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Residential street at blue hour, dark phone mast on a hill, a person with a radio walking to a lit fire station

The mobile and internet network is down

No bars, no Wi-Fi, no message gets through. If you know where to get help without a phone and where the family meets, you can still act.

First

  1. If someone's life is in danger: still try 112 – even if the phone shows no signal or “emergency calls only”.
  2. If the emergency call does not go through: fetch help in person – from neighbours, at the fire station, the police station or a help point named by the municipality.
  3. Switch on a battery radio: the regional station says how big the outage is and where help is available.
  4. Save battery and use agreed meeting points instead of driving around searching.

Call emergency services if

  • Danger to life, unconsciousness, serious injury
  • Fire or a smell of gas
  • A life-sustaining medical device fails
  • Suspected carbon monoxide poisoning (headache, dizziness, nausea in several people)

Emergency numbers for Austria · Change region

What is happening

Mobile networks, the internet and many landlines need power at many points: in the router at home, in exchanges and at mobile masts. If a power cut lasts longer, their reserves run down one after another. Networks can also fail without a power cut, or be so overloaded that hardly anything gets through – for example when everyone calls at once after an incident.

The most important thing is the emergency call. In the EU, 112 is free and can be reached from landlines and mobile phones. If a life is in danger, always try 112 first, even if your phone shows no signal. If the call does not go through, fetch help in person: from neighbours, at the fire station, from the police or at a help point that the municipality sets up during longer outages.

Information then comes mainly from the radio. One transmitter reaches any number of receivers, and a battery or crank radio needs no network. For the family: what has been agreed beforehand – meeting point, an out-of-area contact, who collects the children – replaces many calls.

This page guides you through the first minutes, an emergency without a network and the hours that follow. If the power is out too, the advice on power cuts applies as well.

Step by step

The mobile and internet network is down – Phase 1 of 4The first minutes: what still works?. Check calmly: is only your phone affected, or also neighbours, Wi-Fi, landline, power? Switch on a battery radio and find the regional station. Save battery: power-saving mode, brightness down, do not let it keep searching. Do not get into the car just to look for a signal somewhere.
Phase 1 of 4

Phase 1 of 4

The first minutes: what still works?

Check calmly: is only your phone affected, or also neighbours, Wi-Fi, landline, power? Switch on a battery radio and find the regional station. Save battery: power-saving mode, brightness down, do not let it keep searching. Do not get into the car just to look for a signal somewhere.

The animation shows the key actions of each phase schematically; the text below is what counts.

  1. Phase 1

    The first minutes: what still works?

    • Check calmly: is only your phone affected, or also neighbours, Wi-Fi, landline, power?
    • Switch on a battery radio and find the regional station.
    • Save battery: power-saving mode, brightness down, do not let it keep searching.
    • Do not get into the car just to look for a signal somewhere.

  2. Phase 2

    If someone needs help

    • Always try 112 first, even with no bars.
    • If the call does not go through: one person stays with whoever needs help, another goes to neighbours, the fire station, the police or the municipality's help point.
    • Say exactly: where? What has happened? How many people are affected?
    • If you are alone: shout, ring neighbours' bells, speak to passers-by.

  3. Phase 3

    Family and neighbours

    • Act on the plan: go to the agreed meeting point instead of searching all over the place.
    • Children at school or childcare stay with their carers until they are collected as agreed.
    • Put a note on the door: who, where to, when.
    • Look in on older neighbours and people who live alone.

  4. Phase 4

    If it lasts longer

    • Listen to the radio at fixed times to save batteries.
    • If the network comes back briefly: short text messages instead of calls, first to your out-of-area contact.
    • Pass on only what official bodies say.
    • If the power is out too: battery light instead of candles, no grills, stoves or generators in the home.

★ Pro tips

What experienced people do differently: proven practice from mountain rescue, fire services, lifeguards and civil protection that beginners rarely know.

