A method for performing outer loop power control in wireless communications is disclosed. A channel quality indicator (CQI) message is transmitted by a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU). The WTRU receives a power control command, the power control command being derived by: decoding the CQI message; computing a decision metric value for each symbol in the CQI message; determining whether the CQI message is erroneous; and counting a number of erroneous CQI messages, wherein the power control command is based on whether the number of erroneous CQI messages exceeds a threshold. An uplink transmission power of the WTRU is adjusted based on the power control command.