A method and mobile communication device adapted for frequency synchronization with a radio access network (RAN) based on frequency shift detection in a first signal received at the mobile communication device, including: offsetting the first signal's frequency by a first value extracted from a second signal received at the mobile communication device; generating a replica of the first signal from a second value extracted from a third signal received at the mobile communication device; multiplying a component of the offset first signal with the replica to generate a product; transforming the product into a frequency-domain signal; and detecting a peak in the frequency-domain signal to determine the frequency shift.