Systems and methods are provided for optimizing the channel switching process in an access point. Periodic background scanning of a current channel on which a radio is operating to determine channel utilization can be used to generate a ranked channel list from which to select an alternative channel to which the radio can migrate, for example, in the event of a radar signal(s) being detected on its current channel. To maintain connectivity for clients, the clients may be temporarily transitioned to a non-DFS channel while an isolated/dedicated radio chain is used to perform the requisite Channel Availability Check (CAC) assessment on a DFS channel if the radio, based on the ranked channel list, selects a DFS channel as the alternative channel.