A method based on standalone secondary synchronization signals (SSSs) can include receiving a configuration of an SSS burst at a user equipment (UE) from a base station in a wireless communication network. The SSS burst can include standalone SSSs grouped into SSS sets. Each SSS set can be associated with a beam index. The configuration can indicate frequency and timing locations of the standalone SSSs. The method can further include performing pre-synchronization, radio resource management (RRM) measurement, or cell detection based on the standalone SSSs in the SSS burst.