Determining if Your SMS is Blocked

If you’re unsure whether your SMS is being received or blocked, follow these steps to gain some clarity:

Stay Calm and Consider the Possibilities

It’s technically challenging to know for sure, but certain indicators can provide insight.

• The other person may have blocked your SMS, causing it to be sent from your phone but not reach theirs.

Checking for Blocks on Other Services

If you suspect your SMS was blocked, it’s likely your calls were blocked as well. Here’s how to confirm:

• Call the person and pay attention to the ringtone. If it rings once or twice and the call is forwarded, you may be blocked. In this case, the operator processes the call correctly, but it’s blocked once it reaches the other phone.
• To rule out the possibility of the phone being turned off or out of service, try calling from another phone. If it rings more than three times or the call goes through and the person answers, it’s not a block.
• Apply the same logic to social networks. If your SMS is blocked, it’s possible your messages on platforms like Facebook are as well. Check if your messages don’t reach them from your accounts, but do from a friend’s.
• Note: Some operators may offer SMS delivery notifications, which can provide additional insight, but this isn’t a service offered by all companies.

Can Blocked Calls Affect SMS Delivery?

The outcome might vary based on the type of cell phone:

• In modern Samsung cell phones, call and SMS blocking are unified, meaning if calls are blocked, SMS will also be blocked.
• However, this isn’t true for all phones or blocking applications. Some older Samsung Galaxy phones allow independent blocking for calls, messages, or both.

Advanced SMS (RCS) Blocking

RCS messaging operates similarly to WhatsApp, utilizing the internet for message delivery. Some mainstream SMS apps like Google Messages support RCS, allowing you to send both SMS and RCS messages.

• With RCS, you can track when a message is “Delivered” and even “Read”, providing indicators of potential blocks.
• If a message is marked as “Read”, it’s clear you’re not blocked, as the recipient has opened the application and seen the message.
• When only “Delivered” appears, there’s a chance you might be blocked. In this scenario, the message reaches the recipient’s phone, but no notification is generated. The person would need to manually check the “Spam” or “Blocked” message box to see your message.
• However, if a message remains “Delivered” and doesn’t change to “Read”, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re blocked. This could occur if the recipient has disabled Read receipts in their RCS app, lacks an app that supports this technology, or is experiencing connectivity issues.