Methods and apparatus for selecting samples for secondary synchronization signal (SSS) detection are described. Several alternatives are provided for efficient cell identifier detection. In a first alternative, multiple bursts of a signal received from a cell are sampled with non-uniform spacing between sampling intervals to determine a sequence for cell identification. In a second alternative, samples of a first and a second signal received from a stronger cell are cancelled, and a sequence for detecting a weaker cell is determined by reducing effects of the samples of a third signal received from the weaker cell which do not overlap with the primary synchronization signal (PSS) or SSS of the stronger cell. In a third alternative, a sequence for detecting a weaker cell is determined by reducing effects of any sampled bursts that correspond to a high transmission power portion of a signal from a stronger cell.