Written 6 Sep 2026. This is a how-to, not a product card.

After the power comes back

Lights blinked. Ads may be back, SSH may miss the old address, and the share may be gone. Check the computer, find its number, point DNS again if needed, then the share. You don't need a new UPS tonight.

Haven't installed the house ad block yet? Start with the first useful thing. Haven't set up a share yet? Start with a file share. This note is the house-wide power blink or outage aftermath: router and computer likely rebooted together. ISP tech left a new gateway? That is when the ISP swaps your router. You rebooted the old PC on purpose and just need a job checklist? That is after a reboot, check the computer still does its jobs.

Skip until the lights are actually back

If the house is still dark, wait. Don't open the router admin in the dark. Don't buy a UPS tonight for one blink. Later, when you care about quieter nights: you don't need a UPS yet, and when you do buy: a cheap UPS for a closet that stays on overnight.

What this is

A short outage often reboots both the router and the computer. DHCP may hand the old PC a new number. Phones may fall back to ISP DNS, so ads load. SSH hangs on the lease you used to type. A backup USB may need a remount. The recovery is calm: wait for Wi-Fi, confirm the computer is on, find its number again, check the house jobs, then ads and the share.

Step 1: wait for the router

Watch the gateway lights settle. On a phone, confirm house Wi-Fi is back (not guest, not cellular). Give it a few minutes if the modem is still negotiating. Don't start SSH while the router is still blinking through boot.

Step 2: is the computer on?

Look for a power light or fan noise. If it has a screen, see if it woke. Soft-off is common after a blink. Press the power button once, then wait. Fuller awake check: is the computer still on?. Soft-off from the couch later: wake the computer from the house network.

Step 3: find the number again

Don't guess the old address. Look it up on the house network: find it on the house network. If you have a keyboard on the computer:

hostname -I

Write down the number. You will use it for SSH, DNS, and the share.

Step 4: SSH or keyboard — confirm you can reach it

From the laptop on house Wi-Fi:

ssh youruser@192.168.1.50

Use the real number from Step 3, not that example. First login walk: SSH from the couch. If it hangs or refuses: when SSH won't connect. Sitting at the keyboard is fine too — same checks below.

Step 5: house jobs still running?

On the computer (SSH or keyboard):

systemctl is-active pihole-FTL

systemctl is-active smbd

You want active on both (skip the Samba line if you never set up a share). If a job is inactive, start it, then make sure it comes back after the next reboot: make sure house jobs start after every reboot. Planned reboot checklist: after a reboot, check the computer still does its jobs.

Step 6: ads — if banners are back

Browse a site that used to show ads from a phone on the main house Wi-Fi. If banners are back, re-check that the router's LAN or DHCP DNS still points at the computer. Brand menus: point common home routers at Pi-hole. Fuller ads walk: when ads come back. Phones may still hold ISP DNS from before the blink — forget the house Wi-Fi and join again, or toggle airplane mode, then retry.

Step 7: the share

Open the house folder from a laptop or phone on house Wi-Fi. If it is gone, check Samba on the computer first: when the house share disappeared, check the computer. Path or login errors: when the house share won't open.

Step 8 (optional): backup USB

If you keep a stay-in backup stick on the computer, see whether it remounted:

findmnt /mnt/backup

Swap the path if yours differs. No mount line? Remount (or plug it back in), then: mount the backup USB automatically. Backup job fails after: when the backup won't run.

Step 9 (optional later): quieter next blink

When the house is calm again, reserve the computer's address so SSH and Pi-hole keep the same number: keep the computer on the same address on common routers. Nest or ISP box won't reserve? give the computer a fixed address when the router won't. In BIOS, "restore AC power" / "power on after power loss" helps the old PC come back without a button press. A UPS is later, not tonight: you don't need a UPS yet.

What this is not

This is not an ISP tech visit (when the ISP swaps your router). It is not a quiet planned reboot you started yourself (after a reboot, check the computer still does its jobs). It is not a reason to buy a UPS, a mesh kit, or a second Pi-hole tonight. It is not opening SSH or the share to the internet.

What next

Still can't tell if it is awake? is the computer still on?. Jobs die after every reboot? make sure house jobs start after every reboot. Ads only on one phone? when ads come back. Share still missing? when the house share won't open. Stable number for next time: keep the computer on the same address on common routers.

Optional: note that the house recovered after a blink (and whether the address changed) in Lab plan — username + passkey, no email. Skip if you just want to keep reading.

Skip

• Skip buying a UPS tonight for one blink.
• Skip a new router, mesh kit, or second Pi-hole.
• Skip guessing the old address instead of finding it again.
• Skip opening SSH or SMB to the internet.
• Skip this if the lights are still out. Wait.
• Skip this if an ISP tech left a new gateway. Use when the ISP swaps your router.
• Skip this if you only rebooted the computer on purpose. Use after a reboot, check the computer still does its jobs.