// 3. Force telephony cache refresh val tm = context.getSystemService(TelephonyManager::class.java) tm.clearBlockedNumbersForSubscriber(subId)
| Artifact | Path / Key | Value on Unblock | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | settings.db | secure:blocked_numbers_list | Entry removed | | call_log | CALL_BLOCK_REASON | Changed from 1 to 0 (but old log retained) | | logcat (kernel) | Event: 0x12f4c | BLOCKLIST_REMOVE action logged | | telephony.db | carriers/blocked_entries | deleted=1 (soft delete) | unblock contact android
| Storage Location | URI / Path | Purpose | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | content://com.android.blockednumber/blocked | Primary source of truth for telephony. | | Contacts DB | data/data/com.android.providers.contacts/databases/contacts.db (Table: raw_contacts ) | Marks STARRED (0) and CUSTOM_RINGTONE (null) but also flags CONTACT_STATUS for blocked. | | Call Log | content://call_log/calls | Adds CALL_BLOCK_REASON column (Value: 1 for user block). | | SMS Provider | content://sms/blocked | Isolated blocking for Messaging app. | | | Call Log | content://call_log/calls | Adds
// 6. Force a contacts provider sync val cr = context.contentResolver cr.update(ContactsContract.RawContacts.CONTENT_URI, ContentValues().apply put("contact_blocked", 0) , "phone_number = ?", arrayOf(normalized)) Unblocking a contact on Android is a distributed transaction problem, not a simple state change. The complexity arises from the fragmentation between telephony, SMS, contacts, and carrier systems. As of Android 15, the platform is moving toward a unified BlockedNumberService API that promises eventual consistency within 500ms. However, for older devices (Android 12 and below), a full unblock is only guaranteed after a device reboot or a carrier network cache timeout — a fact rarely documented in user-facing help articles. Force a contacts provider sync val cr = context
An unblock operation must explicitly call: