN2 code.
A call limit per number. An app on the phone lets every number stay callable but caps how often the same number can be called, for example two calls per hour, and shows when the next call is allowed.

Emergency numbers stay callable with all four, by design. The real difference is what else they stop: the first three stop whole groups of calls, while the fourth only paces repeated calls to the same person.

KEY POINT

Start from what you want to stop, not from the tool. "Every call" and "the tenth call to my number today" are different problems, and the right setting for one is the wrong setting for the other.

2. Decide first what you want to stop

Dementia organizations describe repeated calls as a result of memory loss and a need for reassurance, not as a decision. That is worth keeping in mind when choosing a restriction, because the lightest setting that solves the actual problem is the one your parent is most likely to accept. Four situations come up most often:

They call the same person far too often. The calls are welcome; the tenth one in an hour is not. You want a cap on frequency, not a block. See Option 4.
They call people they should not, or strangers. Old contacts, wrong numbers, numbers from a scam text. You want calls limited to a list of family and known services. See Option 2 and Option 3.
They run up international or premium charges. Callbacks to foreign numbers, premium services. You want those categories stopped at the network. See Option 1.
The phone should not make calls at all. For example a second phone kept for messages and photos. See Option 1 or Option 2.

Whatever you choose, decide it with your parent where you can. The Alzheimer's Society and the Alzheimer's Association both recommend responding to the feeling behind repeated behaviour rather than only to the behaviour, and a restriction that was agreed on ("two calls an hour, and I call you at six") is easier to live with than one that simply appears on the phone.

3. Option 1: Call barring from the carrier

Call barring is a standard network service: the carrier refuses certain outgoing calls before they are placed. The usual categories are all outgoing calls and international calls. It is switched on from the phone's call settings with a barring password, or by asking the carrier. We explain the mechanism in What call barring is and how it works, and the "all outgoing calls" option in detail in How to block all outgoing calls on Android.

For a parent's phone, four questions decide whether it is the right tool:

Does the carrier offer it for domestic calls? Some carriers only let you stop international calls. If "bar all outgoing calls" is not on offer, the restriction has to live on the handset instead (Options 2 to 4).
Who knows the barring password? Barring is undone with the same password it was set with. Change it from the default and keep it yourself, otherwise it is a setting, not a restriction.
Does voicemail or call forwarding interfere? Some networks cannot apply "all outgoing" barring while voicemail or forwarding is active. Ask the carrier.
Does it survive a new SIM? Barring is tied to the line. On some carriers a SIM or eSIM replacement clears it, so check after any phone change.

Call barring stops a whole category. It cannot allow calls to the family while refusing calls to everyone else, and it cannot limit how often a number is called. If either of those is what you need, keep reading.

4. Option 2: A basic phone's own dialing lock

If your parent uses a basic phone (a flip phone or a simple handset made for older users), look in its manual before changing anything on the network. Many of these phones have a restriction built into the handset itself, behind the phone's security code. The names differ by maker, but the settings we found fall into three kinds:

Contacts-only dialing. Calls can be made from the phone book or the one-touch keys, but not by typing a number, and often not from the call history or redial either. Everyone in the phone book stays reachable; everyone else is not.
Contacts plus an allow-list. A lock on outgoing calls that exempts saved contacts or a separate list of allowed numbers.
Voice calls off. A lock that disables outgoing voice calls entirely until the code is entered.

On the handsets we checked, emergency numbers stayed callable with all three, and each lock was protected by the handset's security code or a separate lock number. Two things to do when you set one up: change the code from its factory default, and write down the exact menu path, because these settings are often several levels deep and you will need them again after a reset.

Not every basic phone has such a setting. Some models made for seniors have rich settings for incoming calls (reject unknown numbers, reject withheld numbers) and nothing for outgoing calls. If the manual has nothing under "dialing", "outgoing calls" or "restrictions", the choice is between carrier barring and a different handset.

5. Option 3: Android settings (FDN, a second user)

On an Android smartphone, the built-in way to limit outgoing calls to a list is Fixed Dialing Numbers (FDN). The allowed numbers are stored on the SIM, the feature is protected by the SIM's PIN2 code, and when it is on, the phone can only call the numbers on that list. Samsung's support page describes it as a way for outgoing calls to be "limited to predefined numbers", and warns that repeated wrong PIN2 entries can lock the SIM. On most phones it sits under the Phone app's settings, often as a "supplementary service" or "call settings" entry. We cover the setup, PIN2 and PUK2, and the everyday drawbacks in Fixed Dialing Numbers on Android: how it works and its limits.

FDN fits situation 2 above (calls only to family and known services). It does not fit situation 1: the people on the list can still be called as often as the phone allows.

Two other Android features come up in this context, and both have limits worth knowing:

A second user with calls turned off. Android can have more than one user on a phone, and for each extra user you choose whether phone calls are allowed. A profile with calls off cannot place calls at all, but switching back to the owner's profile is a tap away unless that profile has its own screen lock, and it is a blunt instrument for a phone that should still reach the family.
Google Family Link contact restrictions. Family Link can limit whom a supervised account may call, but it is built for children's accounts (Android 14 or later, and only for certain apps such as Google Dialer). It is not designed for an adult's phone, and we do not recommend bending it to this purpose.

6. Option 4: A call limit per number

The three options above all draw a line between "allowed numbers" and "everything else". They cannot do anything about the most common problem in dementia care, which is the same welcome number being called twenty times a day. For that, an outgoing call limit app such as NoDial works differently: every number stays callable, and for the numbers you choose, you set how many calls are allowed per hour, day, week or month.

