If Your Phone Number Is Blocked from Receiving Prison Calls: How to fix it

The most common culprit? Billing limits. Collect calls run through your local phone carrier, and if you've hit the maximum dollar amount they allow for collect-call charges, your number gets blocked from receiving more.

The type of phone number matters too. Collect calls can't be made to cell phones, office phones, or hospital numbers - so if someone's trying to reach you at one of those, a collect call won't go through. There's another layer: collect calls can only go to numbers on the incarcerated person's approved Telephone List (up to 20 names/numbers). A new number, a changed area code, or a missing entry on that list can stop calls even when everything else checks out.

Sometimes the block is on your end. Pressing

Call ViaPath customer service at (877) 650-4249 and ask a representative to submit a block-removal request for your phone number. This is the direct route when your number is blocked and you need someone to push the request through.

If the block happened because someone pressed

If billing limits through your phone company are the problem, switching to prepaid is often the cleanest fix. ViaPath's AdvancePay lets you set up a prepaid calling account for your phone number - including cell phones - so calls get charged against that balance instead of your carrier's collect-call billing. Set it up at ConnectNetwork.com or call 800‑483‑8314. ViaPath specifically recommends calling (800) 483-8314 to sign up and start receiving calls again when billing limits are blocking you.

1. Choose how you’ll register - Use ConnectNetwork.com or call 800‑483‑8314 to start an AdvancePay prepaid collect account.
2. Set it up for the number you want to receive calls on - AdvancePay can be set up for different number types, including cell phones.
3. Add funds to the prepaid account - Once funded, charges for accepted calls are deducted from the AdvancePay balance.

Prepaid accounts also help when you need calls to go to a specific number on the approved Telephone List. Since calls can only reach approved numbers (up to 20), make sure the number you're funding matches the one on that list.

Some situations aren't really a block that can be lifted - collect calls simply can't reach certain phone types. If you're trying to receive collect calls on a cell phone, office phone, or hospital number, it won't work on that line.

• ✓ Set up an AdvancePay prepaid collect account through ConnectNetwork.com.
• ✓ Call 800‑483‑8314 to set up AdvancePay by phone, especially if collect-call billing limits are the problem.
• ✓ Use a prepaid calling approach so calls can be charged against a prepaid balance instead of collect-call billing through your carrier.

Don't overlook the simplest roadblock: the approved calling list. Collect calls can only go to numbers on the incarcerated person's Telephone List (up to 20 names/numbers). If you recently changed numbers or want calls on a different line, that exact number needs to be on their approved list.