Patent ID: 8504029

Claim:
A method of operating a user equipment in a cellular communication system, the method comprising: tuning a demodulation frequency of the user equipment based on signals received from a first encountered cell, wherein tuning the demodulation frequency causes an accuracy of the demodulation frequency to be within limits of accuracy that enable successful reception and decoding of received information; using a non-initial cell search procedure to continue searching for a qualified cell for camping on, wherein the non-initial cell search procedure relies on the demodulation frequency being within the limits of accuracy that enable successful reception and decoding of received information, and wherein qualification of a cell for camping on is an indicator of whether the cell is permitted to act as a service provider to the user equipment; prior to finding a qualified cell for camping on, saving information about a first discovered unqualified cell, wherein the saved information enables the first discovered unqualified cell to be found; after a period of time during which the non-initial cell search procedure has been performed, using the saved information about the first discovered unqualified cell to again tune the demodulation frequency based on reading signals from the first discovered unqualified cell; continuing to perform the non-initial cell search procedure; and using a timer to detect expiration of the period of time.