A method and apparatus of optimizing transitioning between EVDO and CDMA 1X systems in a hybrid access terminal, the method having the steps of: detecting an EVDO received signal at the hybrid access terminal; and delaying a connection timer at the hybrid access terminal for connecting to the EVDO system. The apparatus being a hybrid access terminal adapted for optimizing transitioning between EVDO and CDMA 1X systems, the hybrid access terminal having a radio subsystem adapted to communicate with a network; a radio processor having a digital signal processor and adapted to interact with the radio subsystem; memory; a user interface; a processor adapted to run user applications and interact with the memory, the radio and the user interface and adapted to run applications, the hybrid access terminal characterized by having means for: detecting an EVDO received signal at the hybrid access terminal; and delaying a connection timer at the hybrid access terminal for connecting to the EVDO system.