This disclosure provides systems, methods and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for narrowband communications using frequency hopping in an unlicensed frequency band. In some aspects, a base station (BS) and a user equipment (UE) may communicate with one another over a sequence of unique frequency sub-bands of a frequency hopping pattern. In some instances, the BS and the UE may switch from a current frequency sub-band to another frequency sub-band based on a number of unsuccessful attempts to gain access to the current frequency sub-band. In some other instances, the BS and the UE may communicate data using configured grant (CG) resources based on a number of unsuccessful attempts to gain access to the current frequency sub-band.