Methods and systems for handing off a wireless client between access points wherein the scanning for access points is decoupled from the handing off, thus reducing the delay in handing off. Channel scan delay may be eliminated or reduced in some embodiments by scanning early (prior to actual handoff) and interleaving the channel scan with ongoing traffic in a non-intrusive way. A smart handoff trigger may be used in some embodiments that covers both uplink and downlink quality, and addresses link asymmetry problems. The methods or systems may be implemented in some embodiments in a software-only client-only solution without the need to modify the networks themselves or their access points.