220-1201 Practice Questions 2 — 50 Questions

Question 1

A customer reports that their internet connection drops frequently during rainstorms. They have a cable modem and a wireless router. What is the most likely cause of the intermittent connection?

Accepted Answer

The cable modem's coaxial cable connection is compromised by moisture.. Cable internet relies on a coaxial cable connection from the street to the modem. During rainstorms, moisture can seep into damaged or poorly sealed coaxial connectors or cable sheathing, causing signal attenuation or intermittent shorting that drops the connection. This is a classic symptom of RF signal degradation due to water ingress, which directly affects the physical layer (Layer 1) of the cable modem's link.

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The wireless router is overheating.

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The DSL filter is malfunctioning.

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The satellite dish is out of alignment.

Question 2

A technician is tasked with upgrading the RAM in an all-in-one (AIO) desktop. The AIO has a sealed back cover with several screws. After removing the screws, the cover still does not come off. What should the technician do next?

Accepted Answer

Use a plastic spudger to gently pry the cover along the seam to release clips.. All-in-one (AIO) desktops often use plastic clips along the seam in addition to screws to secure the back cover. After removing all visible screws, a plastic spudger is the proper tool to gently release these clips without damaging the casing or internal components. Forceful prying with metal tools or applying heat can crack the plastic or damage the display panel.

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Use a flathead screwdriver to pry the cover off forcefully.

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Check if there are hidden screws under rubber feet or stickers.

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Apply heat to the back cover to soften any adhesive.

Question 3

A technician is configuring a router with two interfaces: WAN (DHCP from ISP) and LAN (static IP 10.0.0.1/24). The technician sets the LAN subnet mask to 255.255.255.0. A workstation is assigned IP 10.0.0.100/24 and can ping the router, but cannot access the internet. The router's WAN interface has IP 203.0.113.5/30. What is the most likely missing configuration?

Accepted Answer

The router lacks a default route pointing to the ISP's gateway.. The workstation can ping the router's LAN interface (10.0.0.1), confirming Layer 2 and basic IP connectivity on the LAN. However, for the workstation to reach the internet, the router must have a default route (0.0.0.0/0) pointing to the ISP's next-hop gateway (likely 203.0.113.6, the other end of the /30 WAN link). Without this route, the router does not know where to forward packets destined for external networks, even though the WAN interface has a valid IP from DHCP.

Answer

The workstation's default gateway is set to 10.0.0.1.

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The WAN subnet mask should be 255.255.255.0.

Answer

The LAN subnet mask should be 255.255.0.0.

Question 4

A user's smartphone can connect to a corporate Wi-Fi network but cannot access any internet sites. Other devices on the same network work fine. The smartphone shows it is connected with full signal. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The smartphone's DNS settings are misconfigured or pointing to a non-functional server.. The smartphone can connect to the Wi-Fi network (Layer 2 connectivity is fine) and other devices work, so the issue is specific to this device's higher-layer configuration. DNS resolution is required to translate domain names to IP addresses; if the smartphone's DNS settings point to a non-functional or incorrect server, it will fail to resolve any hostname, preventing internet access even though the network connection itself is active. This matches the symptom of being connected with full signal but unable to browse.

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The corporate network is blocking the smartphone's MAC address.

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The smartphone's Wi-Fi adapter is faulty.

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The corporate proxy server is down.

Question 5

A user complains that their wireless Bluetooth earbuds frequently disconnect during calls when their smartphone is in their pocket. The earbuds work fine when the phone is on a desk. Which accessory or configuration change is most likely to resolve this issue?

Accepted Answer

A Bluetooth neckband style headset. The issue is that the smartphone's Bluetooth antenna is being physically blocked or attenuated by the user's body (specifically the leg/torso) when the phone is in a pocket. A Bluetooth neckband-style headset places the Bluetooth receiver and antenna around the user's neck, which is typically above the pocket and has a clearer line-of-sight to the phone, significantly reducing signal obstruction and multipath interference. This configuration change directly addresses the physical signal path problem without requiring any software or network changes.

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A Bluetooth signal booster app

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A metal phone case

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A Wi-Fi analyzer to change router channels

Question 6

A technician is troubleshooting a smartphone that can send and receive text messages but cannot make or receive phone calls. The device shows full signal bars. Which network setting is most likely misconfigured?

