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220-1201 Practice Question: A customer reports that their laptop connects to…
A customer reports that their laptop connects to the office Wi-Fi but cannot access the internet. Other devices on the same network work fine. What is the most likely cause of this issue?
⚠ Common exam trap
CompTIA A+ often tests the misconception that DNS is the root cause of internet access failure, but the trap here is that DNS only affects name resolution, not the ability to route packets to the internet; candidates must distinguish between connectivity to the local network and connectivity beyond the gateway.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The laptop's default gateway address is incorrect
The laptop can connect to the Wi-Fi network but cannot access the internet, while other devices work fine. This points to a client-side configuration issue. The default gateway is the router that forwards traffic from the local subnet to external networks; if the laptop's default gateway address is incorrect, its packets cannot leave the local subnet, breaking internet access while local connectivity remains.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The laptop's DNS server address is set to a public DNS like 8.8.8.8
Why it's wrong here
A public DNS server address, such as Google's 8.8.8.8, is generally reliable and often used to resolve domain names to IP addresses efficiently. If this were the sole issue, the laptop would likely be able to connect to the local network and even access internet resources directly by their IP addresses. The problem would manifest as an inability to browse websites using hostnames, not a complete lack of internet connectivity, as the underlying network path would still be functional.
- ✓
The laptop's default gateway address is incorrect
Why this is correct
The default gateway is the IP address of the router or device that allows a client to send traffic outside its local subnet, typically to the internet. If the laptop's default gateway address is configured incorrectly, it will be unable to forward any packets destined for external networks. This means the laptop can communicate with other devices on its local network segment but cannot reach the internet or any resources beyond its immediate subnet, precisely matching the described symptom of connecting to Wi-Fi but lacking internet access.
- ✗
The laptop's IP address is set to a static address in the same subnet as the router
Why it's wrong here
Configuring a static IP address within the correct subnet, along with the proper subnet mask, is a valid and common method for network configuration. As long as this static IP address is unique within the subnet and the default gateway and DNS server settings are also correct, the laptop should have full internet access. This configuration itself would not inherently prevent internet connectivity; rather, it would function identically to a DHCP-assigned address in terms of routing traffic.
- ✗
The office Wi-Fi network is using a different SSID than expected
Why it's wrong here
The Service Set Identifier (SSID) is the name of a Wi-Fi network that clients use to identify and connect to it. If the office Wi-Fi network were using a different SSID than what the laptop was configured to connect to, the laptop would simply fail to establish a connection to the Wi-Fi network altogether. The scenario implies the laptop connects to Wi-Fi, which means it has successfully identified and authenticated with the correct SSID, ruling out this option as the cause of a lack of internet access.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 220-1201 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 220-1201 exam.