How to stop robocalls on iPhone

Let your iPhone ask who's calling

iOS 26 added Call Screening, and it is in iOS 27 too. When a number you haven't saved calls, your iPhone answers quietly and asks the caller for their name and why they're calling.

Then your phone rings and shows what they said. You decide whether to pick up. Apple says Siri answers in your iPhone's default language.

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Tap Apps, then tap Phone.
3. Find the choices for unknown callers. Many guides call this section Screen Unknown Callers.
4. Choose Ask Reason for Calling.

Or silence unknown callers

In the same place, choose Silence instead. Calls from numbers not saved in your contacts won't ring. They go to voicemail and still show in your recent calls.

The catch: real callers with new numbers, like a doctor's office, a pharmacy or a repair person, won't ring either. Save numbers you expect calls from, and check your voicemail often.

On iOS 18 and earlier, the switch is called Silence Unknown Callers. Apple says calls from your contacts, recent outgoing calls and Siri Suggestions still ring.

Filter spam and tidy your call list

On recent versions, the Phone settings also have a Spam switch. Calls your carrier identifies as potential spam or fraud are silenced, sent to voicemail and moved to a Spam list.

An Unknown Callers switch moves calls from unknown numbers out of your recent calls into their own list. You can mark a caller there as known.

The FTC says your carrier may also offer free or paid call blocking, and call-blocking apps can help. Some apps read your contacts, so check the privacy policy first.

Block a number that keeps calling

Blocking helps with one pesky number. It helps less with scammers, because the FTC warns that scammers can fake the name and number on your caller ID.

1. Open the Phone app.
2. Find the number in your recent calls or contacts.
3. Tap the small i (info) button next to it, or open the contact.
4. Tap Block Contact or Block Caller. The wording depends on your iOS version.

When a robocall gets through

Hang up. The FTC says pressing a number to talk to someone or to be taken off the list will probably only lead to more robocalls.

A local number or a familiar name doesn't prove a call is real. Report robocalls at DoNotCall.gov. If you lost money, report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

The Do Not Call Registry is worth joining, but the FTC says it won't stop scammers.

How Nexus handles it

Your iPhone's own tools come with the phone and are a good start. Nexus is a paid call screening service that works on Android and iPhone. You keep your own number and carrier.

On iPhone, setup has you choose Apple's Silence setting, not Ask Reason for Calling, together with call forwarding. Calls from numbers you don't know go to a separate Nexus number that's included, instead of plain voicemail.

People in your contacts always ring and are never blocked. Numbers on the spam list are refused, and most callers you don't know are asked who they are before your phone rings. An automated assistant tells them the call is being screened and may be transcribed, and asks who's calling and why. Anthropic's Claude reads what they say to decide. Real callers are put through or leave a voicemail turned into text you can read.

Calls with no caller ID are refused. Some doctors' offices call that way, so ask them to use a number that shows.

A number caught as spam on more than one member's line, plus numbers from public FTC complaints, is blocked for everyone. Only the number is shared, never what was said. The person running the service can't read your voicemail or hear what callers said. More about how it works is on the About page.

Nexus is invite-only. The price is on the wait list page, and you can cancel yourself any time.

Common questions

Sources

• Apple: Screen and block calls on iPhone (iOS 27)
• Apple: Block or avoid unwanted calls on iPhone (iOS 18)
• FTC: How To Block Unwanted Calls
• FTC: Robocalls
• Apple: Update your iPhone or iPad