220-1201 Practice Test 3 — 25 Questions

Question 1

A client reports that their new 802.11ac laptop cannot connect to the office Wi-Fi, while older 802.11n devices work fine. The access point is a dual-band model. Which of the following is the MOST likely reason?

Choose an answer to begin — your selection is scored in the full session.

Accepted Answer

The 5 GHz radio on the access point is disabled.. The 802.11ac standard operates exclusively on the 5 GHz band. While most 802.11ac devices are dual-band and support 2.4 GHz (802.11n/g/b) for backward compatibility, a new 802.11ac laptop might be configured to prioritize or exclusively attempt to connect to the 5 GHz network, or the user might be specifically trying to connect to a 5 GHz SSID. If the access point's 5 GHz radio is disabled, the 802.11ac laptop would be unable to connect to its preferred 5 GHz network. Older 802.11n clients, which can operate on both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, would still be able to connect using the 2.4 GHz radio (which must be active since they are working). This scenario makes the disabled 5 GHz radio the most likely cause for the 802.11ac laptop's inability to connect to the expected Wi-Fi service.

Answer

The laptop's Wi-Fi antenna is damaged.

Answer

The laptop's drivers are not compatible with 802.11n.

Answer

The access point is set to 802.11b-only mode.

Question 2

A user complains that their smartphone's battery drains quickly even when idle. You run diagnostics and find the battery health is at 82%. The device is two years old. Which hardware servicing action is most appropriate?

Accepted Answer

Replace the battery with a new OEM battery.. This question tests battery replacement thresholds. A battery health below 80-85% often indicates significant degradation, causing poor runtime. Replacing the battery restores normal battery life. Software optimization may help but is secondary to hardware replacement.

Answer

Calibrate the battery by fully draining and recharging.

Answer

Update the operating system to the latest version.

Answer

Disable all background apps and notifications.

Question 3

A customer complains that their smartphone's mobile hotspot stops working after a few minutes. They are using a prepaid data plan. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The carrier's prepaid plan restricts hotspot usage or throttles data.. This scenario highlights carrier restrictions on tethering. Many prepaid plans limit hotspot usage or throttle data after a certain amount, causing the hotspot to disconnect or slow down.

Answer

The smartphone's battery saver mode is turning off the hotspot.

Answer

The connected device is out of Bluetooth range.

Answer

The smartphone's Wi-Fi antenna is overheating.

Question 4

A technician is setting up a small office with 15 devices and needs to assign private IP addresses. The router's LAN interface is 10.0.0.1/24. Which of the following is a valid IP address for a workstation on this network?

Accepted Answer

10.0.0.50. (10.0.0.50) is correct because the router's LAN interface is configured with the IP address 10.0.0.1 and a subnet mask of /24 (255.255.255.0). This defines the network as 10.0.0.0/24, which includes usable host addresses from 10.0.0.1 to 10.0.0.254. 10.0.0.50 falls within this valid host range.

Answer

10.0.1.50

Answer

10.0.0.0

Answer

10.0.0.255

Question 5

A technician is configuring a new router for a client who has a fiber-optic internet connection. Which type of interface is most likely used to connect the router to the ISP's ONT (Optical Network Terminal)?

Accepted Answer

Ethernet (RJ45). The correct interface is Ethernet (RJ45) because the ONT typically converts the fiber-optic signal from the ISP into a standard electrical Ethernet signal, which is then delivered to the customer's router via a copper Ethernet cable. Most residential and small business fiber installations use an RJ45 port on the ONT to connect to the router's WAN interface, supporting speeds up to 1 Gbps or higher using 1000BASE-T.

Answer

Coaxial (F-type)

Answer

RJ11 (phone jack)

Answer

Fiber patch cable (LC connector)

Question 6

A user complains that their laptop frequently disconnects from the Wi-Fi when they move from their desk to a conference room 30 meters away. The office uses a single wireless access point (AP). Which network type is being used, and what is the most likely cause of the disconnection?

Accepted Answer

Infrastructure mode WLAN; the AP's signal strength is insufficient at that distance.. The scenario describes an infrastructure mode WLAN, where devices connect through a single access point. The disconnection at 30 meters is most likely due to insufficient signal strength from that AP, as typical consumer-grade Wi-Fi (e.g., 2.4 GHz) has an effective indoor range of about 30–40 meters, and obstacles or interference can further reduce it.

Answer

Ad hoc network; the laptop is trying to connect directly to other devices.

Answer

Mesh network; the laptop is roaming between mesh nodes.

Answer

PAN network; the laptop is using Bluetooth, which has limited range.

Question 7

A technician is troubleshooting a laptop that connects to a Wi-Fi network but gets a 'No Internet, Secured' message. The laptop has a static IP address configured. What is the most likely issue?

