A wireless communication device identifies an access point for a wireless network. The device initiates a connection procedure to establish a wireless connection between the wireless communication device and the access point, and the connection procedure includes: (i) selecting a degraded set of uplink transmission quality parameters that correspond to a higher signal-to-noise (SNR) ratio than a baseline set of uplink transmission quality parameters, and (ii) transmitting messages from the wireless communication device to the access point during the connection procedure according to the degraded set of uplink transmission quality parameters. The wireless network connection can be established between the wireless communication device and the access point as a result of completion of the connection procedure, despite the wireless communication device transmitting messages to the access point during the connection procedure according to the degraded set of uplink transmission quality parameters.