What Is Call Barring? Call Barring Meaning, Settings, Codes and Password on Android (2026)
NoDial Editorial ／ 2026-09-16 ／ updated 2026-10-07Call barring means your mobile carrier refuses to connect a whole category of calls, such as all outgoing calls, all international calls or all incoming calls. That is what "call barring" means when you see it in your phone's settings, when a code like *33* is mentioned, or when you come across the phrase "call barring state: active". Short version: call barring stops whole categories of calls (all outgoing calls, all international calls, all incoming calls) and it is enforced by your mobile operator, not by your phone. It cannot block calls to one specific number. This guide covers what each option blocks, how to activate call barring on Android or switch it off (the Samsung call barring menu and the Pixel menu differ), the standard codes and the password, why it sometimes refuses to work, and what to use instead if you only want to stop calls to a single number.
Seeing "Call barred" or "Outgoing calls barred" without having turned anything on? Your operator may have barred the line, for example over an unpaid bill. That case is covered in Call Barred Meaning: Why It Happens and How to Remove It.
NoDial: Block Outgoing CallsBlocks calls to numbers you choose
NoCall: Blacklist Call BlockerBlock unwanted calls before they ring.
Steps and codes are current as of October 2026. Menu names vary by phone maker and Android version, and whether the feature is offered at all depends on your mobile operator.
1. What does call barring mean? The 30-second answer
Call barring is a service from your mobile operator that refuses to connect a whole category of calls: all outgoing calls, all international calls, or all incoming calls. It is defined in the GSM standard. When you switch it on, your phone sends a request to your operator, and from then on the operator refuses to connect the category of call you barred. Because the rule lives on the network, it follows your SIM card: swap the SIM into another phone and the barring is still in place.
Two things follow from that. First, your operator has to support it. Operators in the UK, India, Australia, the Middle East and much of Asia and Europe commonly do. Not every operator does: the standard lets an operator choose not to offer subscriber control, and Android hides the Call barring menu unless the operator enables it. If your operator's help pages do not mention call barring, ask them before relying on it. Second, it works in categories, not in numbers. You can bar "all outgoing calls", but not "calls to this one person".
Call barring = your operator blocks a whole category of calls. It needs operator support and a 4-digit password, and it cannot target a single phone number.
Seeing a "call barred" or "incoming calls barred" message you did not expect? What it means, whose line is barred and how to remove it: Call Barred Meaning.
2. What call barring can block: bar all outgoing calls, international calls, incoming calls
Call barring can block five categories of calls, and nothing narrower than a category. The GSM standard defines five barring services. Your phone's settings show some or all of them, usually with these names:
| Setting | Standard name | What it stops |
|---|---|---|
| All outgoing calls | BAOC | Every call you make, except emergency numbers |
| Outgoing international calls | BOIC | Calls to numbers outside the country you are in |
| Outgoing international calls except to home | BOIC-exHC | When roaming abroad: calls to any country other than your home country |
| All incoming calls | BAIC | Every call to you |
| Incoming calls while roaming | BAIC-roam | Calls to you, but only while you are abroad |
"Bar all outgoing calls" (or "outgoing call barring") in everyday use means the first one: every call you make is refused, except emergency numbers. It is the option people reach for to stop a phone from making any calls at all, for example on a child's phone, a spare work phone, or a phone that is only meant to receive calls.
Getting calls from unknown foreign numbers? Barring all incoming calls (BAIC) is rarely the answer: it stops every call to you, not only the foreign ones. The real risk with those calls is calling back. In the "one ring" scam, the phone rings once and stops, hoping you return the call, and the US Federal Communications Commission warns the charge can show up as international calling or premium services. So the protection that matters is on the outgoing side: barring "Outgoing international calls" stops a callback to any country, and an app such as NoDial stops it while still letting you call the countries you choose. Every option compared: How to Block International Calls on Android. How the scam works and what to do if you called back: Wangiri (One Ring Scam).
