Communication Ready

If the Phones Stop Working, What Will You Do?

Use this guide to see your main backup communication options when calling, texting, and internet service are unavailable.

Think beyond making a phone call. During a major disruption you may need to get emergency information, talk with people near you, communicate over a much greater distance, or follow a plan when no communication method works at all.

Choose the Situation You Want to Prepare For

Each option below solves a different communication problem.

1

Get Emergency Information

Use this when you need alerts, updates, and news but your phone and internet are unavailable.

What this solves You may not be able to call anyone, but you still need to know what is happening, where the danger is, and what officials are telling people to do.
Recommended option

Eton Odyssey Emergency Radio

A hand-crank emergency radio with NOAA weather, AM/FM, and shortwave reception. Shortwave adds another way to receive information beyond ordinary local broadcasts.

  • ✓NOAA weather and emergency information
  • ✓AM/FM plus shortwave reception
  • ✓Multiple power options during an outage
Remember This helps you receive information. It is not a two-way radio for talking with family members.
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2

Talk to People Near You

Use this when family members or others are close enough for direct radio communication.

What this solves If phones are down, a two-way radio gives you a direct way to talk with someone nearby without using a cell tower or internet connection.
Recommended option

BTECH FRS-A1 Two-Way Radio

A straightforward FRS option for the home, neighborhood, campground, church event, or other close-range setting.

  • ✓Direct person-to-person communication
  • ✓No individual FCC license required when used within FRS rules
  • ✓Designed for simple local communication
Range is not one fixed number Buildings, hills, trees, and terrain affect how far handheld radios can communicate. Test them in the places where you expect to use them.
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3

Reach Someone Far Away

Use this when the person is outside normal handheld-radio range and cellular service cannot be relied on.

What this solves Ordinary walkie-talkies are not designed to reach another city or state. Satellite communication provides a different path when local cellular coverage is unavailable.
Recommended option

Garmin inReach Messenger Plus

A satellite communicator designed for two-way messaging outside normal cellular coverage, including travel, evacuation, and other situations where distance matters.

  • ✓Two-way satellite messaging
  • ✓Interactive SOS capability
  • ✓Useful beyond normal cellular coverage
What to know Satellite features require an active service plan, compatible equipment, and sufficient access to the sky.
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4

Reunite When You Cannot Communicate

Use this when no device or network lets you reach each other.

What this solves Sometimes the backup is not another device. It is knowing where to go and what everyone should do when no message gets through.
Your backup plan

Family Reunion Plan

Decide in advance where household members should meet, who the out-of-area contact is, and what everyone should do if communication fails completely.

  • ✓Choose a nearby meeting place
  • ✓Choose an out-of-neighborhood meeting place
  • ✓Select one out-of-area contact
  • ✓Agree on check-in rules and what to do if nobody connects
Bottom line A reunion plan still works as instructions even when the technology does not.
View the Family Plan

Your Basic No-Contact Family Plan

Decide these four things before an emergency. Write them down and make sure everyone in the household knows the plan.

1. Nearby meeting place

A safe location close to home if you need to leave the house but remain in the immediate area.

2. Out-of-neighborhood meeting place

A location everyone knows if returning home is not possible.

3. Out-of-area contact

One person outside the immediate area who can serve as a central contact if communication becomes available.

4. No-contact rule

Agree on when to try contacting each other and what everyone should do if no contact is made.

Communication Ready Picks

Three tools for three different communication needs.

Get emergency information

Eton Odyssey

NOAA, AM/FM, shortwave, and backup power options for receiving emergency information.

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Talk nearby

BTECH FRS-A1

Direct two-way communication for close-range use without relying on cellular service.

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Reach far away

Garmin inReach Messenger Plus

Satellite messaging for communication beyond normal cellular coverage.

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Prepare the plan as well as the equipment. Radio and satellite performance can depend on terrain, conditions, power, service availability, and the equipment being used. Test your communication setup before an emergency and keep a no-contact reunion plan as the final backup.