Embodiments of the present invention include devices, systems and methods for recovery after radio link failure (RLF). For example, a method for wireless communication is described. The method includes performing a base station identity code (BSIC) reconfirmation for a number of top ranked cells in a received neighbor cell list when a radio link timeout (RLT) counter is less than a counter threshold before radio link failure (RLF). A signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for the top ranked cells is determined during the BSIC reconfirmation. The method also includes scheduling a system information (SI) decode upon RLF for the top ranked cells that have an SNR greater than an SNR threshold. Other aspects, embodiments, and features are also claimed and described.