A technique for synchronizing a device for communication is based on an accumulated sum of values or absolute values. The absolute value can be of either the sum or difference of a plurality of symbols. In one embodiment, the absolute values of the sum or difference of three symbol pairs are accumulated, and the accumulated total compared to a threshold value to determine whether the symbols are at the end of a predetermined sequence of symbols. When the comparison to the threshold value is positive, the three symbol pairs are the last six symbols in the predetermined sequence. In practice, the invention can be implemented in a number of different environments including, for example, in a WiMedia MBOA network environment. In the WiMedia MBOA environment, the predetermined sequence can comprise the preamble of a WiMedia MBOA packet.