But life is rarely linear. That contractor who ghosted you last year is now the only one who can fix your leaky pipe. That relative you had a falling out with just had a health scare. Or, most commonly, you realize you blocked your dentist’s office by accident six months ago.

This is powerful (spam never touches your voicemail), but it is slow. Unblocking requires a command to go from your app, to Verizon's cloud, to the regional switch, to the tower.

When you block a number, Verizon’s switch flags that number ID. Even after you unblock, some Verizon exchanges retain a "reputation cache" for up to 90 days. The network thinks, "This number was blocked before; maybe it’s spam."

Because on Verizon, unblocking isn't a door you open. It’s a lock you have to ask the network administrator to pick.

The next time you hit "Block," pause. Ask yourself: Will I ever need to hear from this number again?

We’ve all been there. You swipe away a call from a debt collector, a toxic ex, or a relentless robocaller. You tap "Block this Caller" with a satisfying finality. For a while, there is peace.