Major safety issue in blocked contacts after upgrading to iOS27

mmcrawr wrote:

Contacts previously blocked became unblocked.

Blocked contacts are not normally unblocked simply because you update iOS. An iOS update changes or replaces the system software while preserving your existing user data and settings, including your current list of blocked contacts.

However, if you restore the iPhone from an earlier backup, the device may revert to the data and settings contained in that backup. If the backup was created before certain contacts were blocked, those blocking settings may not be present after the restore, making it appear as though the contacts have been unblocked.

Therefore, it is important to distinguish between an iOS update and a backup restoration:

• iOS Update: Updates the operating system while generally retaining your current settings, data, and blocked contacts.
• Restore from Backup: Replaces the current state with the data and settings contained in the selected backup, which can potentially change your blocked-contact list.

So, if blocked contacts suddenly appear unblocked after an iPhone was restored, the restore operation and the age/content of the backup should be investigated rather than assuming that the iOS update itself removed the blocked contacts.

This is a user to user forum, you are not addressing Apple here. You can voice your opinion in the link below -

Feedback - iPhone - Apple

mmcrawr wrote:

safe after upgrading to iOS27?

Not every issue an individual encounters on their device can be attributed to an iOS update. iOS 27 or later may have coincided with what you are experiencing, but that does not mean the issue was triggered by iOS. Coincidence in timing is not, by itself, evidence of causation.

If the update itself were the root cause, then every device running that same version of iOS would exhibit the identical problem. In such a scenario, the forums would be flooded with countless posts reporting the same malfunction, creating an unmistakable wave of complaints that no one could possibly overlook.

The absence of such widespread reports strongly indicates that the issue is not a general, system-wide problem with iOS 27 or later, but rather something specific to the individual device, its configuration, installed apps, settings, hardware, or another interacting factor.

In short: iOS 27 or later may be a coincidence in timing, but there is no basis to conclude that iOS itself triggered the problem simply because the issue appeared after the update.

LD150 wrote:

Oregrado wrote:

Does anyone know if this is a recognized bug by Apple? I also had a blocked contact be able to get through yesterday.

and to those of you saying it’s just paranoia, please shut up. If an abuser suddenly can get through to you unexpectedly, this is absolutely a safety issue. Just because you don’t have that experience doesn’t mean others don’t.

You have an abuser and you haven't changed your phone number?

Yeah. OP likely needs a new phone number and probably help from victims’ services and maybe a lawyer, and quite possibly from police where that’s an option, and needs to use call screening and not otherwise be answering unknown calls. Not using what are clearly ineffective and clearly inadequate mechanisms, whether ineffectively used for blocking spam calls, or ineffectively blocking calls from an abuser with access to many phone numbers or to spoofing. This whole approach is just… going to fail. A few number blocks might work. Thousands… don’t.

Thank you - I've submitted, but there is still an ongoing safety issue! People need to review and re-block contacts immediately if there was a safety reason for certain people to be blocked. What an unfortunate lapse in Apple's quality control - leaving members vulnerable :(

Are you referring to the fact that iOS now tells you when you have exceeded the number of blocked contacts that it can handle?

From what I understand,

• iOS never supported blocking an unlimited number of people. It would appear to accept huge numbers (multiple thousands) of block entries, but past a certain point, would only enforce some of the blocks.
• It now gives you error messages if you exceed 3,000 blocked contacts.
• Blocking scammers and spammers with individual entries on your phone is a losing game of Whack-a-Mole – as many frequently change the numbers they call from, and/or use fake Caller IDs. There are a few spammers who may keep calling from the same number, allowing you to block them, but if you are playing the game of Whack-a-Mole, you really need to find a better solution. Like telling your phone to ask the reason why someone is calling, and/or sending calls that your carrier identifies as junk calls to voicemail.
• Once you stop playing Whack-a-Mole, it's unlikely that you'll need anywhere close to 3,000 blocked contacts.

Does anyone know if this is a recognized bug by Apple? I also had a blocked contact be able to get through yesterday.

and to those of you saying it’s just paranoia, please shut up. If an abuser suddenly can get through to you unexpectedly, this is absolutely a safety issue. Just because you don’t have that experience doesn’t mean others don’t.

adambagby wrote:

Does anyone know if this is a recognized bug by Apple? I also had a blocked contact be able to get through yesterday.

and to those of you saying it’s just paranoia, please shut up. If an abuser suddenly can get through to you unexpectedly, this is absolutely a safety issue. Just because you don’t have that experience doesn’t mean others don’t.

I doubt if Apple considers the new behavior to be a bug – inasmuch as there is a limit, and iOS now tells people about it. Telling people about the limit sounds like a bug fix. (What does sound like a bug is that iOS / iPadOS provide no good way to delete many blocked contacts at once, to help get back under the limit. But that's not what you are complaining about.)

Also, if you have more than three thousand abusers who know your phone number, and are eager to get to you, you have the sort of problem that cannot be handled by call blocking alone. Don't you think one or more of the three thousand abusers might physically look you up?

Save your block lists for the abusers who you think actually pose a "safety issue" and don't waste the entries on playing pointless games of Whack-a-Mole with spammers and scammers who are constantly spoofing caller IDs and changing the. numbers they call from.

mmcrawr wrote:

Failure on Apple's part - You need to immediately address this issue!!! Big safety issue in my opinion.

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Oregrado wrote:

Does anyone know if this is a recognized bug by Apple? I also had a blocked contact be able to get through yesterday.

and to those of you saying it’s just paranoia, please shut up. If an abuser suddenly can get through to you unexpectedly, this is absolutely a safety issue. Just because you don’t have that experience doesn’t mean others don’t.

You have an abuser and you haven't changed your phone number?

This is neither a security issue nor is it leaving anyone vulnerable, it's simply an inconvenience.

You're being paranoid.

What is your read receipts setting?