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220-1201 Practice Question: A technician is deploying 20 new tablets for a…
A technician is deploying 20 new tablets for a hospital's nursing staff. After configuring Wi-Fi and email, they find that the tablets will not connect to the corporate 5 GHz wireless network, only to the 2.4 GHz network. All tablets are the same model. What is the most likely cause?
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 tablets only support 802.11b/g/n on the 2.4 GHz band and lack 5 GHz hardware support.
This is a common deployment issue where the device's wireless radio supports 2.4 GHz but not 5 GHz, or the 5 GHz channel is not supported. Older or budget tablets may lack 5 GHz capability, or the corporate network may use a 5 GHz channel (e.g., DFS channels) that the tablet's radio cannot use. Checking the tablet's Wi-Fi specifications is the correct first step.
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 5 GHz SSID is hidden and requires manual entry.
Why it's wrong here
While a hidden SSID could prevent automatic connection, the tablets would still see the network if they support 5 GHz. The symptom is that they cannot connect at all, not that they can't find it.
- ✓
The tablets only support 802.11b/g/n on the 2.4 GHz band and lack 5 GHz hardware support.
Why this is correct
This is the most plausible explanation. Many budget-friendly tablets are manufactured with only 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi radios (supporting 802.11b/g/n standards) to reduce production costs and extend battery life. If the tablets physically lack the necessary 5 GHz hardware, they cannot detect or connect to any 5 GHz network, regardless of its visibility or security settings. This inherent hardware limitation would uniformly affect all 20 new tablets, preventing them from ever seeing or utilizing the corporate 5 GHz network.
- ✗
The corporate 5 GHz network requires 802.1X authentication that is not configured on the tablets.
Why it's wrong here
While 802.1X authentication is common in corporate environments, it is a security protocol that comes into play *after* a device has successfully detected and attempted to associate with the wireless network. If the tablets were capable of seeing the 5 GHz network, they would typically display the SSID and then prompt the user for the required authentication credentials or certificate. The core problem described is the inability to connect *at all*, implying they cannot even detect the network, making authentication a secondary, non-root cause.
- ✗
The tablets have a defective Wi-Fi antenna.
Why it's wrong here
A defective Wi-Fi antenna would typically impair the tablet's ability to connect to *any* wireless network, regardless of the frequency band. Since the tablets are able to connect successfully to 2.4 GHz networks, this indicates that their Wi-Fi antennas are functional and capable of receiving and transmitting signals. A problem specifically with 5 GHz connectivity, while 2.4 GHz works, points away from a general antenna defect and towards a band-specific hardware or configuration issue.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Mobile Device Types and Features
Key term
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi is a technology that lets devices like laptops and phones connect to the internet or communicate with each other wirelessly using radio waves.
Key term
Tablet
A tablet is a portable computing device with a touchscreen interface, typically larger than a smartphone but smaller than a laptop, used for browsing, media consumption, and light productivity tasks.
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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.