3. Call barring settings on Android: where to turn it on or off (Samsung, Pixel)
The call barring settings live inside the Phone app, not in the main Settings app. The exact path depends on who made your phone.
Samsung Galaxy
Call barring on a Samsung Galaxy lives in the Phone app under Supplementary services, not in the main Settings app.
- Open the Phone app and tap the three dots (⋮) in the top right.
- Tap Settings → Supplementary services → Call barring.
- Tap Voice call (some models skip this step). If you have two SIMs, pick the SIM first.
- Turn on the category you want, for example All outgoing calls. The exact list varies by model and operator: typical entries are All outgoing calls, International calls, International calls except to home, All incoming calls, and Incoming calls while roaming; some models also show Outgoing calls to premium numbers.
- Enter the call barring password (see section 5) and confirm.
To turn it off, come back to the same screen, switch the category off, and enter the password again.
Google Pixel and phones using the Google Phone app
- Open the Phone app and tap the three dots (⋮) → Settings.
- Tap Calling accounts, then tap your SIM or operator.
- Tap Call barring. On some phones it sits under Calls or Additional settings instead.
- Turn on the category you want and enter the password.
On a Pixel we tested, the option is there, but opening it requires mobile data for that SIM to be switched on, because the phone has to talk to the operator's network to read and change the setting.
Xiaomi, OnePlus, Oppo, Vivo, Realme and others
Look in the Phone app's settings for Call barring, Call restriction, or Advanced settings. The steps are the same once you find the screen: choose the SIM, choose the category, enter the password.
Android hides the Call barring menu unless your operator turns it on, and the default is off — a missing menu does not by itself mean your operator doesn't support the service. The codes in the next section sometimes still work even without the menu, though if your operator doesn't support barring at all, the codes fail too. Contact your operator or, for a per-number block, see section 8. If you're on Verizon, T-Mobile or AT&T in the US, none of them publish a self-service call-barring menu for consumers; what each offers instead for blocking outgoing or international calls is covered in Can You Block Outgoing Calls on Verizon, T-Mobile, or AT&T?
4. Call barring codes (*33*, #33#, and the rest) and the call barring state
The call barring codes turn each category on or off, and the "check status" codes show the call barring state: whether that bar is currently active. Because call barring is part of the GSM standard, you can also control it by dialing a code in the Phone app, exactly as you would dial a number. Replace PW with your 4-digit call barring password.
| Category | Turn on | Turn off | Check status |
|---|---|---|---|
| All outgoing calls | *33*PW# | #33*PW# | *#33# |
| Outgoing international calls | *331*PW# | #331*PW# | *#331# |
| Outgoing international except to home | *332*PW# | #332*PW# | *#332# |
| All incoming calls | *35*PW# | #35*PW# | *#35# |
| Incoming calls while roaming | *351*PW# | #351*PW# | *#351# |
| Turn off every barring at once | — | #330*PW# | — |
Type the code, press the call button, and wait for the confirmation message from the network. If nothing happens, or you see "Connection problem or invalid MMI code", the network did not accept the code. In standard Android this is a catch-all message covering a mistyped character, your operator declining the request (not provisioned, operator-controlled, or a call forwarding conflict), or a failed connection. It is not the message for a wrong password: standard Android shows "Incorrect password" for that. Full breakdown by message: Call Barring Not Working.
These are the main codes. The full list (including the group codes 333 and 353), how the codes are built, and the password change code are in Call Barring Codes.
5. The call barring password (barring PIN)
The call barring password is a 4-digit code your operator sets; some operators call it the barring PIN or network password. Every change to call barring asks for it. It is not your SIM PIN and it is not your screen lock. It is set by your operator, so the default differs: Vodafone Australia publishes 0000 or 1234, Vodafone UK's device guides give 1919, and Vi in India says it is usually 0000. Many operators do not publish one. Defaults by carrier, how to change it and how to get it reset: Call Barring Codes and Password.
If the default does not work, do not keep guessing. The standard lets the network block every password-related request after more than three wrong tries in a row, until the operator unlocks it. Ask your operator's support to reset it.
