A nationwide internet outage, a local mobile-network failure, a card-terminal fault and a cyberattack on a service provider are different events. The same household plan can help with all of them without assuming a specific attack or threat is imminent.

What could become difficult?

• Paying at shops when card readers or banking services are unavailable.
• Contacting children, carers, work or relatives when calls and messaging fail.
• Using online maps, tickets, access codes, medical appointments or accounts.
• Getting updates if home broadband, mobile data or mains electricity fails at the same time.

Your 15-minute offline check

1. Essential numbers on paper: emergency contacts, children’s school, care arrangements, pharmacy, GP, utility suppliers, bank’s genuine customer-service number and any workplace emergency contact. Do not print passwords or online banking security answers.
2. Agree a family contact plan: a safe meeting place and an alternative person everyone can contact when the usual service fails. Include children, people who need support and pet-care arrangements.
3. Save information offline: appropriate maps, address details, travel information and copies of essential documents. Protect sensitive copies securely and keep any backups up to date.
4. Check power: charge a reliable phone power bank, keep a working torch and a battery/wind-up radio, and understand how long essential devices actually run.
5. Plan an alternative way to pay: where practical, maintain a modest, securely stored cash reserve for essential purchases. No amount of cash guarantees a retailer is open or able to accept a transaction; do not create financial hardship to fund a cash reserve.
6. Keep accounts protected: use unique passwords, strong email security and two-step verification. Save recovery codes securely so you are not locked out merely because your phone is unavailable.

During an outage

• First check whether the issue is your own device, mobile provider, local power or a wider service. Use reliable providers’ official status information when it is accessible; an outage alone is not evidence of a cyberattack.
• Avoid repeated failed payments and do not hand account credentials to people offering to “restore access”. An official-looking message could be a scam; independently confirm the organisation through a known contact method.
• Use pre-agreed family arrangements if messages do not arrive. Stay within official travel and emergency guidance, and avoid unnecessary journeys based on rumours.
• If electricity is also unavailable, use torches rather than candles and preserve phone battery. Never operate a fuel-burning generator indoors, in a garage or in an enclosed area.
• Call 999 if someone is in immediate danger; if ordinary communications are down, seek safe assistance through emergency services or local authorities as instructed.

When services return

Check that expected bank payments or transactions actually completed, review official account notices, change compromised credentials if necessary, and restore files from a known safe backup where appropriate. Investigate suspicious activity with your bank through its usual verified channels.

What equipment is worth buying?

First: items you already own—working torch, radio, charging cable and secure copies of key records. Ordinary retail: an appropriate power bank or spare batteries, only if you lack them. Specialist: independent communications or backup electricity only when their actual operating requirements, legality, coverage, costs and limitations justify them. There is no single gadget that makes every bank or mobile service work during an outage.

UK sources

National Cyber Security Centre: protecting family accounts and devices · NCSC: backups · UK Government Prepare · Official UK emergency alerts.

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Editorial review: 15 October 2026. Planning guidance for all four UK nations. Service availability and official incident instructions can change.