hardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
220-1202 Practice Question: A technician is troubleshooting an Android device…
A technician is troubleshooting an Android device that has a corporate email account configured. The user can send emails but cannot receive any. The email server uses IMAP. The technician has verified the username and password are correct. What should the technician check next?
⚠ Common exam trap
CompTIA often tests the distinction between incoming and outgoing mail protocols (IMAP vs. SMTP) to see if candidates understand that a send-only failure points to the incoming server settings, not authentication or device-level issues.
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
✓
Check the incoming mail server settings (IMAP).
Since the user can send emails but not receive them, the issue is isolated to the incoming mail path. IMAP uses port 143 (or 993 for SSL/TLS) to retrieve messages, and the incoming server settings (server address, port, security type) must match the corporate email configuration. Incorrect IMAP settings would prevent the device from connecting to the server to download new emails, while SMTP (outgoing) settings remain unaffected, explaining the send-only symptom.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Check if the device's date and time are correct.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect date and time settings on a device can lead to certificate validation failures, as SSL/TLS certificates have validity periods. This would typically manifest as errors preventing secure connections for both incoming (IMAP/POP3S) and outgoing (SMTPS) mail services, not just receiving. Since sending is confirmed to be working, this option is less probable as the root cause for only incoming mail issues.
- ✓
Check the incoming mail server settings (IMAP).
Why this is correct
Since the technician has confirmed that sending emails (SMTP) functions correctly, the problem is isolated to the incoming mail service. This strongly suggests an issue with the device's configuration for the incoming mail server, typically IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol). Common misconfigurations include an incorrect server hostname, an incorrect port number (e.g., 993 for IMAPS, 143 for IMAP), or incorrect security type (SSL/TLS).
- ✗
Check if the email account has exceeded its storage quota.
Why it's wrong here
An email account exceeding its storage quota on the mail server would indeed prevent new messages from being delivered, as there's no space to store them. However, the sender would typically receive a "mailbox full" bounce-back message, and the user might see a notification when attempting to access their account via webmail. This scenario usually doesn't manifest as a complete inability to connect to the incoming mail server, which is implied by the problem statement.
- ✗
Check if the device is in power-saving mode.
Why it's wrong here
Power-saving mode on an Android device often restricts background app activity, including email synchronization, to conserve battery. While this might delay the fetching of new emails or reduce the frequency of checks, it would not typically prevent the device from receiving emails entirely or cause a persistent connection failure to the incoming mail server. The emails would still be on the server, just not actively pushed or pulled by the device.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 220-1202 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 220-1202 exam.