A processor in a UE evaluates a radio frequency beam quality metric against a threshold, switches from a first beam to a second beam in response to determining the metric falls below the threshold, and transmits to a base station (BS) a report that includes beam measurements. The report indicates the UE has performed the switching and that the beam measurements are with respect to the second beam. A processor in a UE/BS associates narrower and broader beams, uses the narrower beam, rather than the broader beam, to transfer user data between the BS and the UE, evaluates a beam quality metric of the narrower beam against the threshold, and switches to using the broader beam, rather than the narrower beam, to transfer user data between the BS and the UE in response to determining the beam quality metric of the narrower beam falls below the threshold.