Despite how much we dread blocking someone, it can often be necessary for peace of mind. Yet, sometimes our curiosities get the better of us, and we start wondering what they might have wanted to say. But can you read messages from blocked contacts, especially on your iPhone?
As it turns out, you can’t read messages from blocked people on your iPhone. Yet, it might still be possible if it’s a voicemail or you unblock them for a moment, and their message just arrives at that time. Also, if you’re a Verizon user, you may be able to view messages no older than five days.
So, let’s explore these possibilities in detail to find out how to see blocked messages on iPhone.
Can You Read Blocked Messages on Your iPhone?
Typically, you can’t. After all, when you block someone on your iPhone, it means you’re preventing them from contacting you at all, and the same goes for the other way around.
This is because when you block someone, their messages won’t reach your network, even though it’ll look as if they’re sent. The same goes for iMessage.
One article in The Business Insider
says that your blocked contacts can still send you a voicemail, but you won’t be notified about that.
The article also says it’s the only way they can reach you once you block them. And it seems that way from numerous community discussions, such as this one.
However, this doesn’t mean your blocked contacts can’t text you from third-party apps like WhatsApp, Viber, Facebook Messenger, Skype, etc.
After all, these apps have nothing to do with the blocked number or their network. If they use these to reach you, you can definitely read the texts.
How to See Blocked Messages on Your iPhone?
Although there’s practically no way to view messages from blocked iPhone contacts, three possibilities still remain, which you may want to try.
Check Blocked Voicemail
Since voicemails are transferred from one contact to another only through the carrier, they’re stored on the service provider’s network instead of your phone.
That’s why it’s pretty much possible that you’ll be able to access any voicemail your blocked contact might have sent you. Here’s what you need to do.
- Step 1: Launch the Phone app and switch to the Voicemail tab.
- Step 2: Scroll down to the bottom, where you’ll see the option ‘Blocked Messages.’ Tap it.
- Step 3: Here, you’ll see all the voicemails you’ve received from the contacts you’ve blocked. So, just listen or save the ones you need.
Briefly Unblock the Contact
As we’ve said, there’s no way to retrieve messages from blocked contacts in their blocked state. Meaning you can’t read their messages while they’re blocked since they simply won’t pass through.
So, what you can do is unblock that particular contact for a few moments to allow any pending texts to get through before blocking it again.
While it may or may not work, it might still be worthwhile when you’re super curious. Here’s how you unblock a texter.
- Step 1: Open Settings and tap Messages
- Step 2: Scroll down the Messages menu, find Blocked Contacts, and tap it.
- Step 3: It’ll show you a list of contacts you’ve blocked. Find that particular one you want to see the messages from.
- Step 4: Now, swipe that contact to the left to reveal the unblock option.
- Step 5: Then, after unblocking it, wait for the sender to text you, which you can view from Messages.
Get Help from Verizon
Now, if you’re a Verizon user, there might be some good news for you. From what we’ve seen, several Verizon users said they could see up to 5-day-old messages by logging into their Verizon account online.
However, it wasn’t specified if they were able to retrieve messages from blocked contacts. Yet, since text messages are transferred through the carrier’s network, chances are you’ll find those couldn’t reach your phone. So, it’s definitely worth a try.
To do this, visit Verizon’s website from your computer and log into your account. Then, under Account, select Text Online to view if it’s got your messages.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you have further queries regarding viewing blocked messages on your iPhone? Here, we’ve answered some of the most common questions people search online.
Does the other person know if I’ve blocked them on my iPhone?
The only clue your blocked contact can get is when they call you, and it goes straight to voicemail. Otherwise, there’s no way to tell if you blocked them. After all, they’ll see their text messages are sent, and their Facetime calls are ringing.
Can I see messages from blocked contacts when I unblock them?
Yes, you can, but only those sent after you unblocked them. You cannot see blocked contacts’ messages while they are blocked. Since text messages don’t get through the network during the blocked period, it essentially means they didn’t even make it to your iPhone’s Messages app.
Can I block someone from texting me but not calling me on my iPhone?
Yes, this is possible. However, since the iPhone lacks a native feature that allows you to do this, you have to resort to a third-party app. For example, you can use iBlacklist to customize your block list and set up separate lists for calls and texts.
Conclusion
Hopefully, this short write-up has answered whatever question you had regarding viewing blocked iPhone messages. As you can see, there’s no practical way to see texts from contacts you’ve blocked, with only Verizon users having a slim chance.
So, what’s the shame in keeping your boundaries in place if you’ve blocked them for a reason? Yet, if you can’t help checking those messages, the best we can suggest is to mute the contacts instead of blocking them.
You can simply mute them by swiping the number to the left in the Messages app. That way, you can still keep track of the messages while not getting disturbed by frequent rings or vibrations.