Managing the blocked list in zoom App
Block numbers in an account can be managed by the account owner or admin. Numbers blocked on your account can either be incoming (no one will be able to call in to those numbers) or outgoing (no one in your account will be able to call them). All incoming calls with hidden caller ID can also be blocked.
Zoom Room and common area phone administrators can also block incoming external calls. In some cases, Zoom Rooms and common area phones are in public areas, so if the room or phone has a direct number and is receiving a lot of nuisance calls, you can simply block them.
The blocked list can also be managed by phone users.
Prerequisites for managing the blocked list
- Accounts for Business, Education, or Pro
- Account owners or administrators
- Have Zoom Phone licenses
Limitations of the blocked list
- Only inbound and outbound calls can be blocked. SMS messages are not affected by the blocked list.
- At the account or phone user level, phone numbers, prefixes, or callers without a caller ID can be blocked. You can’t assign block numbers to specific sites if you have more than one.
- Accounts, sites and extensions (specific phone users, Zoom Rooms, common area phones) can block external calls
- External calls can only be blocked for users of phones, Zoom Rooms, and shared phones in the common area. You can, for example, block external calls for a particular account only to the extensions that are included in the account.
- The block of outbound calls to external phone numbers applies only to inbound calls, which means that outbound calls to external numbers will still be permitted.
Effects of blocking calls
- An administrator’s call log and the phone user’s call history will not contain blocked calls.
- The person they are trying to reach will receive an automated message stating that they are unavailable.
- It is likely that when a phone user calls a blocked outgoing phone number, they will hear the same generic message with no further information to let them know the recipient is not available.
- You can block or change the blocked numbers in your phone settings if you have blocked them at the user level.
- By blocking numbers at the account level, phone users are only able to view your blocked numbers in their phone settings (and not change them).
How to block phone numbers, prefixes, or callers without a caller ID (account level)
To block a specific number or a prefix (country code and area code), you can create blocking rules for all phone users in the account.
- Zoom is available through the web portal.
- Select Phone System Management then Company Info from the navigation menu.
- On the Account Settings page, click Edit.
- Scroll down to Blocked Lists.
- By enabling the Block Calls without Caller ID toggle, all incoming calls that hide their caller ID will be blocked.
- Add the toggle.
- Fill in the following information:
- Match Type
- You can block all numbers that contain a specific area code and country code if you select Prefix Match.
Note: - The prefix must include a country code. Then enter 1905 block numbers with the area code 905 and the country code 1.
- When blocking a specific number, select Phone Number Match.
Note: - Include a country code before the number or prefix. In this example, the number +1 (905) 123-1234 can be found by entering 19051231234.
- You can block all numbers that contain a specific area code and country code if you select Prefix Match.
- Block Type
- You can prevent blocked numbers or prefixes from calling phone users by selecting Inbound.
- By selecting Outbound, phone users can no longer dial the blocked number or prefix.
- If you would like to add a comment (optional) please do so here. This will help us identify the blocked number or prefix.
- Active Status:
- Turn on or off blocking.
- Match Type
- Press Save.
Activate or deactivate blocked numbers
Activate or deactivate the numbers after they are added to the Blocked List. Incoming and outgoing calls will not be affected until blocked numbers are activated.
- Access the Zoom web portal by signing in.
- Select Company Information from the navigation menu.
- At the top, click Settings.
- Navigate to Blocked Lists.
- You can deactivate or activate rules by clicking Edit.
- Activate the blocked number by setting the Active Status toggle to “on” or deactivate it by setting it to “off”.
- Save your changes.
Delete a blocked number
If you do not want to block that number, you can remove it from your block list. Rules or numbers cannot be deleted simultaneously.
- Zoom can be accessed by signing in.
- Select Phone System Management then Company Info from the navigation menu.
- Select Account Settings from the menu.
- Select Blocked List.
- You can delete a rule by clicking Delete next to it in the last column.
- Confirm the deletion by clicking it.
How to block phone numbers, prefixes, or callers without a caller ID (phone user level)
Use these steps if you want a specific user to only be affected by block rules.
Note:
The phone user can view the blocked numbers on their phone, or they can change them by going to the phone settings. If you set user-specific rules to block phone numbers, the block rules will still apply to the user to whom the block has been applied.