For example, your own number at two calls per hour. The first two calls connect as usual. A third attempt within the last 60 minutes does not connect, and the phone shows when the next call is allowed ("You can call this number again from 3:30 PM"). Any number you did not register, including other family members and emergency numbers, is not affected. Step-by-step setup is in the earlier article, Setting up a call limit on their phone, and the mechanism in How to limit how often you call a number on Android.

Every number stays callable ✓
Limit per hour, day, week or month ✓
Shows the next allowed time ✓
Settings can be locked with a PIN ✓

Compared with the other three options, what matters for a parent's phone is this:

It keeps the relationship intact. Your parent can still call you, just not for the fifth time in an hour, and the phone, not you, says when the next call is possible.
The settings can be locked. A four-digit PIN can be set so that changing or removing a limit requires the PIN. Without it, the person using the phone could turn a limit off (the change takes effect an hour later and the phone shows a notice during that hour).
It is one phone, set up on that phone. There is no remote management from your own phone, and no iPhone version; it runs on Android only.
Emergency numbers cannot be registered, so emergency calls always go through.

* The one-hour delay applies to turning a limit off; editing a limit takes effect immediately. Major emergency numbers are refused at registration, and emergency calls are never blocked.

7. Side-by-side comparison

Option	What it stops	What stays open	Where it is set	Can your parent undo it?	Phones
Carrier: bar all outgoing calls	Every outgoing call	Incoming calls, emergency calls	Phone's call settings or the carrier	Only with the barring password	Any phone on that carrier
Carrier: bar international calls	Calls abroad (and callbacks to foreign numbers)	All domestic calls	Phone's call settings or the carrier	Only with the barring password	Any phone on that carrier
Basic phone: contacts-only dialing	Typed numbers, redial, call history	Everyone in the phone book, emergency calls	The handset's security menu	Only with the handset code	Basic phones that have the setting
Android: Fixed Dialing Numbers	Every number not on the SIM list	The list, emergency calls	Phone app settings, SIM	Only with PIN2	Android phones whose SIM supports FDN
Android: second user, calls off	All calls from that profile	The owner's profile	System settings, Users	Yes, by switching user, unless the owner profile is locked	Android phones with multiple users
App: call limit per number	Calls over the limit to chosen numbers	Every other number, calls within the limit, emergency calls	The app, on the parent's phone	Not while the PIN lock is on	Android

The options can be combined. A basic phone with contacts-only dialing plus carrier barring of international calls is a common pairing; on an Android phone, FDN for the list and a per-number limit for the one number that gets called too often is another.

8. If incoming calls are the worry

Everything above restricts calls your parent makes. Sales calls, scam calls and unknown numbers are the opposite direction, and none of the four options stops them (carrier barring of incoming calls exists, but it stops the family too). For incoming calls, the tools are the phone's own blocking of unknown and withheld numbers, a contacts-only ringing rule, and the carrier's nuisance-call services. We cover these in Block unknown and private numbers on Android and Only allow calls from contacts on Android. One pairing families use is a contacts-only rule for incoming calls on the same phone that has a dialing restriction for outgoing calls.

9. Keeping the phone, not taking it away

A restriction should be the last step, not the first. The Alzheimer's Association and the Alzheimer's Society both describe repetition as driven by memory loss and a need for reassurance, and recommend looking for the pattern behind it and responding to the feeling. In practice that means the measures that cost nothing: calling at a set time each day so the searching calls in between fall away, writing the next call or visit where your parent will see it, and sharing the calls among the family. Those steps are in the earlier article. If after that the calls are still more than anyone can carry, the lightest restriction that fixes the actual problem, chosen with your parent, is the one to reach for.

10. FAQ

My carrier does not offer barring of domestic calls. What then?: The restriction has to live on the handset: a basic phone's contacts-only dialing, Fixed Dialing Numbers on Android, or a per-number call limit app. Carrier barring of international calls is usually still available and can be combined with any of them.
What if I forget the handset code, the barring password or PIN2?: Handset codes are reset through the maker's or carrier's support, often with proof of ownership. The barring password is reset by the carrier. PIN2 is unlocked with the PUK2 code from the carrier; do not keep guessing, because repeated wrong entries lock the SIM.
My parent has an iPhone. Which options work?: Carrier call barring works on any phone on that line. The handset-side options in this article are for basic phones and Android. On an iPhone, the practical choices are carrier barring or a change of handset.
Does the restriction survive a new phone or a new SIM?: It depends on where it lives. A handset lock stays with the handset and is lost on a new phone. FDN lists live on the SIM. Carrier barring is tied to the line, but on some carriers a SIM replacement clears it. A call limit app has to be installed and set up again on the new phone. Check after any change.
What if my parent turns the restriction off?: Each option has its own lock: the barring password, the handset code, PIN2, or the app's PIN. Set the code yourself and change any factory default. Without a code, a restriction is only a setting that anyone can change.

11. Summary

SUMMARY

Four ways to restrict a parent's outgoing calls: the carrier stops categories, a basic phone's lock or FDN stops everyone outside a list, and a per-number limit stops only the repeated calls. Choose by what you need to stop, lock the setting with a code, and leave emergency numbers and the family reachable.

Decide first: every call, calls outside a list, international calls, or too many calls to one person.
Carrier barring: all-or-nothing, not offered for domestic calls everywhere, undone with the barring password.
Basic phones: check the manual for contacts-only dialing or a voice-call lock; change the default code.
Android: FDN with PIN2 for a short list; a per-number call limit for the number that is called too often, with a PIN on the settings.
Emergency numbers stay callable with every option. Incoming scam calls are a separate problem with separate tools.

NoDial: a call limit for the numbers you choosePer hour, day, week or month. Settings can be locked with a PIN.