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220-1201 Practice Question: That their smartphone's mobile hotspot stops…
A user reports that their smartphone's mobile hotspot stops working after a few minutes of use. The laptop connected to it loses internet access. What is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers assume the issue is with the laptop or the cellular signal, overlooking the smartphone's power-saving timeout feature that is specifically designed to disable the hotspot after a period of inactivity.
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 smartphone's hotspot timeout setting is enabled.
The most likely cause is that the smartphone's hotspot timeout setting is enabled. Many smartphones have a built-in power-saving feature that automatically disables the mobile hotspot after a period of inactivity (e.g., 5 or 10 minutes) to conserve battery and data. When this timeout triggers, the hotspot stops broadcasting, causing the connected laptop to lose internet access.
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 Wi-Fi adapter is faulty.
Why it's wrong here
If the laptop's Wi-Fi adapter were faulty, the device would likely struggle to detect networks, fail to connect initially, or experience persistent, immediate disconnections. The scenario explicitly states that the laptop "initially connects and works," which directly contradicts the symptoms of a malfunctioning Wi-Fi adapter. Therefore, the problem occurring after an initial successful connection points away from client-side hardware failure.
- ✓
The smartphone's hotspot timeout setting is enabled.
Why this is correct
Many smartphones incorporate a configurable 'hotspot timeout' setting, which is designed to automatically deactivate the mobile hotspot feature after a period of inactivity or a predetermined duration. This power-saving mechanism conserves battery life and mobile data by shutting down the Wi-Fi broadcast when no active data transfer is occurring, directly explaining why the hotspot connection would unexpectedly stop and require re-activation.
- ✗
The smartphone's cellular signal is too weak.
Why it's wrong here
A weak cellular signal primarily affects the quality and speed of the internet connection provided by the hotspot, leading to slow data transfer, buffering, or intermittent internet access. While a severely degraded signal might make the internet unusable, it typically would not cause the smartphone's hotspot feature itself to automatically disable or 'stop' broadcasting its Wi-Fi network. The hotspot would remain active, but the internet connectivity it offers would be compromised.
- ✗
The laptop has a static IP address configured.
Why it's wrong here
If the laptop had a static IP address configured that was incompatible with the smartphone's DHCP server or created an IP conflict, it would likely prevent the laptop from establishing an initial connection to the hotspot. Since the laptop "initially connects and works," this indicates it successfully obtained a valid IP address, most commonly via DHCP from the smartphone, ruling out a misconfigured static IP as the cause of a later disconnection.
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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.