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220-1201 Practice Question: Intermittent network connectivity in an office…
A user reports intermittent network connectivity in an office that recently had a new ceiling installed. The network drop runs through the ceiling and is not in a conduit. What is the most likely cause of the intermittent connection?
⚠ Common exam trap
CompTIA A+ emphasizes the importance of physical layer issues. The new ceiling installation can easily pinch or kink the cable, causing impedance mismatches and intermittent connectivity. Candidates may overlook environmental changes and instead incorrectly blame termination or switch hardware.
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 cable is pinched or kinked by the new ceiling installation.
The new ceiling installation is the most likely cause because the network cable, running without conduit, can easily be pinched or kinked by ceiling tiles, support wires, or other hardware. Physical damage like a pinch or kink can cause impedance mismatches, signal reflection, or even a short, leading to intermittent connectivity. This is a classic physical-layer issue where the cable's integrity is compromised by environmental changes.
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 cable is too long for the network speed.
Why it's wrong here
Ethernet cable length limits are fixed by the standard and would cause consistent failure or reduced link speed, not intermittent drops triggered by recent building work. The ceiling installation likely pinched, kinked or pierced the unprotected cable, damaging conductors or shielding. Length is tempting because it is a common cabling fault, but it does not match this scenario's timing.
- ✗
The cable is not properly terminated at the patch panel.
Why it's wrong here
Termination faults at the patch panel would predate the ceiling work and produce symptoms unrelated to it; the scenario's timing points to physical damage where the cable was disturbed. It tempts because poor termination is a common cause of intermittent links, and would be correct had the fault appeared after patching changes rather than ceiling installation.
- ✓
The cable is pinched or kinked by the new ceiling installation.
Why this is correct
Ceiling installers routinely staple or trap unshielded cable against joists and grid, crushing the pairs. That deformation changes impedance and causes intermittent contact, matching the reported symptoms; a clean cut would instead produce a permanent loss of link.
- ✗
The network switch port is faulty.
Why it's wrong here
A faulty switch port would affect the link regardless of ceiling work and typically fails consistently rather than intermittently after installation. It tempts because port faults do cause intermittent connectivity, and would be correct if other devices on that same port also dropped, or if the fault appeared without any physical disturbance.
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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.