When you receive a call on your cellular phone, the normal thing is that you will see the caller’s number or name if you’ve saved the details. This helps you easily identify the caller in advance and determine if you want to receive the call or not.
What happens when the call detail is identified as either No Caller ID or Unknown Caller? It can be annoying especially if you receive such calls constantly. No need to panic. In this post, we will discuss the difference between No Caller ID vs Unknown caller. Also, you will find out how to block out such numbers from calling your cell phone.
What Does No Caller ID Mean?
When an incoming call is identified as ‘No Caller ID’, it means that the caller turned off his number from showing. It is most likely that the caller intentionally doesn’t want you to identify the caller. The caller had set up the ‘Hide my number/ Privacy’ option before calling your number.
Some people use this if they want to make a prank call to you. On the other hand, scammers tend to hide their caller ID. Either way, it is not advisable to pick up calls registered as No Caller ID to avoid being a victim of voice phishing. Anyone that genuinely wants to talk to you will always show the person’s caller ID.
What Does Unknown Mean?
When an incoming call ID is identified as ‘Unknown’, it means that the cellular network couldn’t pick up the caller’s information. Most times, the caller ID was provided but the network couldn’t recognize the information. A caller ID will show Unknown in the following instances:
. If the caller’s cellular network has activated the privacy flag on the caller’s outgoing calls. It could be a technical fault from the network or the caller requested for the setup. This works the same as when the caller activates the privacy flag on his phone.
. When the caller used the *67 code when dialing your number. Your cellular network interprets such calls as private calls and therefore shows the caller ID as unknown. It can also appear as a No caller ID depending on your cellular network.
. Finally, if your cellular network doesn’t receive or identify the caller’s phone number (CID), it will display the caller ID as unknown. Most times than not, this is not the case.
How Can I Find Out Who Called Me With No Caller ID?
Most times, when I receive a call from an unknown number, I ignore the call and move on with my life. But if you are curious and want to know who is calling your number with no caller ID, there are two ways to find out the caller’s ID.
a. Contact Your Cellular Network
Your Carrier keeps records of incoming calls to your number. Also, they provide an Anonymous Caller ID service upon request. When you request this service, they will unmask the caller’s ID and send you details.
Contact your carrier’s customer support. Notify them that you’ve been receiving calls from an unknown caller ID and request to activate the Anonymous Caller ID service. You may have to pay a small fee for this service. Also, it’s not all carriers that offer the Anonymous Caller ID service.
b. Subscribe to TrapCall
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TrapCall is a service provider that unmasks call IDs from unknown callers. You can also place the numbers on a blacklist and block calls from unknown numbers. Visit the TrapCall site, and activate the service on your mobile phone.
After you complete the setup, when you receive a call from an unknown caller id, decline the call. Trapcall will redirect the number to their system, unmask the caller ID and send you the caller’s details. This works on both iPhone and Android phones.
How To Block Calls From Unknown Numbers
If you want to simply stop receiving calls from unknown numbers, you can block the calls from unknown numbers. Follow the steps below to block the calls on both an Android and iPhone.
Block Calls From Unknown Numbers On Android
. Tap the ‘Dialer/ phone’ icon on your Android phone.
. Tap the ‘three vertical dots on the top right of the page.
. Select the ‘Settings’ option
. Select ‘Block Numbers’
. Toggle the ‘Block Unknown Callers’. Option.
Block Calls From Unknown Numbers On iPhone
. Tap the ‘Settings’ icon on your phone
. Scroll down the options and select ‘Phone’.
. Toggle the ‘Silence Unknown Callers’ off
This works on IOS 13 and new versions.