- Log in to the Zoom web portal by entering your email address and password.
- You should click Phone System Management in the navigation menu, followed by Users & Rooms.
- Select the user you wish to block numbers for from the list of users.
Note: - Zoom Phone can only block the numbers of phone users. Zoom Rooms are not blocked under Zoom Phone.
- Log into your user account.
- Scroll down to the Blocked List section and customize these settings:
- To block specific phone numbers or prefixes, select View or Edit.
Default is displayed next to all blocked prefixes and numbers.
If you would like to block prefixes, numbers, or extensions, click Add in one of the following sections.- Blocked phone number prefixes:
- Select a country code and area code to block all corresponding numbers. Click Save after choosing an area code, entering a prefix, and selecting a country code.
For instance, typing the 1905 blocks number with country code 1 and area code 905 would yield the following results. - Blocked numbers:
- Identify which phone number should be blocked. Type the number in an area code, then click Save.
Entering 19051231234, for example, blocks number +1 (905) 123-1234.
- To block all incoming calls that hide their caller ID, enable the Block Calls without Caller ID toggle.
- Block External Calls:
- Set rules to block incoming external calls during business hours, holidays, and closed periods.
Note: - Incoming calls are not affected by this setting. External phone numbers can still be called.
- To block specific phone numbers or prefixes, select View or Edit.
Delete a blocked number
If you do not want to block that number, you can remove it from your block list. Rules or numbers cannot be deleted simultaneously.
- Zoom’s web portal can be accessed by signing in.
- Select Users & Rooms from the navigation menu.
- You can now block the numbers of specific users.
- Select Settings > Users.
- Select View or Edit for the Blocked List.
- Please click * next to the blocked number or prefix you want to delete under Blocked phone number prefixes or Blocked numbers.
How to block external calls
As well, you can block all inbound external calls for individual users, sites, or extensions (Zoom Rooms, common area phones). Leaving outbound calls to external phone numbers will not be blocked because blocking external calls only applies to inbound calls.
Note:
- Calls from outside are only blocked for users of phones, Zoom Rooms, and the common area phones. Only these extensions in the account will be affected if you block external calls at the account.
- The following phone numbers are external numbers:
- Not Zoom Phone numbers,
- Those that have not been configured as part of BYOC, or those that have
- Not been synchronized from Active Directory or Exchange.
Account
- Access the Zoom web portal by signing in.
- Select Phone System Management from the navigation menu, then click Company Information.
- At the top of the page, click Account Settings.
- You will be taken to the account settings page.
- You will find the Others section on the left hand side.
- Select Block External Calls from the drop down menu.
- Afterwards, make the following changes:
- Block hours:
- Choose whether the rule should be applied during the hours that the affected extension is open, closed, or on holidays.
- When a call is blocked:
- Calls that have been blocked will be routed to the voicemail box of the affected extension, or the call will be immediately disconnected.
- Apply changes to:
- If you are applying the rule to existing sites/extensions, choose whether to apply it to new sites/extensions as well.
Site
- Zoom can be accessed by logging in.
- Choose Phone System Management and then Company Info from the navigation menu.
- Go to the Settings tab after clicking the name of the site you want to edit.
- Select Other.
- Check the box that says Block External Calls.
- Make the following changes:
- Block hours:
- Select whether to apply the rule during business hours, closed hours, or holidays for the affected extension.
- When a call is blocked:
- Calls blocked for a particular extension are routed to the voicemail box or are immediately disconnected.
- Apply changes to:
- The rule can be applied either to existing extensions/sites or to all new extensions/sites.
Phone user, Zoom Room, or common area phone
- Zoom’s web portal can be accessed by logging in.
- Select Users & Rooms from the Navigation menu.
- Depending on which extension you want to edit, click the Users, Zoom Rooms, or Common Area Phones tab.
- Once you have selected the extension that you wish to edit, click the Edit button.
- Go to the tab that says User Settings.
- Click Other.
- Make sure that the call blocking option is turned on.
- Make the following changes:
- Block hours:
- You can choose whether to apply the rule during business hours, holidays, or closed hours at the affected extension.
- When a call is blocked:
- Blocked calls should be routed to voicemail for the affected extension, or the call should be disconnected immediately.