OuvirSecção 03
Rádio a pilhas e manivela
Why: FM e onda média, sem rede nem internet. A forma mais segura de ouvir as autoridades.
Essential guide · Base level · 8 min
Essential guideBase level · open to all8 min read
Communicating when the network fails: phone, radio and distress signals
How to call for help, find out what's happening and reach your family when calls won't connect — from 112 without a SIM to licence-free walkie-talkies and the whistle distress signal.
Reviewed 1 Oct 2026
07·ACommunicating when the network fails
In 30 seconds
The essentials, in four points.
112
It's free and works from any mobile phone, even locked or without a SIM card. With your own SIM is better: if the call drops, they can call you back.
SMS
When the network is overloaded, texts often get through when calls don't. Text your family and keep calls for 112.
Radio
A battery or wind-up radio is the safest way to hear the authorities. In the 2025 blackout, Portugal's public radio never went off air.
6 × 1 min
Lost or injured far from help? Six whistle blasts or six torch flashes within a minute, a minute's pause, then repeat. It's the international mountain distress signal.
01Why prepare
In an emergency, everyone calls at the same time.
In the blackout of 28 April 2025, many people in Portugal went hours without being able to call or get online. In an earthquake, wildfire or flood the same happens: masts lose power or are damaged, and the ones still working fill up with calls.
Communicating in an emergency has three parts: asking for help, knowing what's going on and finding your family. This guide shows how to do each with what you have — your phone — and with what you should have: a battery radio, a pair of walkie-talkies and a whistle.
Network overloaded
There's signal, but calls won't connect. Short texts, calls only for 112, and the radio to stay informed.
No network at all
Masts down. A battery radio to listen, walkie-talkies to talk to family nearby, and the agreed meeting point.
Far from help
Lost, injured or trapped. Stay where you are, make yourself visible and use a whistle or torch with the distress signal.
02Your phone
Tell. Save. Charge.
Step 1
Tell
A short text to your out-of-area contact and the family group: where you are, how you are, where you're going. Don't keep trying to call.
Step 2
Save
Battery saver on, brightness down, apps closed. Use your phone only when you need to.
Step 3
Charge
A charged power bank, the right cable and, if you can, a way to top it up. The Backup power at home guide explains how much to store.
1
Call 112 only in an emergency: a life at risk, a fire, a crime in progress. It's free, from any mobile, even without a SIM or when locked.
2
Tell 112 where you are first, then what happened and how many people are hurt. Don't hang up until they tell you to.
3
Deaf people or those who can't speak: Portugal's MAI112 app lets you reach 112 by text or by video call with a Portuguese Sign Language interpreter. Install and test it beforehand.
4
Civil protection alerts arrive from the sender AvisoPROCIV. They're free, need no sign-up, and the helpline 800 246 246 answers questions. Read them carefully and follow what they say.
03Listen
A battery radio needs no network and no internet.
1
Have a battery or wind-up radio with FM and medium wave (AM), and spare batteries of the right size. Keep it with the grab bag.
2
Tune in to public radio (Antena 1) and local stations. In the blackout of 28 April 2025, RDP kept its transmitters running on its own generator and broadcast news only across all its channels.
3
Follow only official instructions. Rumours spread fast in a crisis. Be wary of forwarded messages with no source.
4
Try the radio now, at home: which stations come in clearly where you live? Write them on the sheet at the end of this guide.
04Talking without a network
Walkie-talkies for the family — and an agreed channel.
Plate 07·B — PMR446 walkie-talkiesNo licence, no network, no costs
1
Choose PMR446 radios: they're sold as licence-free walkie-talkies. They have a fixed antenna and no more than 0.5 W — that's what makes them licence-exempt.
2
Agree a channel and a time. For example, the 3-3-3 Plan routine: channel 3 with no tone, every 3 hours, 3 minutes before and after the hour. You save batteries, know when the other person is listening and may hear neighbours on the same network. Write it in the family plan.
3
Range depends a lot on buildings and terrain. Test it in your area: from home to school, to the meeting point. What works in open country may not reach two blocks in a city.
4
Spare batteries and a charger. A walkie-talkie with a flat battery is just weight.
