From my experience so far, you just need to turn on the one that appears on the right. So if it says “Enable extensions WideProtect 1 - WideProtect 15, I would enable WideProtect 15 only for the particular area code you’re wanting to block. Also, the number next to it (ie: 30,000,000) is the amount of numbers it’s checking to block, so it can take a while to complete. But if you’ve turned all of them on, yes it can take a while because each one has thousands of different phone number combinations to check.
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iPhone WideProtect Spam Call Blocker
- Thread starter valerii
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From my experience so far, you just need to turn on the one that appears on the right. So if it says “Enable extensions WideProtect 1 - WideProtect 15, I would enable WideProtect 15 only for the particular area code you’re wanting to block. Also, the number next to it (ie: 30,000,000) is the amount of numbers it’s checking to block, so it can take a while to complete. But if you’ve turned all of them on, yes it can take a while because each one has thousands of different phone number combinations to check.
Thanks. Will turning all on slows down the phone from now on?
[doublepost=1531097292][/doublepost]I have 1-15 turned on but why I just got a call from: +248 999912?
I have the length of complete phone number (not including country code) of all three countries set to 10 by default. Does that inc;use phone numbers less than 10 digits?
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Once they all finish cycling through and turn green, your phone should be fine.
As for the specific numbers, I believe you have to set the number you want to block by using at least the area/country code (ie: 248) in order for it to work. The number itself can be less than 10 digits but you need to include the area/country code. So in your example, you can do: 248-xxx-xxxx or +248-9xx-xxxx (the x represents an empty digit for example purpose only).
The developer, Valerii who’s on this thread, can help more specifically. I just downloaded it earlier this week and am quite new to it but I can say I haven’t received any spoofed calls from the numbers I’ve blocked so far so it seems to be working.
Thanks. They are all green.
For the past few months, I keep getting calls from numbers starting with 252, 248 and 257. Recently, the calls are more often 5-10 per day. Usually the last two digits are different but sometimes same numbers. They ring once or twice and then hang up automatically.
The settings I have in WideProtect are:
Block numbers starting with:
+1 252-***-****
+1 248-***-****
+1 257-***-****
The +1 were entered by defaults. Do I need to take off the 1s? They are there. I can't remove them.
The app works only with SMS and MMS messages from unknown senders; it doesn't work with messages from senders in a user's Contacts list or with iMessage messages from any source.
Blocked messages are displayed on "SMS junk" tab in Messages app, and badge counter also displays them.
[doublepost=1531116185][/doublepost]Hi all
Thanks Jada34 for all comments, some details:
1) there are 15 WideProtect extensions in iPhone Settings because iOS restricts each one to block up to 2 millions numbers only. Since one area code in the USA contains 10 millions, I have added 15 extensions to be able to block up to 30 millions (3 area codes). The most preferable way is to turn them all in advance.
2) if you really got call from number "+248 999912", it's not USA number, it's Seychelles (+248), so you need to add specific prefix like this:
[doublepost=1531116234][/doublepost]And, to remove some prefix, just swipe on it from right to left and tap on "Unblock" button
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Even after I installed the app, I still received two calls this morning. +248 999910, +248 999903. Could the developer please investigate why they were not blocked and provide a fix? Thanks
Did you changed prefixes as I suggested? Could you provide current screenshot of WideProtect?
And, do you use DND mode?
Hi valerii, enclosed is a screenshot of WideProtect. How to change the prefixes? I cannot find your suggestions. What is DND mode? Today I received a call from +248 999908. Yesterday, I received calls from: +248 999901, +248 999909, +248 999910, +248 999903. Do I need to remove the "1"? I cannot remove it.
Hi hajime,
Incoming calls have "+248" country code and 6-digit phone number after that, so you need:
1) remove prefix "+1 248 ..."
2) add new prefix:
- tap on "Country" button and select "Seychelles" as country (see ex01.png)
- type 6 in field "Length of complete phone number" and type 99 in text field (see ex02.png)
And check other prefixes in the same way.
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Thanks valerii.
What suggestions do you have in regard to the following two countries?
soomaaliya (+252 64648027 with the last 1 or 2 digits changed),
Burundi (+257 61405496 with the last two digits changed)
Should I do:
1 Select Soomaaliya as country and type 8 in field "Length of complete phone number" and type 64 in the text field.
2. Select Burundi as country and type 8 in field "Length of complete phone number" and type 61 in the text field.
How come we cannot filter anything with 252, 257 or 248 as the country code? Is it because of limitation of iOS?
I can't find Soomaaliya being listed under Country. Perhaps it is a convenience feature if you allow the users to search the country by entering the country code.
You are absolutely right - select Somalia and Burundi and set all values as you wrote. Just type country code on the top of the country list - the app will find it.
Whole country can't be blocked because usually it's too many numbers to block, even 30 millions take long time, especially on old devices.
Thanks for the confirmation. I have changed the settings. Hope your app can give me a peace of mind.
So the strategy is we add more rules when those bad guys start using a new pattern of numbers?
How come only three country codes are allowed?
How come there is a space between 6 and 4 after +252? I keyed in "64" but the app displays "6 4" likes the following:
+257 61** ** **
+248 99****
+252 6 4******
Yes, more rules with a time.
And not only three country codes, any country you want, but total amount of blocked numbers should be <= 30 millions.
Don't mind this formatting thing, it's just to be more readable for some numbers.
Thanks.
Is there anything that we can do in regard to "anonymous"? Is it a bad idea to block "anonymous" as some could be legit?
Unfortunately, it's impossible to block "anonymous"/"Unknown caller" calls... No technical abilities...
When “anonymous “ calls, does the phone rings first regardless or determines that it is “anonymous “? If it is the latter and the user does not mind ovetkilling, can the app blocks any number that belong to the group “anonymous “?
I don't know, because my app (and any other apps) can't block calls on the fly, only pre-fill blocking list with numbers. Since nobody knows what number internally is used by "Unknown caller", I can't block it.
I've been using WideProtect for a few weeks now and have received no more spam calls. But I was only receiving maybe one a week, and I'm wondering if calls are being blocked or I just haven't received any. Does WideProtect log blocked calls? Or is there some other way I can find out if it has actually blocked any calls?
Thanks,
Larry
Thanks,
Larry
Hi Larry, unfortunately no, the app does not have access to incoming calls and can't log them.
I don't understand how it doesn't have access. It must have access to the calling number, otherwise how could it know whether to block it or not? Or does it somehow pass the entire number list to iOS to let the OS determine whether to block the call or not? If that's the case does it not find out if the call was blocked? In any case, if it just logged the time that it processed a call I could compare that log to my recent calls and see if that log showed a call which did not show up in my recent calls, and that would tell me that one was blocked.
Larry
That's right - the app is passing whole list of blocked numbers to iOS in advance, and then iOS checks incoming call number with all lists it has and blocks call if needed. Third-party blockers don't have info about calls.