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220-1201 Practice Question: That their laptop can connect to the corporate…
A user reports that their laptop can connect to the corporate Wi-Fi but cannot access any network resources. The technician checks the IP configuration and sees an IP address of 192.168.1.105 with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0 and a default gateway of 192.168.1.1. The technician pings the gateway successfully but cannot ping a server at 192.168.2.10. What is the most likely issue?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common trap in CompTIA A+ is the distinction between local connectivity (pinging the gateway) and remote connectivity (pinging a different subnet) — candidates often assume the server is down or DNS is the problem, but the real issue is a missing route on the default gateway.
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 default gateway does not have a route to the 192.168.2.0 subnet.
The technician can ping the default gateway (192.168.1.1) but not the server at 192.168.2.10, indicating that Layer 3 connectivity exists within the local subnet but fails beyond it. This points to a routing issue on the default gateway, which likely lacks a route to the 192.168.2.0/24 network. Without that route, the gateway cannot forward packets destined for the server, even though the laptop's IP configuration is correct.
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 DNS server is misconfigured.
Why it's wrong here
DNS (Domain Name System) is responsible for resolving human-readable domain names into IP addresses. Since the technician is attempting to ping the server directly using its IP address (192.168.2.10), DNS resolution is entirely bypassed. Therefore, a misconfigured DNS server would not prevent the laptop from reaching the target IP address, making this option irrelevant to the observed ping failure.
- ✗
The server at 192.168.2.10 is offline.
Why it's wrong here
While an offline server would indeed result in a failed ping, this option is less likely given the scenario. The laptop successfully pings its own default gateway, indicating its local network connectivity and ability to send traffic out of its subnet are functional. The failure occurs when attempting to reach a *different* subnet, strongly suggesting the issue lies with how traffic is forwarded *beyond* the local gateway, rather than the ultimate destination's availability.
- ✓
The default gateway does not have a route to the 192.168.2.0 subnet.
Why this is correct
When a laptop attempts to communicate with a device on a different subnet, it sends the traffic to its default gateway. For the communication to succeed, the default gateway must possess a valid routing table entry that specifies how to reach the target 192.168.2.0 network. If this route is missing or incorrect, the gateway will not know where to forward the packets, resulting in them being dropped and the ping failing, even though the laptop can successfully reach the gateway itself.
- ✗
The laptop's subnet mask is incorrect.
Why it's wrong here
An incorrect subnet mask on the laptop would misidentify its local network boundaries. If the subnet mask were incorrect, the laptop might incorrectly perceive its default gateway as being on a different subnet or fail to communicate with other devices within its *own* local subnet. Since the laptop can successfully ping its default gateway, which is on its local subnet, its subnet mask is almost certainly configured correctly, allowing it to properly identify its local network.
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Related to this question
Learn chapter
Laptop Hardware and Components
Key term
Ping
Ping is a network utility used to test whether a remote computer or device is reachable across an IP network and to measure the round-trip time of data packets.
Key term
Subnet
A subnet is a logical subdivision of an IP network, created by partitioning a larger network address space using subnet masks.
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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.