  1. "Emergency calls only" means 112 still works

    If your phone shows "Emergency calls only" or "SOS", your own network is down but another network is in range. You can still make a 112 call through that other network. Normal calls will not work in this state.

  2. Switch on Wi-Fi calling

    If only the mobile network is down but your home internet still works, Wi-Fi calling lets you phone over Wi-Fi. You have to switch it on in your phone settings and your provider has to support it. Check this while everything is working.

  3. Airplane mode with set check times

    A phone without signal keeps searching and drains its battery fast. Switch on airplane mode and check at set times, say on the hour, whether the network is back. In an emergency, still try 112 at once.

  4. Text, don't call, when the network flickers back

    When the network is overloaded or only briefly available, a text often gets through when a call does not. Keep it short: who, where, how you are. That keeps the lines free for emergency calls.

  5. Download offline maps beforehand

    Many map apps can save your region for offline use. Your phone then shows your location by GPS even without a network. That way you can find the fire station, hospital or meeting point when the internet is down.

What to watch out for

  • The emergency call comes first

    No signal does not automatically mean no emergency call. If a life is in danger, always try 112 and only then go to fetch help.

  • Driving around costs time and fuel

    Anyone who gets into the car to look for a signal or for relatives often misses the others and blocks roads for emergency vehicles. Meeting points are better.

  • Numbers only in the phone

    When the battery is flat, all the numbers are gone too. The most important ones belong on a card in your wallet.

  • Rumours

    Without a network, rumours spread by word of mouth. Reliable sources are the radio, notices and announcements from the authorities.

  • Devices that rely on the network

    Home alarm buttons, alarm systems and some care devices report via phone or internet. If they fail, an emergency may not be reported – check in more often.

Common mistakes

  • Not even trying 112 in an emergency because no signal is shown.
  • Driving around aimlessly to look for a signal or relatives.
  • Collecting children from school or childcare without that having been agreed.
  • Draining the battery by constantly refreshing apps.
  • Having agreed no meeting point and no contact person.

Prepare in advance

  • A battery or crank radio with spare batteries, and the frequency of the regional station.
  • Important numbers and addresses on paper, in your wallet and in the go bag.
  • Agree a meeting point and an out-of-area contact person with your family.
  • Ask your municipality whether there are help points during longer outages, and where the nearest fire station is.
  • Clarify with the school or childcare what applies during an outage and who may collect the child.
  • Keep a charged power bank ready.

Special consideration

Children
Children should know where the meeting point is and carry a card with their name, address and two phone numbers. Older children learn where the nearest fire station or police station is.
Older people and people needing care
Anyone who uses a home alarm or a device that needs the network or power needs a plan B: neighbours who check in regularly and an arrangement with the care service.

Sources

Your situation

Does someone need help right now?
Is there power?
Your situation

Matching entries

0 rules apply

No AI decides here. Every recommendation is based on a visible rule.

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Basics for this situation

Why: Always applies to this situation – regardless of your answers.

All rules of this situation (5)

  1. [not active] If Does someone need help right now? = Yes, an emergency

    Always try 112 first. If it fails: one person stays with whoever needs help while another fetches help from neighbours, the fire station, the police or the municipality's help point. Say exactly where and what has happened.

  2. [not active] If Does someone need help right now? = No, I want information and to reach my family

    Do not overload the networks: if the network comes back briefly, short text messages instead of calls. Information from the radio, not from rumours.

  3. [not active] If Is there power? = No, the power is off too

    With a power cut as well: battery light instead of candles, ration battery power, no grills, stoves or generators in the home.

  4. [not active] If Your situation = Family is in different places (school, work)

    Act on the plan, not on feelings: go to the agreed meeting point. Children at school or childcare stay with their carers until they are collected as agreed. Leave a note on the door saying where you are going.

  5. [not active] If Your situation = Someone needs care or a medical device

    If a device depends on power or the network (home alarm, ventilator, oxygen), act early: go to the care service or doctor, or fetch help, before the battery runs out.