Blocking phone numbers is a convenient way to prevent unwanted calls and text messages—like those from telemarketers—from reaching your phone. In fact, it’s easy to block a number that’s calling or texting you using the steps in our article, “How to Block a Phone Number on Your iPhone.”
Once blocked, the caller can’t leave any kind of message on your iPhone, whether it’s an iMessage or SMS. This means you can’t see any messages that have already been blocked. However, you can unblock that person to start receiving their messages again in the future.
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Can you see the blocked messages on the iPhone?
Apple doesn’t provide a direct way to view messages from blocked contacts on your iPhone. Once a number is blocked, any messages from that contact vanish from your inbox, notifications, and search results. Unlike some Android devices that have a “Blocked Messages” folder for easy retrieval, iPhones don’t offer this feature.
There are still ways to recover blocked messages on your iPhone, though they involve alternative methods such as third-party apps or iCloud backups. Stay tuned as we explore these solutions and help you uncover those hidden messages.
How to See Blocked Messages on iPhone
If you’ve ever blocked someone on your iPhone to avoid unwanted calls or texts, you might find yourself wondering if there’s a way to view any messages they may have sent while blocked.
Unfortunately, Apple doesn’t offer a built-in feature for accessing these hidden messages, which means once a contact is blocked, their messages are removed from your inbox, notifications, and even search results.
This can be frustrating if you later decide you want to see what was sent. However, there are alternative methods available that can help you recover blocked messages, including using third-party apps or exploring your iCloud backups.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through the steps and tools you can use to potentially retrieve those elusive messages.
Option 1. How to Unblock Messages on Your iPhone
- Open the Settings app.
- Tap “Phone.”
- Tap “Call Blocking & Identification.” You should see a list of all the phone numbers you’ve blocked on your iPhone.
- Swipe a number you want to unblock to the left and then tap “Unblock.”
This number will now be unblocked for voice calls, FaceTime, and messages, so you’ll start receiving communications from them again.
To access the list of blocked numbers, go to the Messages page in Settings and tap on “Blocked.”
Option 2. Check The Notification
If you haven’t yet cleared your iPhone’s notifications (a common scenario! ), you might still find hints of messages from the blocked contact lingering there.
- Step 1: Swipe down from the top right corner of your screen to open the Notification Center.
- Step 2: Scroll down and swipe left on any notifications from unknown numbers or names.
If you blocked someone before clearing your notifications, their message preview might still be visible, giving you a sneak peek into those hidden messages.
Option 3. Retrieve Messages after unblocking someone by iCloud
If the date of your backup matches when you deleted the text message, you might be able to restore your messages using iCloud. Here’s how:
- Go back to the main settings and tap on General.
- Scroll down and choose either “Reset” or “Transfer or Reset iPhone.”
- A confirmation popup will appear. Select “Erase All Content and Settings.”
Important Warning: Selecting “Backup Then Erase” will delete your existing backup, making lost messages unrecoverable. To restore your messages, choose “Erase All Content and Settings” and start over with a fresh setup.
- Follow the on-screen instructions until you reach the “Apps & Data” section.
- Choose “Restore from iCloud Backup.”
- Enter your password and sign in to iCloud.
- Select “Backup” and choose the most recent backup from the available list in iCloud. Make sure it corresponds to the date when the text messages were deleted.
Currently, there is no direct method to view blocked text messages on an iPhone. The steps above only allow you to recover messages from before you blocked the number. If you want to access messages from a blocked contact, you’ll need to unblock the number.
Conclusion
Once you block someone on your iPhone, you cannot view or retrieve any messages or calls from that contact, as they are automatically filtered out and kept from reaching your device. While there is no direct method to access blocked messages, you can view your blocked contacts through the Settings app.
If you want to see new messages from a previously blocked contact, you will need to unblock them. Messages sent before the block will not be recoverable through standard methods, but you may find limited information in your Notification Center or potentially restore data from an iCloud backup if it aligns with the period before the block.
Be sure to check out our other full guide for step-by-step instructions to solve any iPhone related problems or errors in windows. Don’t miss out on any important guide on.