The embodiments provide mechanisms for synchronizing a receiver with OFDM pilots that are robust in the presence of channel fading conditions. In addition to using instantaneous channel estimate values to locate the first arriving path and last arriving path, the methods calculate time-domain averaged channel estimate values and use those averaged values to determine an average first arriving path and last arriving path. A combination of the instantaneous first arriving path and last arriving path and the average first arriving path and last arriving path may then be used to determine the delay spread and calculate a timing offset to be applied in timing synchronization. The various embodiments introduce improvements under channel fading conditions. Time-domain averaging may be embodied in a flexible DSP processor, or implemented in hardware and/or software. Using both instantaneous and time-averaged channel estimates greatly improves the robustness of time synchronization under channel fading conditions.