Accepted Answer

The laptop's static IP address is not in the same subnet as the router.. A static IP address that is not in the same subnet as the router prevents the laptop from communicating with the default gateway. Even though the Wi-Fi association succeeds (hence 'Secured'), the laptop cannot route traffic to the internet because it cannot reach the router's IP address. This mismatch causes the 'No Internet' message while the link-layer connection remains intact.

Answer

The Wi-Fi network's SSID is hidden.

Answer

The laptop's Wi-Fi driver is corrupted.

Answer

The router's DHCP server is disabled.

Question 8

A network administrator needs to connect two switches that are 200 meters apart. The connection must support 1 Gbps speed. The administrator has Cat5e cable available. However, Cat5e is only rated for 100 meters at 1 Gbps. Which device can be used to extend the distance without replacing the cable?

Accepted Answer

Network extender (repeater). A network extender (repeater) regenerates the electrical signal, allowing a Cat5e segment to exceed the 100-meter distance limitation while maintaining 1 Gbps speed. Since the administrator already has Cat5e cable and only needs to extend the reach, a repeater operates at Layer 1 to boost the signal without replacing the cable.

Answer

Media converter

Answer

PoE injector

Answer

Load balancer

Question 9

A user reports that their smartphone can connect to Wi-Fi at home but not at the office. Other devices connect fine to the office Wi-Fi. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The smartphone has the wrong Wi-Fi password or security type saved.. The smartphone can connect at home but not at the office, while other devices connect fine to the office Wi-Fi. This points to a client-side configuration mismatch, most likely an incorrect password or security type (e.g., WPA2 vs. WPA3) saved on the phone. A damaged antenna or out-of-range router would affect all connections, and a static IP conflict would typically cause intermittent issues, not a complete failure to associate.

Answer

The smartphone's Wi-Fi antenna is damaged.

Answer

The office Wi-Fi router is out of range.

Answer

The smartphone's IP address is static and conflicting.

Question 10

A user complains that text on their new 27-inch 4K monitor appears very small and hard to read. The display is set to its native resolution. What is the most effective way to make text readable without sacrificing image quality?

Accepted Answer

Increase the display scaling percentage in OS settings. At the native 4K resolution (3840x2160), pixels are densely packed, making UI elements physically tiny. Increasing the display scaling percentage (e.g., to 150% or 200%) instructs the OS to render text and icons at a larger logical size while keeping the monitor at its native resolution, preserving full sharpness and detail. This is the standard solution for high-DPI displays.

Answer

Reduce the screen resolution to 1920x1080

Answer

Replace the monitor with a lower-resolution model

Answer

Adjust the monitor's physical sharpness setting

Question 11

A user reports that their monitor displays a 'No Signal' message when they turn on their computer. The monitor is connected via DisplayPort. The technician checks that the monitor is powered on and the cable is secure. What should the technician check next?

Accepted Answer

Try a different DisplayPort cable or port on the GPU.. The 'No Signal' message with a DisplayPort connection typically indicates a loss of link training between the GPU and monitor. Since the cable is secure and the monitor is powered on, the next logical step is to isolate whether the issue is with the cable or the GPU port by trying an alternative DisplayPort cable or a different port on the GPU. This is a standard hardware troubleshooting step before moving to driver or replacement actions.

Answer

Replace the monitor.

Answer

Check the input source setting on the monitor.

Answer

Update the graphics driver.

Question 12

A user wants to wirelessly stream music from their smartphone to a Bluetooth speaker in the same room. Which network type is being used for this connection?

Accepted Answer

Personal Area Network (PAN). C is correct because a Bluetooth connection between a smartphone and a speaker operates within a Personal Area Network (PAN). PANs are defined by IEEE 802.15 and cover a short-range, ad-hoc wireless link (typically up to 10 meters) designed for personal device interconnectivity, which matches the Bluetooth streaming scenario exactly.

Answer

Local Area Network (LAN)

Answer

Wide Area Network (WAN)

Answer

Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)

Question 13

A technician is troubleshooting a satellite internet connection that has high latency and frequent disconnections. The dish is installed on a roof with a clear view of the sky. What is the most likely cause of the high latency?

Accepted Answer

The signal has to travel a long distance to the satellite and back.. Satellite internet inherently suffers from high latency because the signal must travel to a geostationary satellite approximately 35,786 km above the equator and back. This round-trip distance of roughly 70,000 km, even at the speed of light, results in a minimum latency of about 240 ms, which is far higher than terrestrial connections. Frequent disconnections can also occur due to atmospheric conditions, but the high latency is a direct consequence of the physical distance the signal must traverse.

