A method and apparatus wherein a remote unit (10A, 10B and 10C) in a slotted mode wireless communication system can calculate the precise time of its entire active state. In the remote units (10A, 10B and 10C), "wall clock time" is calculated from a modulo 80 counter known as the combiner time counter (224). When a remote unit (10A, 10B and 10C) enters its inactive state, counters in the remote unit (10A, 10B and 10C), including the combined time counter, are deactivated. When the remote unit (10A, 10B and 10C) re-enters its active state, the value in the combiner time counter (224) may be incorrect relative to the slotted mode time. The controller (106) in the remote units (10A, 10B and 10C) forces the combiner time count to the correct phase, causing the combiner (224) to be within the correct value of 26.66. The controller (106) then determines a combiner offset to compensate for any remaining error in the combiner time counter (224). Control (106) can then use the combiner time counter (224) and combiner offset to calculate the exact wall clock time. When convenient, such as at a slot boundary, the remote units (10A, 10B and 10C) can reset the combiner counter (224) to the correct value and set the combiner offset to zero.