See Blocked Messages on iPhone by Silencing Instead of Blocking iPhone Contacts

When you block someone on your iPhone, they can't contact you by phone, text, or FaceTime, use call recorder automatic and iOS won't send you notifications. You will also not see new messages from blocked contacts. But mute them instead of blocking them and you'll still see new messages if you want. 

On iPhone and iPad, the Messages app only shows old conversations and messages from blocked contacts. iOS completely blocks blocked contacts to show new messages. Learn more about what happens when you block a number on your iPhone. 

Our Solution: Mute Unwanted Calls and Text Messages 

However, there is a solution to show blocked messages. The idea is to mute a contact's calls and messages instead of blocking them. Here's an overview of the features: 

Unlock a contact so that iPhone receives new messages from that person. 

Delete contacts from iPhone and mark phone numbers as unknown contacts. 

Set iPhone/iPad to block incoming messages from unknown contacts. Because of this, iOS silences the user's text notifications. iPhones also store blocked messages in a separate folder on the device. 

Also, set the device to block calls from unknown callers. 

This method prevents communication with the contact but allows access to new messages (from the person). Let's dig deeper. 

Unblock contacts on iPhone 

There are several ways to unblock contacts on iOS devices: Settings, FaceTime, Phone, and Contacts. Learn more about how to delete contacts on iPhone and Android in our tutorials. 

Here's how to unblock someone in iOS settings. 

1) Open the Settings app, select Phone, and tap on Blocked contacts. 

2) Swipe left on the number you want to unblock and tap Unblock. 

Alternatively, click the Edit button in the top right corner and click the red minus icon next to the contact you want to unlock. Tap Unlock to remove the number/contact from the blocked list. 

3) Tap Done to save the changes. 

If your iPhone is running iOS 13 or earlier, go to Settings > Phone > Call blocking and detection. Swipe left on the number you want to remove from the blocked list and tap Unblock. 

The next step is to set your iPhone to silence message notifications and hide messages from available contacts.