Certain aspects of the present disclosure support a method and apparatus for fast frequency throttling and re-locking in a phase-locked loop (PLL) device. Aspects of the present disclosure present a method and apparatus for operating in an open loop control (OLC) mode of the PLL device for generating a periodic signal. During the OLC mode, clocking of circuitry interfaced with a digitally-controlled oscillator (DCO) of the PLL device can be disabled. A PLL output frequency associated with the periodic signal generated by the DCO can be controlled directly through a digital control word input into the DCO.