Techniques for avoiding handoff to a channel impaired due to frequency dependent fading, while minimizing idle mode signaling are disclosed. In one aspect, an access terminal determines the assigned channel on an access point and caches the channel. In another aspect, the access terminal replaces a default channel associated with an access point in a cache with the assigned channel. In yet another aspect, the access terminal uses the cached channel associated with an access point when measuring channel quality of neighbor access points for use in handoff determination. In yet another aspect, the access terminal hands off to the cached channel of a neighbor access point during handoff. Various other aspects are also presented. These aspects have the benefit of factoring in frequency dependent channel characteristics when making handoff decisions, thus avoiding handoff to an access point where the assigned channel may be impaired.