05Calling for help without a phone
Stay put. Be visible. Make noise with a rhythm.
Plate 07·C — The distress signalSix a minute, pause, repeat
Sound
Whistle
Carries much further than your voice and is far less tiring. A whistle in every grab bag and every day pack.
Light
Torch
At night, six flashes a minute or SOS. By day, a mirror or a screen reflecting the sun also draws attention.
Colour
Be seen
Brightly coloured clothing or an emergency foil blanket spread out in an open spot. Seen from above, contrast is everything.
Position
Stay
If you're lost, stopping and staying somewhere visible makes searching much easier. Wandering wastes energy and takes you away from where they're looking.
06Six costly mistakes
Communication myths — and what to do instead.
Myth
“Without a SIM card, or with a locked phone, you can't call 112.”
You can. 112 works from any mobile. Your own SIM is better, because they can call you back.
Myth
“If the call won't go through, keep trying until it does.”
Each attempt overloads the network further. Send a text and call only 112.
Myth
“I have everything on my phone, I don't need a radio.”
Without network or internet, your phone tells you nothing. A battery radio keeps working.
Myth
“Any walkie-talkie can be used without a licence.”
Only PMR446: fixed antenna and up to 0.5 W. Others need a licence.
Myth
“To call for help, just shout.”
Your voice tires and doesn't carry. A whistle carries much further: six blasts a minute, pause, repeat.
Myth
“When lost, it's best to keep walking until you find someone.”
Stopping and staying visible usually helps more. Tell someone beforehand where you're going and when you'll be back.
07Recommended equipment
Listen, talk and be heard.
A battery radio, a pair of PMR446 walkie-talkies and a whistle for each person cost little and solve almost everything when the network fails.
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FalarSecção 04
Walkie-talkies PMR446 (par)
Why: de uso livre, sem licença: antena fixa e 0,5 W. Para a família no mesmo bairro.
SocorroSecção 05
Apito de emergência
Why: ouve-se muito mais longe do que a voz. Um por pessoa, na mala e na mochila.
TelemóvelSecção 02
Bateria externa 20 000 mAh
Why: mantém o telemóvel ligado para avisar a família e ligar 112.
OuvirSecção 03
Pilhas recarregáveis AA e AAA com carregador
Why: para o rádio e os walkie-talkies. Confirma os tamanhos que usam.
Quick card
Print it. Fill it in. Keep it in the bag.
Fill it in with your family, stick it by the radio and put a copy in the grab bag.
Communications · K72 sheet
1Emergency: 112 · Health (Portugal): SNS 24 — 808 24 24 24
2Out-of-area contact: ______________
3Radio: stations that come in clearly here: ______
4Walkie-talkies: channel ____ · time ______
5Civil protection alerts: AvisoPROCIV · 800 246 246
6Distress: 6 blasts / flashes a minute, pause, repeat
07·A · k72plus.comEMERGENCY: 112
- ANACOM — Calls to the national emergency number 112 (in Portuguese) — free, from any mobile, even without a SIM
- ANACOM — Network licence exemption (PMR446), revised 28 April 2026 (in Portuguese) — 446.0–446.2 MHz, 500 mW, integrated antenna
- ANEPC — ANEPC warns the population by SMS (in Portuguese) — sender AvisoPROCIV, free, no sign-up, 800 246 246
- Government of Portugal — 112 for deaf citizens (MAI112 app, in Portuguese)
- FEMA — What's the best way to communicate after a disaster? — texts instead of calls
- Observador — RTP broadcast went down for an hour (29/04/2025, in Portuguese) — RDP kept transmitting on its own generator
- Mountaineering Scotland — Calling for help — six blasts or flashes a minute
- Civil Aid Service (Hong Kong) — Mountain safety: distress signals — six signals a minute, SOS by whistle or torch
- U.S. National Park Service — Outdoor emergency plan — if lost, stay put unless in immediate danger
- ITU — Recommendation M.1677: International Morse code — SOS distress signal
Reviewed 1 Oct 2026 · Next review: Mar 2027 · Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
This guide does not replace official instructions. In an emergency, call 112.