Losing power in the middle of something online is one of the more jarring interruptions modern life offers — but your home network doesn't have to go dark with the lights. Engadget has published a guide to keeping your connection alive during an outage.

The core idea: your modem and router draw relatively little power, so modest backup options can bridge the gap until the grid comes back. The guide walks through the available approaches for keeping that equipment energized so your connection stays up.

It's a timely reminder heading into winter storm season, when outages spike and remote workers feel the pain most. A small investment in backup power for networking gear is considerably cheaper than a whole-home generator — and for many households, it covers the equipment that matters most.