Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communication are described. A user equipment (UE) may determine a duplexing configuration (e.g., frequency division duplexing (FDD) or time division duplexing (TDD)) of a carrier based on one or more synchronization signals. The UE may then receive a master information block (MIB) on the carrier, and may interpret one or more fields of the MIB based on the duplexing configuration of the carrier. The configuration dependent fields may include a special subframe field, a system information location field, or both. In some cases, such as in a TDD configuration, the UE may postulate a special subframe configuration of the carrier in order to receive the MIB, and may update the postulated special subframe configuration after receiving the MIB.