How to easily add a backup carrier to your phone - for free or cheap

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ZDNET's key takeaways

• A backup carrier can keep calls, texts, and data working during outages.
• Cheap prepaid plans or free promos make a backup line affordable.
• eSIMs let you switch carriers quickly on iPhone and Android.

The latest Verizon outage happened at the worst possible time, at least for me. I was driving to an unfamiliar spot, relying on directions through Apple CarPlay. When the service went kaput, so did my driving directions, leaving me scrambling to figure out how to get where I was going.

Also: Verizon customer? How to get your free $20 refund after Wednesday's massive network outage

Plenty of other people faced their own challenges when the outage occurred. If you were in a similar boat, you may wonder how to avoid such trouble in the future. Well ...