Disclosed are a system and a method for improving performance in an HDR (High Data Rate) wireless terminal utilizing diversity techniques. The wireless terminal comprises two transmission paths, one including a duplexer and the other bypassing the duplexer, and two reception paths, one including the duplexer and the other not including a duplexer and completely isolated from any transmission path. When the terminal is determined to be in an HDR mode, the transmission path including the duplexer and both reception paths are utilized. When the terminal is operating in a low data rate mode, the transmission path bypassing the duplexer and the reception path completely isolated from the transmission paths are utilized, resulting in lower minimum detectable signal, thus reducing current consumption in the wireless terminal.