How to Stop Spam Calls on iPhone and Android

If your phone rings with a number you don't know three times before lunch, you are not alone, and you don't have to keep picking up. This guide shows how to stop spam calls on an iPhone or an Android phone using the tools already built into the phone, plus the free federal registry that cuts down legal sales calls. It is written for anyone with a US phone number, and most people finish every step in about 15 minutes.

One honest warning before you start: nothing makes your number completely silent. Scammers ignore the rules and fake their caller ID, so the goal is to filter most of them out and make the rest easy to ignore.

Before you start

• Update your phone. The iPhone steps below match Apple's current help pages for iOS 26 and later, and older versions use slightly different menus.
• Save the numbers you care about (your doctor, your kid's school, the pharmacy) as contacts. Filters treat saved contacts as trusted, so this keeps important calls from being silenced.
• Set up voicemail if you haven't. Filtered callers who are real will leave a message. If you need help, see our guide to setting up voicemail on iPhone.
• Have each phone number you want to protect handy for the Do Not Call Registry.

Stage 1: Turn on the spam filters on an iPhone

Apple puts its call controls under the Phone app's settings. According to Apple's guide to managing unknown callers, you have three tools, and you can use them together.

1. Open Settings, tap Apps, then tap Phone.
2. Scroll to Screen Unknown Callers. Pick Ask Reason for Calling if you want your iPhone to answer unknown numbers and ask who is calling before it rings you, or pick Silence to send them straight to voicemail without ringing. Never leaves things as they are.
3. In the same screen, scroll to Call Filtering and turn on Unknown Callers. This moves calls from numbers you don't know into a separate list, so your main Recents list stays clean.
4. Still under Call Filtering, turn on your spam filter. Calls flagged as likely spam are silenced and kept in their own list.
5. To review what got filtered, open the Phone app, tap the Filter button, and choose Unknown Callers or Spam.

A small detail worth knowing: Apple notes that if you call emergency services, call screening turns off for 24 hours, so you won't miss a callback from responders.

Stage 2: Block repeat offenders on an iPhone

Filters handle the flood. Blocking handles the one number that keeps coming back.

1. Open the Phone app and tap Recents.
2. Tap the number you want to block (or the Info button if you use Classic view).
3. Scroll down and tap Block Caller.

You can also block from Settings, then Privacy & Security, then Blocked Contacts, then Add Blocked Contact. Apple's page on blocking numbers and contacts explains that blocked callers can still leave voicemail, but you won't get a notification for it.

Stage 3: Turn on spam protection on Android

These steps are for the Google Phone app, which comes on Pixel phones and many other Android models. If your phone uses a different calling app, such as Samsung's, open that app's settings and look for its caller ID or spam option, since menu names differ by brand.

1. Open the Phone app, tap More options (the three dots), then Settings.
2. Tap Caller ID and spam and make sure See caller ID & spam is on. Google turns it on by default, and it labels risky calls as "Suspected spam caller" or "Spam".
3. Turn on Filter spam calls if you see it. Google's caller ID and spam help page says filtered calls still appear in your call history, but you won't get missed call or voicemail alerts for them.

If you have a Pixel, Call Screen does more of the work for you:

1. In the Phone app, go to More, then Settings, then Spam and Call Screen (or Call Screen).
2. Tap Call Screen and choose a protection level: Maximum protection, Medium protection or Basic protection.
3. On a Pixel 7 or newer, you can set Automatically screen calls for Spam, Possibly faked numbers and First-time callers.

Google notes that automatic Call Screen doesn't run while you're roaming, and on phones that have it, the separate Filter spam calls switch may not appear.

Stage 4: Block single numbers on Android

1. Open the Phone app and go to the Home tab.
2. Tap the call, or touch and hold it.
3. Tap Block or Report spam.

Stage 5: Add your number to the Do Not Call Registry

This step doesn't block calls, but it removes legal telemarketers from the picture, which makes the remaining calls easier to spot as scams.

1. Go to DoNotCall.gov or call 1-888-382-1222 (TTY 1-866-290-4236) from the phone you want to register. It's free, and cell phones count.
2. If you register online, click the link in the confirmation email within 72 hours. You can add up to three numbers at a time.
3. Give it time. The FTC's Do Not Call Registry FAQs say your number shows up the next day, but it can take up to 31 days for sales calls to stop. The registration never expires unless your number is disconnected and reassigned or you ask to remove it.

Stage 6: Check what your carrier offers

The FTC suggests asking your carrier about call blocking or call labeling services, some free and some paid. Call the customer service line or look in your carrier's app. You can also find call blocking apps through the list maintained by CTIA, which the FTC points to in its guide on how to block unwanted calls.

When spam calls keep getting through

If calls still slip past your filters, run through these checks:

• The calls look local. Scammers can fake caller ID, and the number shown often looks local. Silencing or screening unknown callers deals with this better than blocking numbers one by one, because the spoofed number changes every time.
• You're missing real calls now. If a delivery driver or clinic can't reach you, add them as contacts, or switch from Silence to Ask Reason for Calling on iPhone. If calls aren't ringing at all, our guide on why your phone is not ringing covers other settings that can cause it.
• You keep answering to check. The FTC's advice for an illegal robocall is simple: hang up, don't press any number, and report it.
• The caller claimed to be your bank or carrier. Hang up and call back using the number on your card or bill. If anyone asked you to move your number or read out a code, read our guide on how a SIM swap scam works and how to lock your number.
• The voice sounded like someone you know. If the caller sounded like a relative in trouble asking for money fast, slow down and call that person back on a number you already have. Our guide to spotting AI deepfake scams aimed at families covers the warning signs.

Reporting helps too. If you didn't lose money, file a report at DoNotCall.gov. If you did lose money or shared personal details, report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, and see our guide on how to report a scam for the other places worth contacting. Include the number that called, the caller ID shown, any callback number they gave, and the date and time.

Once everything is set, give it a week and then open your filtered or spam list. If you see a real caller in there, add them as a contact. If the list is full of numbers you'd never answer, the filters are doing their job. For more phone security guides, browse our Tech section.