Unfortunately, every relationship will experience rocky times. Disagreements and arguments are a natural part of being a human. No two people are going to agree 100% of the time: No matter how much they might love each other.

Parents and children fight. Siblings fight. Best friends fight. Married couples fight. It’s a part of life that’s unavoidable. 

It’s common for particularly awful disputes to end with one party no longer being “on speaking terms" with the other. In the modern day, that usually means that they’ll block the other person’s number. When that happens, all calls from that number go straight to voicemail, and none of their text messages will be delivered. You’ll have no way to contact them, and they won’t even know that you tried. 

Blocking someone doesn’t always mean that the relationship is over forever. Sometimes they need a little time to reflect on what’s happened.

A lot of times, they’ll unblock you once they get their thoughts and feelings sorted out. You two can discuss what’s happened and how to grow from it. However, sometimes the only way to make it right is to give a heartfelt, sincere apology. 

The tricky thing is that you won’t be able to easily apologize when they’ve blocked you. People make mistakes all the time, and owning up to them is almost always the right answer. But how are you supposed to do that if they’ve blocked your number?

It’s impossible to apologize when someone refuses to answer your calls or read your messages. After all, if they blocked your number, then they won’t even know that you’re trying to apologize!

Fortunately, there are a few ways that you can still contact someone after they’ve blocked your number: 

Use a Different Phone

Perhaps the most simple is the best one: use a different phone to call the person who blocked you. Phones can’t block people as there’s no way for them to know who is on the other end of the line. All they can do is block specific numbers. Therefore, calling from an unblocked number is an easy way to get around being blocked.

Using a public pay phone would have been the first recommendation for this method a few years ago. But public phones aren’t common anymore, so that probably isn’t the best option. You might be able to use your work phone or ask a business if you could borrow their landline. However, neither of these is likely to work without some strong convincing.

The best way is probably to ask a friend or family member to borrow their phone. Chances are they know the person and situation and are probably happy to help. Of course, you want to make sure that you’re not getting them involved in anything sketchy: They likely want as little to do with the feud as possible. 

Dial *67

Entering the code *67 before you dial a number is one of the oldest ways to disguise your number. People have been using this code for decades. It’s one of the easiest on this list. All that you have to do is enter *67 before you dial the number. 

Keep in mind that you’ll have to enter their number the long way. You can’t just find their contact in your phone and select the “Call” option. It’ll look something more like this instead: *67-XXX-XXX-XXXX. As it rings, their Caller ID will appear as “Unknown” or “Private Number,” and they won’t know who is calling.

Disguise Your Caller ID 

Both Apple and Android phones allow users to disguise their Caller ID information. By activating this setting in your phone, the recipient would only see “Hidden” appear on their Caller ID. It's basically like dialing *67, except that it automatically applies to every call that you make. 

Here is how you can enable this mode:

For iPhone:

1. Open the “Settings” app
2. Select the “Phone” option
3. Scroll down until you see the “Show My Caller ID” option
4. Slide the toggle to the “Off” position

For Android:

1. Open the “Settings” app
2. Select the “Additional Settings” option
3. Tap the “Caller ID” option
4. Press the “Hide Number” option

Download the Burner App

To be honest, using the methods listed above usually doesn’t work. There aren’t too many people that answer calls from “Unknown,” “Private,” or “Hidden” numbers. Burner doesn't do anything of the sort. You’ll be getting a real phone number that appears as such on their Caller ID. It will look like a regular number is calling because that’s exactly what Burner gives you.

The way it works is simple. After you download the app, you’ll be required to select a specific area code. Next, you’ll be given a list of ten phone numbers that use that area code. Just pick the one that you want, and it will be assigned to your account. You can use that number to call the person who blocked you; they’ll have no idea that it’s actually you.

Keep your number for as long as you want, and add as many lines as you need. If you only need Burner for a short time, you can cancel whenever you want. Burner offers a free seven-day trial. You can try it out without spending a single cent. 

Change Your Phone Number

Obviously, changing your phone number to sidestep someone blocking you is a bit extreme. You would need to tell everyone in your contacts about the new number and change all your contact information online. It’s a bit overkill for trying to make one phone call. However, it’s one of your options and is worth discussing even if you don’t use it. 

Changing your phone number is very easy, and millions of people do it each year. All that you have to do is call your phone service provider and request a new one. It’s almost always free, and they hardly ever even ask for a reason. The thing to remember is that once you change your number, then you can’t go back. You’ll permanently lose access to your current phone number.

Some Things To Keep in Mind

Finding out that someone has blocked your number can be an awful feeling. However, it’s important to remember that they’ve done it for a reason. It might be best to give them some time and let the situation cool off. After all, they can contact you whenever they want. The very last thing that you want to do is potentially make a bad situation even worse. 

Here are a few things that you should think about before trying to contact the person that blocked your number:

Think About Why They Blocked You

Blocking someone usually doesn’t happen by accident. The person that blocked you knew what they were doing and did it on purpose. Ask yourself what happened that would make them do it. You should also ask yourself if calling them will fix it. Surprising someone who specifically blocked you might not have the derided effect that you might think. 

Beware of Potential Legal Ramifications

The Truth In Caller ID Act of 2009 made it a crime to use Caller ID spoofing technology to harm or defraud someone. Depending on how the person that blocked you feels, you calling them using the methods listed above might be considered harassment.

You could find yourself in legal jeopardy and might wind up with a restraining order. You should only try to contact them if you know for sure that it won’t lead to legal trouble. 

Consider Another Way To Contact Them

A phone call might be the most direct way to repair the situation, but it might not be the most effective.

Consider trying to contact them another way that might not be so intrusive. You could ask a mutual friend to intervene on your behalf. You could use social media messaging or email to contact them with a message.

You could even write a handwritten letter and send it to them. Using these options will still respect their desire for space and give them something to think about in the meantime.

Conclusion

It isn’t hard to call someone that’s blocked your number. In fact, you have several different options at your disposal that can work. Before you use any of these methods, it’s best to take a minute to think. Will making this phone call make the situation better or worse? 

It might be best to simply wait a little while and see what they decide to do. It’s highly unlikely that they’ll be thrilled that you were able to sidestep their blocking of your number. Sometimes the best thing that you can do is nothing at all. 

Sources:

Rept. 111-96 - TRUTH IN CALLER ID ACT OF 2009 | Congress.gov

So, Where Did All the Payphones Go? | Herald Tribune

6 Unexpected Psychological Reasons People Get Into Fights | Business Insider