220-1101 Mobile Devices Practice Test 12 — 15 Questions

Question 1

A user reports that their smartphone's camera app crashes whenever they attempt to take a photo with the flash enabled. The camera works normally without flash, and the flashlight app functions correctly. Which of the following components is MOST likely faulty?

Accepted Answer

Camera module. The camera module is the most likely faulty component because it contains the flash LED driver circuitry that synchronizes the flash with the camera sensor. When the flash is enabled, the camera module must coordinate the LED pulse with the image capture; a failure in this integrated circuit causes the app to crash, even though the standalone flashlight app works by bypassing the camera's synchronization logic.

Answer

Flash LED

Answer

Motherboard

Answer

Battery

Question 2

A user reports that their smartphone charges intermittently. The technician observes that the USB-C cable fits very loosely into the charging port and often falls out. Which component is MOST likely causing this issue?

Accepted Answer

The charging port or connector is damaged or worn.. The USB-C cable fitting loosely and falling out of the charging port is a classic sign of physical wear or damage to the port or connector. Over time, the internal retention clips or solder joints inside the port can degrade, preventing a secure mechanical and electrical connection. This intermittent physical contact directly causes the intermittent charging behavior, not a software or battery issue.

Answer

The battery is no longer able to hold a charge.

Answer

The operating system has a bug affecting charging.

Answer

The firmware controlling the charging circuit is corrupted.

Question 3

A user reports that their smartphone's battery drains significantly faster than normal and the device feels very hot to the touch, especially during charging. The phone is using a third-party charger and USB cable purchased from a discount store. Which of the following is the BEST first step the technician should recommend?

Accepted Answer

Use the original manufacturer charger and cable. The most likely cause of rapid battery drain and overheating during charging is a non-compliant third-party charger or cable that does not meet the device's power delivery specifications. Using the original manufacturer charger and cable ensures proper voltage and current regulation, preventing excessive heat and inefficient charging that can degrade battery health.

Answer

Replace the smartphone battery

Answer

Perform a factory reset of the phone

Answer

Disable background app refresh and location services

Question 4

A user reports that their smartphone will charge wirelessly on a charging pad but will not charge when connected to a USB-C cable. The cable and charger have been tested on another phone and work normally. The technician has already performed a forced restart and cleaned the charging port with compressed air. Which component should the technician replace FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Charging port flex cable / charge port assembly. The charging port flex cable / charge port assembly is the most likely culprit because wireless charging works (bypassing the port entirely) but wired USB-C charging fails, even though the cable and charger are proven good on another device. This isolates the fault to the physical port or its internal flex cable connection, which is a common failure point due to wear, debris, or damage that compressed air cannot resolve.

Answer

Battery

Answer

Main board / motherboard

Answer

USB controller chip

Question 5

A technician replaced the cracked glass and LCD assembly on a smartphone. The touch screen now works intermittently and often registers touches in the wrong location or not at all. The display itself is clear and bright. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The digitizer flex cable is loose or not seated correctly. The digitizer (touch layer) is separate from the LCD in most modern smartphones. When the glass and LCD assembly is replaced, the digitizer flex cable must be properly seated. A loose or incorrectly seated flex cable causes intermittent touch registration and ghost touches because the electrical connection for capacitive touch sensing is unreliable, while the display remains unaffected since it uses a separate data path.

Answer

The LCD is not compatible with the smartphone model

Answer

The smartphone battery is swollen and pressing on the digitizer

Answer

The smartphone's software needs to be recalibrated for the new screen

Question 6

A user reports that their smartphone will charge wirelessly on a charging pad but will not charge when connected to a USB-C cable. The USB-C cable and charger work normally when tested on another phone. The technician has already performed a forced restart and cleaned the charging port with compressed air. Which component should the technician replace FIRST?

Accepted Answer

Charging port. The correct answer is A: Charging port. Since the USB-C cable and charger work on another phone, the cable and charger are verified functional. The phone charges wirelessly, which bypasses the charging port entirely, confirming the battery and charging IC are operational. The technician has already cleaned the port and performed a forced restart, so the most likely remaining hardware fault is a damaged or worn charging port that cannot establish a proper electrical connection with the USB-C cable.

Answer

Battery

Answer

Charging IC

Answer

USB-C cable

Question 7

A user reports that their smartphone's touch screen is unresponsive. The technician observes that the screen is cracked and has visible black spots. The phone still powers on and the physical buttons work. Which of the following components is MOST likely faulty?

Accepted Answer

Digitizer. The digitizer is the layer responsible for converting touch input into electrical signals. A cracked screen with visible black spots indicates physical damage to the digitizer layer, which directly causes unresponsiveness to touch. The LCD display may still function (showing an image) even when the digitizer is broken, which matches the symptom of the phone powering on and physical buttons working.

Answer

LCD display

Answer

Battery

Answer

Motherboard

Question 8

A user reports that during phone calls, the person on the other end cannot hear them. The user can hear the caller clearly. The user can also record voice memos and videos with sound without any issues. Which of the following components is MOST likely faulty?

