Improvements are provided to the paging process for an eMTC UE by allowing a base station and the UE to apply a UE-specific DRX cycle for paging, from one set of DRX cycles, when the UE is operating in non-CE mode and apply another UE-specific DRX cycle, from a more restricted set of UE-specific DRX cycles, when the UE is operating in a CE mode. A UE may report and apply certain UE-specific DRX cycles under non-CE mode, and may change a UE-specific DRX cycle to one from a more restricted set when operating in CE mode. Similarly, base stations may receive the reported UE-specific DRX cycle and apply that UE-specific DRX cycle for paging the UE in non-CE mode, while applying a different UE-specific DRX cycle from the more restrictive set for paging the UE in CE mode.