Abstract: Methods and apparatus are described for recognizing wellbore telemetry signals, wherein a received analog telemetry signal is compared to a number of possible analog signals. The probability of representing the received signal is determined for each of the possible analog signals. By selecting the signal with the highest probability, the received signal is demodulated. For calculating the probability, Bayes' method or any equivalent thereof is used. In variants, this probabilistic method is used to determine the synchronization point of the telemetry signal and for controlling the noise removal therefrom. The method and apparatus show increased accuracy in recognizing and demodulating the received signals.