220-1202 Practice Question: A user's laptop running Windows 10 Pro connects…

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 wireless adapter is faulty.

  Why it's wrong here

  If the wireless adapter were truly faulty, the laptop would likely be unable to detect any available Wi-Fi networks, associate with an access point, or maintain a stable connection at all. Since the user can connect to the Wi-Fi, it indicates the adapter is functioning sufficiently to establish the physical layer connection. The problem, therefore, lies further up the network stack, beyond the basic hardware functionality of the adapter itself.

• ✓

  The user's domain account is locked or the password has expired.

  Why this is correct

  In an enterprise environment, Wi-Fi authentication often leverages 802.1X, which typically uses protocols like PEAP-MSCHAPv2 to validate user credentials against a central directory service, such as Active Directory. If the user's domain account is locked or their password has expired, the authentication server (e.g., a RADIUS server) will reject the authentication request. This prevents the user from gaining full network access and obtaining a valid IP address, even if the laptop successfully associates with the access point's signal.

• ✗

  The access point is broadcasting on a congested channel.

  Why it's wrong here

  Channel congestion, which occurs when multiple wireless devices or access points operate on the same frequency, primarily causes performance degradation such as slow data transfer speeds, high latency, or intermittent disconnections. While it severely impacts usability, it would not typically prevent a device from successfully authenticating to the network and obtaining an IP address. The user would still be technically "on" the network, albeit with severely impaired performance, rather than a complete inability to access resources.

• ✗

  The laptop has an incorrect IP address from DHCP.

  Why it's wrong here

  While an incorrect or APIPA (169.254.x.x) IP address would certainly prevent access to network resources beyond the local subnet, the prompt states the user "connects to" the Wi-Fi. This implies successful association and potentially authentication, which usually precedes a DHCP lease. If other users are functioning correctly, a widespread DHCP server misconfiguration is less likely. Often, an authentication failure (as in the correct option) can prevent a device from even receiving a valid DHCP lease, making the authentication issue the more fundamental problem.

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