do it the hard way

While practicing listening, I ran into this.

Their radio communication’s been knocked out.
We’re gonna have to do this the hard way.

Not quite clear what 'do something the hard way',
I looked up the dictionary.
Here's the definition.

to accomplish something in the most difficult manner,
rather than by an easier way

So, 'doing something the hard way is about having difficulty,
not turning to other methods, right?

My buddy understands, like,

Since their radio communication has been knocked out,
we're gonna have to try to do it in other way, other methods,
though, which might be hard and difficult.

I don't think the original sentence includes 'other methods'.
It just means sticking to the original method though it's hard.

Could you please rephrase the original sentence
so that I can understand its meaning with ease?

Thank you.