Have you ever wondered how will you communicate when the power goes out? Well, let me give you a few ideas.

When the Lights Go Out

No matter what the reason, maybe it’s a local power outage or a massive regional or national power outage, do you have an alternative source of communication when your cell phone dies?

One idea is to have Satellite Communicators or Satellite Messengers on hand that will work as long as you have a clear view of the sky. Here are a list of devices you should consider.

Note: You can click on each one for more information.

Try to Stay with One Brand

The reason I bring this up right away is that the ACR Bivy Stick, Somewear Global Hotspot, SPOT X, and ZOLEO, all have dedicated phone numbers assigned to them which makes it easy for each of these brands to initiate messages.

The issue is when one of these devices tries to initiate a message to a Garmin inReach satellite messenger. These non-Garmin devices will not be able to initiate a message to a Garmin device. I have talked to Garmin about changing this but we’ll have to wait and see on this one.

At this time, if you have other brands besides Garmin, you would have to wait for the Garmin user to initiate the message and then after that, you can communicate for the remainder of the day, but starting on the next day, the Garmin user would have to re-initiate a message again so you could continue communicating that day, and this would continue on until Garmin makes changes to their satellite communicators.

If you all of your family and friends have Garmin inReach satellite messengers, then anyone can initiate messages, but again, only if you all have a Garmin.

My Personal Recommendations

First, I would say, if you already have a particular satellite messenger, such as an ACR Bivy Stick, then I would recommend that your family and friends also stick with that brand, or at least stick with the brands that have dedicated phone numbers. Here is a list below of those devices:

Now, for the satellite communicator(s) I recommend having if the power goes out or if you don’t have cell service. Personally, I like the Garmin devices the best but I would recommend you go with an all-in-one device, and not have to rely on have to sync with Bluetooth and your Smartphone.

First, What I Don’t Recommend

Note: I don’t recommend these as you must be synced with your smartphone in order to send messages.

What I Do Recommend

Note: I recommend these as you don’t have to be synced with your smartphone to send messages.

My Top Recommendations

These have reached the top of my list as they are all-in-one satellite messengers that can message easily on the device, plus they have on-screen topo maps and in some cases, satellite images.

How to Keep Your Device Charged

In a long term power or cellular outage, you will need to keep your satellite communicators charged. I would recommend at the least, a small portable charger, but preferably, you have that plus a large battery or marine battery that you can recharge. You can click on the items below to learn more about each one.

Final Thoughts

Find something that works best for you and your family and friends and make sure you know how to use them well. If you don’t have something already, then I recommend you find an all-in-one satellite communicator that you can message and navigate with and not have to be synced to your smartphone.

If you have any questions or need additional advice, please leave a message in the comments below.

Check out this YouTube video for more information.