A method and apparatus for wireless communication comprising switching an uplink (UL) from a source cell to a target cell; and receiving a Synchronization Shift (SS) command from the source cell, wherein the SS command is generated by the target cell. In one aspect, the method and apparatus further comprise switching a downlink (DL) through the target cell; completing a physical channel reconfiguration; and sending a Physical Channel Reconfiguration Complete message to the Radio Network Controller (RNC) through the target cell.