A central entity and/or a remote device in a communication system are designed to address the problem of maintaining upstream synchronization in the remote device after loss of the downstream signal. One issue of particular importance is maintaining upstream transmissions from the remote device in an S-CDMA (or perhaps S-TDMA) mode that do not degrade performance of the communication system via poor upstream timing or a need for re-ranging. By providing novel functionality at the central entity for synchronizing first and second downstream signals and/or by providing novel functionality at the remote device for determining a symbol clock offset between a first terminated downstream signal and a second re-acquired downstream signal, embodiments of the present invention facilitate maintenance of synchronization through the loss of the downstream signal, thereby minimizing the need for re-ranging and avoiding poorly timed upstream bursts.