The rise in firms offering texting and calling solutions that utilize systems outside the carrier’s own means you get a plethora of free and instant messaging solutions rather than having to rely on SMS and text. But how can you tell if someone blocked your TextFree?
There won’t be any obvious signs that someone has blocked you on TextFree. You can try texting from a different number or get someone else who has their number to text them to see if they get a response or if they’re just avoiding you.
Let’s look at how TextFree works, how TextNow works and also some tips and tricks on how to deal with blocking numbers and what to do if you’ve been blocked.
Signs That Someone Blocked Your TextFree Number
There won’t be many obvious signs that someone has blocked your TextFree number, as this is by design with all phone carriers and systems. If someone has blocked you, it will appear very similar to if they’re just not answering your texts.
Even though TextFree operates via a separate app, it still uses the phone network to send messages which means all the usual issues in identifying whether someone blocked your number apply as the TextFree app doesn’t give you any more information on this.
There are some strategies to try and get around this, via using a different number to text, or if you want to find out if they’ve totally blocked your number, try by hiding your own caller ID and calling them to see if the call goes through.
For example, you could find a common acquaintance or family member and use their phone to send an innocuous message to see if you get a response.
If you empathize with the position of the person who has blocked you, they’re quite unlikely to answer a text from an unknown number. So you’ll have to use a bit of social engineering to get them to come out of their shell and trust you enough to respond.
This means using a little bit of trickery to elicit a response. One way is to message from an unknown number, say that it is a friend of theirs who has just got a new phone, and to send a message back to confirm it’s them.
The key to using social engineering is to play off common situations where you feel like you have to respond, and using that feeling to make the other person at least give a yes or no answer.
Use a different method to contact the person, especially one that has a ‘read’ function like Messenger, as then you’ll get a notification if the person opens up and reads the message, you’ll be able to tell at least if they’re still contactable.
It may not definitely tell you if their phone is working, but if they’ll respond on a different app it could be a sign that they’re having phone issues or phone number problems rather than them blocking you.
If your number has not been blocked but the other person has instead disconnected the number, messages will still go unanswered. Because of the way SMS and text messages work, you won’t get a bounceback or error message if someone has blocked your number for SMS or TextFree.
You can try ringing the number to see if it works, as it will instead direct you straight to a recorded message saying the number is no longer active if indeed it has been disconnected.
If the number rings but goes to a voicemail instead of a disconnected message, it is very likely that the phone account is still active, and it may just be that the phone has run out of battery.
Of course, they may still have just blocked your number.
TextFree doesn’t have read receipts, meaning you’re not going to get any notification that someone has read your message, meaning it is hard to know whether the message made it to them or not.
What Happens When You Block Someone’s TextFree?
Blocking a contact will not remove or delete the conversation. There will be an icon that is displayed next to the contact, and they won’t be able to send you messages.
If you delete the conversation that you have blocked, you will lose any previous messages from that conversation permanently, and will be unable to retrieve them from either the TextFree Web interface or within the TextFree app.
To block someone, open up their contact and click on the arrow alongside their name or number under your current conversations. Tap on Block Number and then confirm on the popup.
If you want to unblock someone, you can just send a text to them again, or go back into the menu again and unblock.
The person who you blocked can still call your usual number or still text you on your usual number. So if you want to avoid an awkward conversation, it would be worthwhile blocking them on almost every avenue you can find.
However, the person won’t receive any notification that you’ve blocked them and until they try and text you on the TextFree number, it will seem like nothing has changed.
As stated above, they also likely won’t realize even after they’ve texted you, as they won’t get any notification that their message wasn’t delivered or failed to be received.
Indeed, from their side it will show their message having been sent successfully. Unless they’re really paying attention and wonder why they didn’t receive a reply and follow up, most people will never realize that they have been blocked on TextFree.
Can You Use TextNow to Text Someone Who Blocked You?
TextNow runs via a separate app and network that gives you a new number within the app. TextNow uses VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) so that you can text and call any number in Canada and the United States of America.
That means if someone has blocked you on your number, you can try contacting them on TextNow. This is because you’ll be sending from a new number which they won’t have blocked.
It is in fact one of the most popular reasons TextNow is so popular, as it gives free text messaging with a simple download. It’s available on both Android and iOS but was rebranded in 2011 and rebranded to Google Voice.
Given the way SMS and text messages work, it is very hard if not impossible to know if someone has blocked your number or is avoiding you without calling them, and even then it’s not a very reliable method as they can equally ignore the call.
But if you text from a different number, which TextNow allows, this means you can send a text to someone even if they don’t have the TextNow app, and even if they’ve blocked you. It will show up as a normal text message except it will be from an unknown number.
Keep in mind that the area code or number may appear quite strange, which often causes people to be wary of it and either won’t open it up to read, or will avoid it for longer. There’s not much you can do about this as the number you’re given by the app is random.
If someone has blocked you, they’re going to be more suspicious of strange text messages and are less likely to believe what is written in the message.
If you know that they’re already a slightly suspicious person, a weird text message that could be a scam is not going to be very enticing for them to open up and read, especially if they’ve blocked you in the first place.
These types of apps also have a big benefit in that they send and receive using the internet rather than the cell signal, meaning that if you have reception issues but are on WiFi, you can be sure your message was sent.
This goes for the other party as well, so if you know they may have spotty reception, or they’re telling you they have spotty reception which is why they’re not responding, but you know for a fact they’re on WiFi most of the day, you have your answer: they’re avoiding you.
However, if they blocked you from within TextNow or Google Voice, then you won’t be able to text them via the app.
You can check this via your account settings. Inside the app, go to settings and open it up. If you see a red dot next to your name, then someone has blocked you. If you go into the list, you’ll see which users have blocked you.
If you want more information, go to the Help Center for TextNow on your browser. Click on the three dots menu at the top right corner of the screen, and go to ‘Help’.
From here click on the ‘Contact Us’ link and fill out the form and submit it. You can also do something similar by just calling their Customer Service center.
