Your phone rings and it just continues ringing because the caller is someone you want to avoid. We’ve all been there. Do you feel like turning off the phone to avoid those unwanted calls? Are you afraid to check your voicemail? Perhaps an ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend is stalking you – or a debt collector is harassing you. Whoever the caller is, that person does not have the right to disrupt your life. The following method allows you to ditch unwanted callers and never hear from them again – without changing your cell phone number.
Step 1
Check if your phone has a “send directly to voicemail” feature. Most Smartphones and newer cell phones have this integrated function which allows certain callers from your contact list (or address book) to be sent directly to voicemail. All mobile phones send calls to voicemail when the power is off. Using this feature, however, lets you keep your phone on while sending any designated caller to voicemail – without your phone even ringing.
Step 2
If you want the offending caller sent directly to voicemail, add that person’s name and number to your contact list or address book. If you don’t have the number, wait until they call again. Alternatively, look through your call log to find the number. After you add the number to your contact list, select the contact. Once you select the contact, click the “send directly to voicemail” feature. Many Android phones give you a box to check in the contact field. You will see a green checkmark when it’s selected. Calls from that number will now go directly to voicemail and you won’t be disturbed when the caller calls. (Other callers will be able to ring your phone, as usual.)
Step 3
Sending unwanted callers straight to voicemail, making it impossible for them to ring your phone – that’s really great. But what if you don’t want to listen to the voicemail messages? What if the unwanted caller is stressing you out with threatening rants, obscene language or whatever? There is a solution for this problem as well. Set up a YouMail account. YouMail is absolutely free to use, although you’ll need to receive a text message for an activation code. After your account is activated, set up a contacts list. Put the unwanted caller in your contacts list. Click the ditchmail symbol (a red circle with a cross-out bar through it) to prevent the caller from leaving an incoming message. Now that caller will not be able to leave you voicemail. No more unwanted calls! No more unwanted messages!
Step 4
If you’ve completed the above steps, you’ve achieved two crucial wins – 1) your phone never rings when the stalker calls and 2) he or she can never again leave a voicemail message from that number. You’ve banished the offending caller from your life. To make this method even more effective, select an outgoing ditchmail message for unwanted callers in your YouMail contacts. There are dozens to choose from, including announcements that your number has been disconnected. Doing this prevents unwanted callers from hearing your real outgoing message.
Step 5
YouMail’s ditchmail feature works best for telemarketers, debt collectors or other people who don’t know you personally. If it’s an ex-partner, he or she may figure it out and simply call you from another number. In that case, repeat the above steps as necessary.