A method and apparatus for adjusting and offsetting a power level of uplink transmissions from user equipment in a wireless communication system. In an aspect of the disclosure, a handoff from a source base station to a target base station includes the target base station determining a suitable power offset value and communicating this offset to the source base station. The source base station transmits a handover instruction including the offset to the user equipment (UE), and the UE transmits a synchronization code. The target base station then calculates a further power correction and transmits the correction with an acknowledgment of the synchronization code. The UE then sets the power for future transmissions based in part on the offset and correction values.