A wireless communication method and apparatus for recovering data following a serving cell change are disclosed. A wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) includes a status prohibit timer that delays the transmission of normal status reports that indicate the status of data, (i.e., PDUs), that was successfully received and/or not successfully received after a serving cell change status report is sent. A serving radio network controller (SRNC) transmits a sequence of packet data units (PDUs). The status prohibit timer is advanced and the WTRU sends a normal status report to the SRNC without a delay caused by the status prohibit timer. In another embodiment, the WTRU receives a radio link control (RLC) intelligence mode indicator signal that indicates whether a non-intelligent radio network controller (RNC) RLC operation or an intelligent RNC RLC operation is in effect, and the WTRU generates normal status reports based on the indication of the signal.