easyMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
220-1201 Practice Question: A customer reports that their smartphone connects…
A customer reports that their smartphone connects to Wi-Fi at home but cannot connect to the corporate Wi-Fi network at their office. The office uses WPA2-Enterprise with 802.1X authentication. What is the most likely reason for the connectivity failure?
⚠ Common exam trap
The 220-1201 exam often tests the distinction between home (WPA2-Personal) and enterprise (WPA2-Enterprise) authentication, and the trap here is that candidates assume any Wi-Fi connection failure is due to range or hardware, overlooking the credential configuration requirement for 802.1X.
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 phone does not have the correct 802.1X credentials configured for the corporate SSID.
The corporate network uses WPA2-Enterprise with 802.1X authentication, which requires the smartphone to have the correct 802.1X credentials (e.g., username/password or certificate) configured for that specific SSID. Without these credentials, the phone cannot complete the EAP (Extensible Authentication Protocol) handshake with the RADIUS server, even though it can connect to a home WPA2-Personal network. Option C directly addresses this missing configuration.
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 phone's Wi-Fi antenna is damaged.
Why it's wrong here
A damaged Wi-Fi antenna would severely impair the phone's ability to transmit or receive radio frequency signals, making it impossible to establish a reliable connection with *any* access point. Since the customer's phone successfully connects to home Wi-Fi, the antenna is demonstrably functional, ruling out physical damage as the cause for corporate network connection issues.
- ✗
The corporate network requires a different security protocol like WEP.
Why it's wrong here
WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) is an obsolete and highly insecure encryption protocol, easily cracked within minutes due to fundamental design flaws. Modern corporate networks prioritize robust security and exclusively utilize WPA2-Enterprise or WPA3-Enterprise, which offer significantly stronger encryption and authentication mechanisms. Therefore, a corporate network requiring WEP is extremely improbable and would indicate a severe security vulnerability, not a standard configuration.
- ✓
The phone does not have the correct 802.1X credentials configured for the corporate SSID.
Why this is correct
Corporate Wi-Fi networks typically employ WPA2/WPA3-Enterprise security, which leverages 802.1X for robust, per-user authentication against a central RADIUS server. Unlike simpler home networks that use a single Pre-Shared Key (PSK), 802.1X requires unique user credentials, such as a username and password or a client certificate, to be correctly configured on the device. If these specific corporate credentials are not properly entered or are incorrect, the phone will fail the authentication phase, preventing access despite seeing the network.
- ✗
The phone is out of range of the corporate access point.
Why it's wrong here
If the phone were genuinely out of range of the corporate access point, it would not be able to detect or even 'see' the corporate SSID (Service Set Identifier) being broadcast. The inability to connect implies the network is visible but inaccessible, which contradicts a range issue where the network would simply not appear as an available option. Since the phone can connect to home Wi-Fi, its radio is functional, and the problem lies specifically with the corporate network's connection process, not its physical proximity.
Quick reference
AAA Protocol Comparison
| Protocol | Port(s) | Encryption | Transport | Primary Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RADIUS | 1812 / 1813 | Password only | UDP | Network access control |
| TACACS+ | 49 | Full packet | TCP | Device administration |
| Diameter | 3868 | Full session | TCP / SCTP | Carrier / mobile networks |
| 802.1X | — | EAP-based | Layer 2 | Port-based access control |
TACACS+ encrypts the entire packet; RADIUS only encrypts the password field — a key exam distinction.
Go deeper
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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.