Answer

The satellite dish is not grounded properly.

Answer

The modem is outdated.

Answer

There is interference from nearby cellular towers.

Question 14

A user complains that their external monitor connected via VGA shows a slightly blurry image with faint horizontal lines. The monitor works perfectly with another computer using the same VGA cable. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

There is a ground loop between the computer and monitor. The faint horizontal lines and blurry image are classic symptoms of a ground loop, where a difference in electrical potential between the computer and monitor causes interference on the analog VGA signal. Since the monitor works perfectly with another computer using the same cable, the cable and monitor are exonerated, isolating the issue to the computer's grounding or power supply.

Answer

The monitor's resolution is set too high for VGA

Answer

The VGA port on the computer has bent pins

Answer

The graphics driver is corrupt

Question 15

A technician is troubleshooting a wireless network where users report intermittent connectivity and slow speeds. A spectrum analyzer shows high noise levels on the 2.4 GHz band from non-Wi-Fi sources. Which of the following is the MOST effective long-term solution?

Accepted Answer

Move all critical devices to the 5 GHz band.. The 5 GHz band has significantly more non-overlapping channels and is far less congested by non-Wi-Fi interference (e.g., microwaves, Bluetooth, cordless phones) than the 2.4 GHz band. Moving critical devices to 5 GHz avoids the interference source entirely, providing a stable long-term solution without compromising throughput or reliability.

Answer

Reduce the 2.4 GHz channel width to 20 MHz.

Answer

Implement DFS channels on the 5 GHz band.

Answer

Increase the transmit power on the 2.4 GHz radio.

Question 16

A technician is troubleshooting why a new employee cannot log into the company's VPN. The VPN uses RADIUS for authentication. Other employees can connect successfully. Which is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The new employee's account is not configured in the RADIUS database.. Since other employees can connect successfully, the VPN server, RADIUS server, and network connectivity between them are functional. The issue is isolated to the new employee, making it most likely that their account has not been added to the RADIUS database. RADIUS authenticates users against a local or directory-based user store; if the account is missing, authentication will fail for that user alone.

Answer

The VPN server's IP address has changed.

Answer

The RADIUS server is not reachable from the VPN server.

Answer

The DNS server is not resolving the VPN server's hostname.

Question 17

A user has an iPhone that will not install a new app from the App Store, displaying a message that the app is 'unable to be installed'. The device has plenty of free storage. What should a technician check first?

Accepted Answer

Verify that the Apple ID is not locked or restricted.. When an iPhone has sufficient storage but fails to install an app with an 'unable to be installed' message, the most common cause is an issue with the Apple ID account, such as being locked, restricted, or having payment problems. Apple's App Store installation process requires a valid, unlocked Apple ID to authenticate the download and verify entitlements. Checking the Apple ID status is the first logical step before exploring other potential causes.

Answer

Check if the app is compatible with the iOS version.

Answer

Reset the phone's network settings.

Answer

Perform a factory reset of the device.

Question 18

A technician is setting up a new file server and needs to ensure that users can access shared folders using a friendly name like \fileserver\share instead of an IP address. Which protocol must be configured correctly on the network?

Accepted Answer

DNS. DNS (Domain Name System) resolves the friendly hostname 'fileserver' to the server's IP address, allowing users to use \fileserver\share instead of an IP address. Without DNS, the SMB client cannot translate the name, and the connection fails. This makes DNS the correct protocol for name resolution in this scenario.

Answer

DHCP

Answer

SMB

Answer

HTTP

Question 19

A technician is troubleshooting a tablet that has a dim display that flickers intermittently. The device responds to touch and the OS loads normally. Which component is most likely failing?

Accepted Answer

The backlight LED or inverter is failing.. The backlight LED or inverter is the most likely failing component because the display is dim but still functional (the LCD panel itself works, as the OS loads and touch responds). A failing backlight reduces brightness and can cause flickering due to inconsistent power delivery to the LEDs, while the digitizer and GPU remain operational.

Answer

The digitizer is malfunctioning.

Answer

The LCD panel has dead pixels.

Answer

The motherboard GPU is damaged.

Question 20

A user reports that their laptop's external monitor connected via USB-C to HDMI adapter flickers intermittently. The adapter works fine with other devices. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The USB-C port on the laptop has a loose connection.. The adapter works fine with other devices, which isolates the problem to the laptop's USB-C port. A loose connection in the port can cause intermittent signal loss, leading to flickering. This is a common hardware issue with USB-C ports that support DisplayPort Alt Mode for video output.

Answer

The HDMI cable is defective.

Answer

The monitor's refresh rate is set too high for the adapter.

Answer

The laptop's graphics driver is outdated.