Improvement of wireless communications of a wireless device may include storing a preferred roaming list containing information associated with communications carriers arranged in a predetermined order. It may be determined that a signal strength of a first communications signal of a first communications carrier currently being received by a wireless device drops below a signal strength threshold value. A second communications carrier in the preferred roaming list having a second communications signal with a higher signal strength than the signal strength of the first communications signal may be selected. A time interval over which to receive the second communications signal from the second communications carrier may be initiated and a switch may occur from receiving the second communications signal from the second communications carrier to receiving a third communications signal from a communications carrier in the preferred roaming list in response to completion of the time interval.