Methods and device for user terminal based fast handoff are provided. User terminal builds a neighbor group list in which possible neighbor access points (APs) are divided into one or more groups. When a handoff needs to be prepared, the user terminal performs intermittently multiple pre-break probing subphases according to the neighbor group list while not breaking connection with a current serving AP. In each PBP subphase, signal qualities of neighbor APs in one group are probed in a manner of active probing. The user terminal selectively performs handoff according to the probed signal qualities of the neighbor APs. The user terminal may build the neighbor group list based on information of neighbor APs derived through overlapped channel scanning or information of neighbor APs received from the serving AP. The neighbor APs belonging to the same group work on the same channel and in each PBP subphase, a group of neighbor APs may be probed by using unicast probe request.