Be it iOS or Android, quite a lot of people come across a question – ‘why does my phone say Restricted when I call someone?’ Quite a lot of users face this problem. However, when searching on the internet, they do not seem to get a lot of solutions. Hence, I’m here for your rescue.
There is no denying that getting such messages bugs and irritates us all. Hence, in this article, I have listed why users face such a problem and what could be the possible solution to this problem.
However, before jumping onto the possible solutions, let’s understand what a restricted call or phone number means.
What Is A Restricted Call Or Phone Number?
To understand why does my phone say “Restricted” when I call someone, we must understand what the whole restricted call fiasco is all about. Basically, a restricted call comes from a person who does not want you to call them back. The caller has requested the telecom company or their service providers not to display their number. This could be for any reason; maybe they want to get a callback, maybe they don’t wish to reveal their identity, or maybe they don’t want to get traced.
In such calls, no caller ID would reflect. Therefore, in a nutshell, a restricted call comes from someone who does not wish to be identified.
Who Uses Restricted Calls To Contact Others?
Generally, anyone can do a few taps here and there and make their number a restricted one. How you can undo this or do this would be catered to in the next few steps. However, there are a few categories of people who use restricted calls to contact others.
Generally, police call from restricted numbers so that their number is saved from spam calls and excess calls. They also use this method of calling for their security and peace. However, this is not stated and is not a mandatory rule, but the choice of the police, whether or not they wish to make their phone number a restricted one.
Telecallers too call from restricted numbers for quite a lot of reasons. One reason is that if they call from an unknown and restricted number, nobody will get to know if it is a telecaller on the other line and answer the call. This is because most people do not like to answer such promotional calls. Another reason could be that most people block the numbers of telecallers so that they are not spammed by them in the future. However, if a caller calls from a restricted number, blocking them is not possible.
Also, Individuals who wish not to reveal their identity or phone number, call from restricted numbers.
Testing If Your Phone Number Is Restricted
There might have been an instance where someone from your call list might have told you how your number always shows ‘restricted number’. But, after hearing this, you might want to confirm this. You can do this easily by calling on some other number of yours, or by contacting a family member, and seeing for yourself if your caller ID is actually hidden and the phone number shows as a restricted number.
If it does, and it has not been done by you purposely, then understanding why it could be happening becomes a vital criterion.
Common Reasons For Why Does My Phone Say Restricted When I Call Someone
If your number is showing as a restricted number, then it could be that you have intentionally hidden your caller ID for reasons best known to you, or it could have happened by chance.
If you are not aware and have not hidden it yourself, then here are a few possible and common reasons why something like this could have happened:
- You could have accidentally messed up with the caller ID settings on your handset.
- Accidently pressing block caller ID could also land you in a similar position.
- It could also be done due to a mistake or error by your service provider.
How To Rectify The Error
If you want to rectify this error, this is an important heading for you.
- If it is done by your service provider, then you need to call them or contact them and ask them to rectify it as soon as possible. This generally takes a few days as it is a backend process that takes a little bit longer.
- If you own an iPhone, follow these steps:
- On your phone, go to Settings.
- Select Phone.
- Scroll down to Show my Caller ID.
By default, it is ON, however, you might have pressed something accidentally, so if this is OFF, you can switch it on according to your need and desire.
- If you own an android, follow these steps:
- Go to Settings.
- Select Network Settings.
- Click Caller ID and choose if you want to show or hide it.[/su_list]
Please note, that the system of switching the caller ID on and off might differ from handset to handset in Androids, but it can always be found under the Phone Settings tab.
Is Answering a Restricted Call Safe?
Well, the answer to this question could depend entirely on you. One thing is for sure if you are getting a call from a restricted caller, that definitely means someone is trying to hide their identity. But, many times, it could be unintentional too. Answering such calls could land you in a soup, but most of the time, something like this is purely unintentional and unknown by the caller itself.
In this article, I mentioned a few ways how you can rectify this error if you too have this question in mind- Why does my phone say restricted when I call someone? I hope this guide answered your question and your problem got rectified.
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