If what you really want is to limit your own calls, you do not need the barring password at all. NoDial blocks outgoing calls to the numbers you choose on the phone itself, so there is no network password to forget or lock, and no call to your operator to turn it back off. How it works: How to Block Outgoing Calls to a Specific Number on Android.
6. How does call barring work? What the network does
Call barring works on the operator's network, not on the phone. The phone only sends the request: turn this category on, turn it off, or report its state. The operator's network stores the rule against your subscription and applies it to every call in that category. That is why the bar follows the SIM into another phone, why the menu needs a connection to the network to open on some phones, and why the operator can also place a bar you did not ask for (for example over an unpaid bill, covered in Call Barred Meaning).
The network also decides who is told. For a barred outgoing call, the person making the call is told it is not permitted. For a barred incoming call, the caller is told, not the person whose line is barred. Emergency numbers are never barred.
7. Why call barring won't turn on (or off)
- Your operator doesn't offer it, or controls it themselves. The menu may be missing, greyed out, or return an error.
- Call forwarding is on. The standard refuses to turn on an outgoing or incoming bar while related calls are being forwarded, and the reverse conflict too. Clear forwarding first, then try barring.
- Wrong password. Try the default your operator publishes once, then ask your operator. Don't cycle through guesses.
- Mobile data for that SIM is off. The phone has to reach the operator's network to read or change the setting, and some operators only accept barring changes this way. On the Pixel we tested, the Phone app refused to open the screen until mobile data for the SIM was on.
- Wrong SIM selected. On dual-SIM phones the setting is per SIM. Check which one you are changing.
- A different restriction is on. Fixed Dialing Numbers (FDN) blocks the barring request itself, not just ordinary calls; a parental-control app or a work profile can also block calls in ways that look like barring but are switched off elsewhere.
- You are roaming. Some networks won't let you change barring while abroad.
For what each on-screen error message actually means, message by message: Call Barring Not Working: Network Error & Invalid MMI Code.
8. What call barring cannot do, and what can
Call barring cannot block one specific number. It works on whole categories: all outgoing calls or none, all international calls or none. There is no list of numbers, no schedule, and no exceptions beyond emergency numbers. That leaves out most of what people actually want when they try to limit their own calls:
| What you want | Call barring | NoDial |
|---|---|---|
| Stop calls to one number, let everything else through | No | Yes |
| Block a number only at night or on certain days | No | Yes |
| Allow a set number of calls per day, week or month, then block | No | Yes |
| Block international calls but keep the countries you still call | No (all countries, or all but home while roaming) | Yes |
| Set it up without a barring password or your operator | No | Yes |
A per-number block like this needs an app that uses Android's call screening or call redirection feature. NoDial is built for exactly that: you add the numbers you have decided not to call, and calls to those numbers end before they connect. Everything else works as normal. Emergency numbers can never be added, and your contacts are left untouched. For all the options compared, see how to block outgoing calls to a specific number on Android.
Two things neither call barring nor NoDial does:
- Block calls coming in from one number. Use the "Block numbers" list in your Phone app: How to Block a Number on Android.
- Remove a bar your operator put on your line. Only the operator can lift it: Call Barred Meaning.
Whole categories of calls → call barring (operator). Calls to specific numbers → a per-number blocker on the phone. Calls from specific numbers → the Phone app's built-in block list.
9. Call barring vs. Fixed Dialing vs. a per-number blocker
| Call barring | Fixed Dialing Numbers (FDN) | Per-number blocker (NoDial) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it blocks | A whole category (all outgoing, international, all incoming…) | Everything except an allow-list stored on the SIM | Only the numbers you pick |
| Where the rule lives | Operator's network | SIM card (PIN2 protected) | The phone |
| Needs operator support | Yes | No, but needs the SIM's PIN2 | No |
| Schedules and call limits | No | No | Yes: days and hours, or a number of calls per period |
| Good for | Stopping all calls on a phone, or all international calls | A phone that may only call a few numbers | Keeping yourself from calling specific numbers |
FDN has its own guide, but the short version is: it turns the phone into a device that can only call the numbers on a short list, which is useful for a child's or an elderly relative's phone and very inconvenient for daily use.
