A method and system for determining synchronization status in a wide band CDMA (WCDMA) network may comprise calculating a signal to noise ratio (SNR) of a downlink dedicated physical channel (DPCH) based on a plurality of transmit power control (TPC) bits received via the downlink dedicated physical channel (DPCH), wherein the value of at least one of the plurality of TPC bits is not known when at least one of the plurality of TPC bits is received. The transmit circuitry may be controlled based on the calculated signal to noise ratio. The transmit circuitry may be disabled if the calculated SNR of the plurality of TPC bits is below a first channel threshold. The transmit circuitry may be enabled if the calculated SNR of the plurality of TPC bits is above a second channel threshold.