Call Blocking with Phone? - Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums

robert l · 2012-01-07, 02:31 PM

These posts are old ones ,however, I am looking for info on a good call blocker. I am currently using Bell and they have a subscription blocker service but I would sooner buy my own unit. I have read various reviews ; some good and some very disappointed buyers of different units on the market. I am looking for input from folks who have personal experience with one of these devices. Thanks

MarcP · 2012-01-07, 04:13 PM

I bought a Panasonic cordless phone (with 4 handsets) that has CallerID filtering. Many phones now supports this right in the handset.

robert l · 2012-01-07, 07:34 PM

MarcP: Thanks. How effective is it in blocking calls from all sources that you don't want to make your phone ring ? I'll have a look around and see what's out there. Do you know how many numbers it can handle ?

MarcP · 2012-01-07, 07:38 PM

It's as reliable as CallerID can be. I have about 5 numbers banned in addition to anonymous calls. Not sure what the max is, though. It doesn't support wildcards so I can't ban call from a given area code, for instance. You have to provide the full caller ID string, but the unit itself is 2 years old. I figure it got better since with other models.

tux · 2012-01-07, 10:30 PM

@MarcP I don't think that call blocking has changed much since you got your phone. I have a Panasonic, last year's model, and the features are no better. I think the limit is around 30 blocked numbers.

I find with my phone, that although it can block individual numbers, my "Talking caller ID" makes it just as easy to ignore the call and not pick up, unless they call frequently. However, the telemarketers who do call frequently, will usually have a different number show up each time they call.

One feature that I would like to have (but don't) is automatic blocking of obviously fake caller ID numbers, like 000-000-0000 or even "0000" (both of which I have received calls from). The dialing patterns for NANPA numbers is pretty straightforward: NXX-NXX-XXXX. If it's a spoofed number that doesn't even fit into the NANPA format, the cordless phone (or better yet, the phone company) should be able to just block the call without manually adding every possible fake combination to the block list.

mash · 2012-01-08, 08:53 PM

Rob 1. I picked up the Panasonic phone KX TG4113c for this purpose. It does do the call blocking but with an annoying ring before the call block takes place. I don't know why they couldn't delay the ring until the numbers in the call block are checked. However, that said I like the phones. Price was 100 $ plus HST but you could probably find it cheaper.

2012-01-07, 02:31 PM	#1
robert l Rookie Join Date: Nov 2010 Posts: 12	Call Blocking with Phone? These posts are old ones ,however, I am looking for info on a good call blocker. I am currently using Bell and they have a subscription blocker service but I would sooner buy my own unit. I have read various reviews ; some good and some very disappointed buyers of different units on the market. I am looking for input from folks who have personal experience with one of these devices. Thanks

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2012-01-07, 04:13 PM	#2
MarcP Veteran Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Airdrie, AB Posts: 3,822	I bought a Panasonic cordless phone (with 4 handsets) that has CallerID filtering. Many phones now supports this right in the handset.

2012-01-07, 07:34 PM	#3
robert l Rookie Join Date: Nov 2010 Posts: 12	MarcP: Thanks. How effective is it in blocking calls from all sources that you don't want to make your phone ring ? I'll have a look around and see what's out there. Do you know how many numbers it can handle ?

2012-01-07, 07:38 PM	#4
MarcP Veteran Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Airdrie, AB Posts: 3,822	It's as reliable as CallerID can be. I have about 5 numbers banned in addition to anonymous calls. Not sure what the max is, though. It doesn't support wildcards so I can't ban call from a given area code, for instance. You have to provide the full caller ID string, but the unit itself is 2 years old. I figure it got better since with other models.

2012-01-07, 10:30 PM	#5
tux Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Winnipeg Posts: 757	@MarcP I don't think that call blocking has changed much since you got your phone. I have a Panasonic, last year's model, and the features are no better. I think the limit is around 30 blocked numbers. I find with my phone, that although it can block individual numbers, my "Talking caller ID" makes it just as easy to ignore the call and not pick up, unless they call frequently. However, the telemarketers who do call frequently, will usually have a different number show up each time they call. One feature that I would like to have (but don't) is automatic blocking of obviously fake caller ID numbers, like 000-000-0000 or even "0000" (both of which I have received calls from). The dialing patterns for NANPA numbers is pretty straightforward: NXX-NXX-XXXX. If it's a spoofed number that doesn't even fit into the NANPA format, the cordless phone (or better yet, the phone company) should be able to just block the call without manually adding every possible fake combination to the block list.

2012-01-08, 08:53 PM	#6
mash Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 39	Rob 1. I picked up the Panasonic phone KX TG4113c for this purpose. It does do the call blocking but with an annoying ring before the call block takes place. I don't know why they couldn't delay the ring until the numbers in the call block are checked. However, that said I like the phones. Price was 100 $ plus HST but you could probably find it cheaper.