Accepted Answer

Noise-cancellation microphone. The noise-cancellation microphone is the most likely faulty component because it is specifically designed to pick up the user's voice while filtering out ambient noise. During phone calls, the primary microphone handles voice transmission, but if the noise-cancellation mic fails, it can cause the system to misinterpret the user's speech as background noise and suppress it, resulting in the caller not hearing the user. The fact that voice memos and videos record correctly indicates the main microphone is functional, isolating the issue to the secondary microphone used for noise cancellation during calls.

Answer

Earpiece speaker

Answer

Loudspeaker

Answer

Charging port

Question 9

A user reports that their smartphone's screen does not turn off during phone calls when held to the ear, causing unintended button presses. The screen works normally at all other times. The technician has verified the device's operating system and apps are up to date. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of this issue?

Accepted Answer

A faulty proximity sensor. The proximity sensor, typically an infrared (IR) LED and photodetector, detects when the phone is held to the ear during a call and disables the touchscreen to prevent unintended inputs. Since the screen works normally at other times and the OS/apps are updated, a faulty proximity sensor is the most likely cause, as it fails to trigger the screen-off command during calls.

Answer

A faulty ambient light sensor

Answer

Incorrect display calibration

Answer

A damaged digitizer

Question 10

A user reports that the camera on their smartphone takes pictures but all images are completely black, even in well-lit conditions. The camera app does not show any error messages. The flash works, and the front camera functions normally. Which component is MOST likely faulty?

Accepted Answer

Camera sensor. The camera sensor is the component that converts light into an electronic signal to form an image. If the sensor is faulty, it will not capture any light data, resulting in completely black images regardless of lighting conditions. The fact that the flash works and the front camera functions normally isolates the issue to the rear camera sensor itself, not the software or other hardware.

Answer

Camera app software

Answer

Flash LED

Answer

Proximity sensor

Question 11

A user reports that their smartphone's Bluetooth has stopped working entirely—it cannot discover any devices and cannot be discovered by other devices. However, Wi-Fi connectivity remains unaffected. The technician has already performed a full network settings reset and tested the device in safe mode. Which of the following hardware components is MOST likely faulty?

Accepted Answer

Wi-Fi/Bluetooth combo chip. The Wi-Fi/Bluetooth combo chip is the most likely faulty component because both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth share the same integrated circuit in modern smartphones. Since Wi-Fi continues to work normally, the Bluetooth portion of the combo chip has failed internally, while the Wi-Fi path remains functional. A full network settings reset and safe mode test rule out software or driver issues, isolating the fault to the hardware.

Answer

Bluetooth antenna

Answer

Power management IC

Answer

Battery

Question 12

A user reports that their smartphone's GPS is not working accurately; location is often off by several blocks. The user has tried rebooting and updating the maps app. The technician notices that the phone's date and time are incorrect, even after setting to automatic. Which component is MOST likely faulty?

Accepted Answer

Real-time clock (RTC) battery. The Real-time Clock (RTC) battery maintains the system time when the device is powered off. If the RTC battery fails, the date and time will be incorrect even when set to automatic, because the device cannot retain the correct time to authenticate with GPS satellites. GPS relies on precise timing to calculate position; an incorrect time causes location errors of several blocks.

Answer

GPS antenna

Answer

Cellular radio

Answer

Proximity sensor

Question 13

A user reports that their smartphone's battery drains very quickly even when the phone is idle. The technician checks battery health in settings and it shows 'Normal.' No single app reports excessive power consumption. The phone also feels warm to the touch while not in use. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?

Accepted Answer

The phone is infected with malware. The phone feels warm while idle and drains battery quickly despite no single app showing high usage, which strongly suggests background activity from malware. Malware can run hidden processes, keep the CPU active, and maintain network connections, generating heat and draining power without appearing in standard battery usage lists. The battery health being 'Normal' rules out a faulty battery as the primary cause.

Answer

The battery is faulty and needs replacement

Answer

The operating system requires an update

Answer

The phone's charging port is damaged

Question 14

A user reports that their smartphone's earpiece speaker is extremely quiet during phone calls. The loudspeaker and Bluetooth audio work perfectly. The technician has already increased the in-call volume to maximum. Which of the following components is MOST likely faulty?

Accepted Answer

The earpiece speaker. The earpiece speaker is the most likely faulty component because the issue is isolated to the internal speaker used for phone calls, while the loudspeaker and Bluetooth audio work perfectly. This indicates that the audio signal path to the earpiece is compromised, but the audio amplifier chip and other audio outputs are functioning. The technician has already maximized the in-call volume, ruling out a software or user-setting issue.

Answer

The audio amplifier chip

Answer

The charging port

Answer

The proximity sensor

Question 15

A user reports that their smartphone's GPS is often inaccurate (location is off by several blocks) and the camera app crashes when switching to video mode. The phone has no physical damage and has not been dropped recently. The technician performs a factory reset, but the problems persist. Which of the following components is MOST likely faulty?

Accepted Answer

Main logic board. The main logic board (motherboard) integrates the GPS receiver, camera controller, and other subsystems. A fault here can cause seemingly unrelated issues—like GPS inaccuracy and camera crashes—because the board handles data routing and power distribution for multiple components. Since a factory reset did not resolve the problems, the hardware failure is likely on the logic board itself, not a peripheral module.

Answer

Camera module

Answer

GPS antenna

Answer

Battery