Accepted Answer

The device's preferred network type is set to 'LTE only' and VoLTE is disabled.. When a smartphone shows full signal bars but cannot make or receive voice calls while SMS works, the most likely cause is that the device is set to 'LTE only' as its preferred network type and VoLTE (Voice over LTE) is disabled. SMS can be carried over LTE via IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) or fallback to circuit-switched networks, but voice calls require either VoLTE or a circuit-switched fallback (CSFB) to 2G/3G. With 'LTE only' selected and VoLTE off, the device cannot initiate or accept voice calls because it lacks a circuit-switched connection and has no fallback path.

Answer

The device's data roaming is turned off.

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The device's Bluetooth is enabled.

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The device's airplane mode is turned on.

Question 7

A company's file server uses a RAID 5 array with five 4 TB hard drives. One drive fails and is replaced. During the rebuild, the server crashes and the RAID controller reports that the array is 'Failed'. What is the most likely reason for this catastrophic failure?

Accepted Answer

A second drive failed during the rebuild process.. In RAID 5, a single drive failure is survivable, but during rebuild, the remaining drives are under heavy read stress. If another drive fails or has an unrecoverable read error, the array fails. This is known as a 'double fault' during rebuild, a common risk with large-capacity drives.

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The new drive was not properly formatted before installation.

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The RAID controller cache battery is dead.

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The rebuild was attempted while the server was under heavy load.

Question 8

A technician is troubleshooting a home network where the 5 GHz band works fine, but the 2.4 GHz band is extremely slow and drops connections. The router is placed near a cordless phone base station. Which type of interference is most likely occurring?

Accepted Answer

RF interference from the cordless phone base. The 2.4 GHz band is shared by many consumer devices, including cordless phones that operate in the 2.4 GHz ISM band. The proximity of the router to the cordless phone base station causes RF interference, which degrades the 2.4 GHz signal, leading to slow speeds and dropped connections, while the 5 GHz band remains unaffected because it operates on a different frequency range.

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Bluetooth interference

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Microwave oven interference

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Co-channel interference from a neighboring Wi-Fi network

Question 9

A technician is configuring a tablet for field workers who need to transfer large files to a central server. The tablet has a USB-C port. Which connection method provides the fastest data transfer speed?

Accepted Answer

USB 3.1 Gen 2 over USB-C. USB 3.1 Gen 2 over USB-C supports a maximum signaling rate of 10 Gbps, which is significantly faster than any wireless or NFC option. For transferring large files to a central server, this wired connection provides the highest throughput and lowest latency, making it the optimal choice for the scenario.

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Bluetooth 5.0

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Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac)

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NFC

Question 10

A technician is installing a new SSD into a customer's laptop. After removing the bottom cover, they see the existing hard drive is held in place by a metal bracket and a single screw. What is the correct next step?

Accepted Answer

Remove the screw and bracket, then gently lift the drive out of the SATA connector.. The correct next step is to remove the screw and bracket, then gently lift the drive out of the SATA connector. This is because the metal bracket secures the drive in place, and the SATA connector is a fragile, keyed interface that requires a straight, gentle pull to avoid damaging the pins or the drive's edge connector. Forcing the drive or prying it can bend pins or crack the connector.

Answer

Pull the drive straight out with force to disconnect it.

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Use a plastic spudger to pry the drive from the connector.

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Remove the battery first to avoid electrical shock.

Question 11

A user reports that their internet connection is extremely slow, and they notice the modem's 'DSL' light is blinking. They have a DSL connection. What does the blinking DSL light indicate?

Accepted Answer

The modem is trying to establish a DSL sync.. A blinking DSL light on a modem indicates that the modem is actively attempting to establish synchronization (sync) with the DSLAM (Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer) at the provider's central office. This process involves training the line to negotiate a stable connection speed and protocol, such as ADSL or VDSL, and typically takes 30–60 seconds. A solid DSL light confirms successful sync, while a blinking light means the handshake is still in progress or has failed.

Answer

The modem is receiving data.

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The modem is not connected to the phone line.

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The modem has a firmware error.

Question 12

A user reports that they cannot access any websites, but they can ping the IP address of a public DNS server (8.8.8.8). What is the most likely misconfigured network service?

Accepted Answer

DNS. The user can ping 8.8.8.8, confirming that IP connectivity and routing are working, but cannot access websites by name. This indicates that the system cannot resolve domain names to IP addresses, which is the function of DNS. A misconfigured DNS server address (e.g., pointing to a non-existent or unreachable DNS server) would cause this exact symptom.