10. FAQ
- What is call barring, and what does call barring mean on my phone?
- Call barring means your mobile carrier refuses to connect a whole category of calls, such as all outgoing calls, all international calls or all incoming calls. You turn it on from the Phone app or with a code, but the carrier's network does the blocking, and it cannot target one specific number.
- What does "bar all outgoing calls" (outgoing call barring) mean?
- It means your mobile operator refuses to connect calls you make. "All outgoing calls" stops every call except emergency numbers; "outgoing international calls" stops only calls to other countries.
- What is the call barring code?
- *33*PW# turns on barring of all outgoing calls and #33*PW# turns it off, where PW is your 4-digit barring password. *#33# shows whether it is currently on.
- What does "call barring state: active" mean?
- It means that category of barring is currently switched on for your SIM, as reported by the network. Dial the check code for that category (for example *#33# for all outgoing calls) and the network reports whether the bar is active. Turn it off with the matching off code and your barring password.
- What is the default call barring password (barring PIN)?
- It depends on the operator. Published defaults include 0000 or 1234 (Vodafone Australia), 1919 (Vodafone UK device guides) and usually 0000 (Vi, India). If the default is refused, ask your operator to reset it rather than guessing.
- Does call barring block emergency calls?
- No. Emergency numbers such as 112, 911, 999 and 000 always go through, regardless of barring.
- Can I bar calls to one specific number?
- Not with call barring. It works by category. To block calls to one number, use a per-number outgoing call blocker such as NoDial.
- Is call barring the same as blocking a number?
- No. "Block number" in the Phone app stops calls coming in from that number. Call barring stops categories of calls, mostly outgoing, at the network.
- Why is there no call barring option in my phone's settings?
- Android shows the Call barring menu only if your operator enables it, and some operators do not offer the service at all. In that case the codes may not work either; ask your operator.
11. Summary
Call barring means your operator blocks whole categories of calls. It is an operator-side switch, controlled from the Phone app or with *33*-style codes and a 4-digit network password set by your carrier. It cannot block a single number. For that, use a per-number blocker on the phone.
- Five categories: all outgoing, outgoing international, outgoing international except home, all incoming, incoming while roaming.
- Samsung: Phone → ⋮ → Settings → Supplementary services → Call barring. Pixel: Phone → ⋮ → Settings → Calling accounts → your SIM → Call barring.
- Codes: *33*PW# on, #33*PW# off, *#33# status. #330*PW# turns everything off.
- If the menu is missing or the codes fail, your operator probably doesn't offer it.
- To block calls to specific numbers, on a schedule or with a limit, use NoDial instead.
NoCall: Blacklist Call BlockerBlock unwanted calls before they ring.
Sources
- 3GPP TS 22.088 V13.0.0, "Call Barring (CB) supplementary services" (§1.3.8 and §2.3.8: who receives the "not permitted and has been barred" indication; §1.1 and §2.1: emergency calls and the other direction stay unaffected), ARIB copy of the 3GPP text arib.or.jp
- ETSI, GSM 03.88 "Call Barring (CB) supplementary services – Stage 2" etsi.org (PDF)
- MakeUseOf, "What Is Call Barring on a Samsung Phone and How Do You Use It?" makeuseof.com
- KrispCall, "Call Barring: Meaning, Codes, & How to Enable or Disable?" krispcall.com
- EE device guide, "Turning call barring on or off" (path: Settings > Calling accounts > Advanced settings > Call barring; key in your barring password) deviceguides.ee.co.uk
- FCC, "'One Ring' Phone Scam" (charges may show up as premium services or international calling) fcc.gov
- Our own check on a Google Pixel 8a (Android, September 2026): the Call barring entry under Phone → Settings → Calling accounts requires mobile data for the SIM to be on.
Operators change their services and phone makers rename menus. Check your operator's help pages if a step does not match what you see.