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220-1201 Practice Question: A technician is configuring a new satellite…
A technician is configuring a new satellite internet connection for a rural home. After aligning the dish, the modem shows 'online' but the user cannot browse the web. What is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
The 220-1201 exam often tests the misconception that an 'online' status guarantees full internet connectivity, when in reality it only confirms Layer 1 and Layer 2 synchronization, leaving higher-layer issues like MTU misconfiguration as the hidden culprit.
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 router's MTU setting is too high.
The modem shows 'online', indicating the satellite link is established, but the user cannot browse the web. This points to a Layer 3 or Layer 4 issue rather than a physical alignment problem. Satellite internet often uses a high MTU (e.g., 1500 bytes), but the link may have a lower effective MTU due to encapsulation overhead (e.g., PPPoE or VPN). If the router's MTU is set too high, packets larger than the path MTU will be fragmented or dropped, causing web pages to fail to load while the modem remains online.
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 dish is not aligned properly.
Why it's wrong here
If the satellite modem indicates an 'online' status, it confirms that the dish is properly aligned and successfully receiving a signal from the satellite. Misalignment would prevent the modem from establishing a physical layer connection and synchronizing with the satellite network, resulting in a 'no signal' or 'offline' status. Therefore, dish alignment is not the issue if the modem is online.
- ✓
The router's MTU setting is too high.
Why this is correct
Satellite internet connections often have a smaller Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU) path due to overhead from encapsulation and retransmission protocols. If the router's MTU is set to a standard Ethernet value like 1500 bytes, but the satellite path's effective MTU is lower (e.g., 1400 bytes), packets will be fragmented. Excessive fragmentation can lead to packet loss, retransmissions, and significantly degraded performance or complete failure for certain applications, even if the modem is online.
- ✗
The modem's firmware is outdated.
Why it's wrong here
While outdated firmware can certainly cause various operational problems, the fact that the modem is online suggests its core functionality for establishing a connection is working. Firmware issues typically manifest as complete connection failures, instability, or inability to acquire a signal, rather than selective browsing problems when the modem itself reports an active link. An MTU mismatch, however, specifically affects how data packets are handled *after* the connection is established.
- ✗
The user's browser is incompatible.
Why it's wrong here
Browser incompatibility would typically manifest as issues with specific websites, rendering problems, or failure of certain web application features, not a complete inability to browse the internet. If the problem affects all web browsing across multiple sites or even different applications, it points to a more fundamental network configuration issue rather than a client-side browser problem. A network-level problem like an MTU mismatch would impact all traffic.
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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.