Embodiments provide an enhanced approach for Higher Priority Public Land Mobile Network (HPPLMN) search. In one embodiment, information acquired during a search (for each detected cell per frequency channel) is saved in a database and persisted in the database based on a validity time. An idle mode-to-connected mode transition by the UE, rather than aborting the search, only suspends the search for it to be resumed at a later time upon a connected mode-to-idle mode transition by the UE. Saved search data that is valid at the time of the transition is maintained and the frequency channel(s) associated with it is not re-searched in the current search. In an embodiment, the search is resumed based on weights that are associated with frequency channels, where a weight indicates a priority for visiting the frequency channel.