I was recently introduced to a handset from ATT that has a SmartBlock
https://telephones.att.com/telephones/c ... ll-blocker
The feature is fairly flexible and has both allow and deny lists. One interesting feature it has is to put the onus on the caller to identify themselves before it rings the handset.
The caller/spamer receives a message that the party they are calling does not accept unidentified calls (calls not in their address book / allow list). The caller is allowed to identify themselves and press #. The call is then allowed through and the recipient of the call can then hear the short message identifying who wants to talk. It is kind of like a call from someone who has been incarcerated.
For robo calls, they just don't get through. I would love to see Sonic add something like this. The main drawback is for elderly callers who get confused easily.
I tried the spam blocking feature from Sonic, but it is a pain to use.
1. Receive spam call
2. Log into Sonic web site
3. Navigate to spam guard thing
4. Type in number of spammer (rinse lather repeat)
For the ATT handsets, you can just press a single key to "block" the call permanently. Nice and simple, even for elderly people.
The only calls I really care about are family and a few friends. They would be in the allow list. Everyone else can deal with jumping through a few hoops.
Sonic, please consider implementing a fix that is not a game a Whack-A-Mole