A mobile device (UE) may decode the Physical Control Format Indicator Channel (PCFICH) blindly, which may include obtaining resource elements (REs) that are reserved for the Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), based on a largest value of a control format indicator (CFI), finding a total number of control channel elements (CCEs) according to the obtained REs, numbering the CCEs, and decoding the PDCCH for the largest value of the CFI over the numbered CCEs. Accordingly, the UE does not need to decode the PCFICH) specifically. In some cases, the UE may indicate to the network that it is a constrained device, and the network may transmit control information using a reserved CFI value in response to the indication that the UE is a constrained device. The UE may then not decode the PCFICH, and decode the PDCCH based on the PDCCH occupying a first four OFDM symbols.