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DHCP

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NAT

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Proxy

Question 13

A small office uses a legacy 2.4 GHz wireless b/g router. Employees report frequent disconnects and slow speeds, especially when the microwave is used in the break room. Which change would most directly reduce interference in this scenario?

Accepted Answer

Upgrade to a dual-band router and connect clients to the 5 GHz SSID.. The legacy 2.4 GHz router operates in the same frequency band as microwave ovens, which emit broadband interference around 2.45 GHz. Upgrading to a dual-band router and moving clients to the 5 GHz SSID directly avoids this interference because 5 GHz is not affected by microwave emissions, providing a cleaner RF environment and more available channels.

Answer

Enable WPA3 encryption on the router.

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Increase the router's transmit power to maximum.

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Change the 2.4 GHz channel from 6 to 11.

Question 14

A technician is troubleshooting a network where users can access internal resources but cannot reach any external websites. The internal network uses a proxy server. The technician finds that the proxy server is configured to use a specific protocol to forward requests to the internet. Which protocol is the proxy server most likely using to communicate with external web servers?

Accepted Answer

HTTP. The proxy server is most likely using HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) to forward requests to external web servers. Since users are accessing internal resources but cannot reach external websites, the proxy server acts as an intermediary for web traffic. HTTP is the standard protocol for web communication, and proxy servers typically use HTTP (or HTTPS) to forward client requests to internet web servers, as it allows the proxy to cache, filter, and modify web traffic.

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FTP

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DNS

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SNMP

Question 15

A technician is configuring a new workstation for a secure environment. The policy requires that only signed operating systems can boot. Which UEFI feature should be enabled?

Accepted Answer

Enable Secure Boot. Secure Boot ensures that only software signed with trusted certificates can boot. This prevents unauthorized bootloaders and rootkits. This tests knowledge of UEFI security features.

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Enable Legacy Boot (CSM)

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Enable TPM

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Set boot order to network first

Question 16

A small office uses an inkjet printer that has not been used for two weeks. Now, the prints show missing colors and horizontal white lines. What should be done first to resolve this?

Accepted Answer

Run the printhead cleaning cycle. Inkjet printers that sit idle often have dried ink in the printhead nozzles, causing missing colors or lines. Running the printer's built-in printhead cleaning cycle uses ink to flush the nozzles. If that fails, a manual cleaning or replacement may be needed.

Answer

Replace the ink cartridges

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Update the printer driver

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Replace the printer

Question 17

A technician is installing a new LCD monitor for a user who does photo editing. The user complains that colors appear washed out compared to their old CRT monitor. What should the technician adjust first?

Accepted Answer

Adjust the color settings in the monitor's on-screen display.. LCD monitors often have different color gamuts and settings than CRTs. The most straightforward fix is to adjust the color calibration settings in the monitor's OSD or OS to improve color accuracy.

Answer

Replace the video cable with a DVI cable.

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Update the graphics driver.

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Set the resolution to the monitor's native resolution.

Question 18

A law office wants to enable secure printing on their multifunction device so that users must enter a PIN at the printer before their documents print. The printer supports this feature. What must be configured to make this work?

Accepted Answer

Configure user authentication and PIN codes in the printer's settings.. Secure printing requires user authentication at the device. The printer must have user accounts or a PIN code system configured, and users must select 'Secure Print' or 'Hold Print' from the driver. The printer then releases the job only after the correct PIN is entered.

Answer

Enable SNMP on the printer.

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Install a print server on the network.

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Update the printer driver to the latest version.

Question 19

A user reports that when they scan a document to email from the office multifunction printer, the email never arrives. The printer shows a 'Connection to SMTP server failed' error. What is the most likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The SMTP server address or port is configured incorrectly.. This question tests knowledge of scan-to-email configuration. The SMTP server address or authentication credentials are the most common issues when a multifunction device cannot send email. Checking the SMTP settings in the printer's network configuration should resolve the problem.

Answer

The printer's IP address is set to static.

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The toner cartridge is low.

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The printer is out of paper.

Question 20

A company uses a cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM) application. The vendor handles all updates, security patches, and infrastructure maintenance. Which cloud service model does this represent?

Accepted Answer

Software as a Service (SaaS). This scenario describes Software as a Service (SaaS), where the provider delivers a complete application over the internet. The user only needs a web browser and does not manage the underlying OS, servers, or updates. IaaS would give virtual machines, PaaS would provide a development platform, and DaaS would deliver virtual desktops.

Answer

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

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Platform as a Service (PaaS)

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Desktop as a Service (DaaS)