easyMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
220-1201 Practice Question: That their smartphone can connect to Wi-Fi at…
A user reports that their smartphone can connect to Wi-Fi at home but not at the office. Other devices connect fine to the office Wi-Fi. What is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often assume a hardware fault (antenna) or IP conflict, but the key clue is that other devices work fine, isolating the issue to the client's saved credentials or security configuration.
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 has the wrong Wi-Fi password or security type saved.
The smartphone can connect at home but not at the office, while other devices connect fine to the office Wi-Fi. This points to a client-side configuration mismatch, most likely an incorrect password or security type (e.g., WPA2 vs. WPA3) saved on the phone. A damaged antenna or out-of-range router would affect all connections, and a static IP conflict would typically cause intermittent issues, not a complete failure to associate.
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 smartphone's Wi-Fi antenna is damaged.
Why it's wrong here
A damaged Wi-Fi antenna would universally impair the smartphone's ability to send and receive wireless signals, affecting connectivity across all networks, not just the office Wi-Fi. If the device connects successfully at home, the antenna is likely functional, indicating a problem specific to the office network configuration or the device's settings for that network.
- ✗
The office Wi-Fi router is out of range.
Why it's wrong here
If the office Wi-Fi router were truly out of range, other devices in the same location would also experience connection difficulties or complete signal loss. Since other devices connect without issue, the signal strength is adequate for the area, ruling out range as the primary cause for this specific smartphone's inability to connect.
- ✓
The smartphone has the wrong Wi-Fi password or security type saved.
Why this is correct
An incorrect Wi-Fi password (pre-shared key) or a mismatch in the security protocol (e.g., the smartphone is configured for WPA2 while the access point expects WPA3, or vice-versa) will prevent the smartphone from successfully authenticating with the office network. This is a device-specific configuration error that would explain why other devices can connect while this particular smartphone cannot establish a connection.
- ✗
The smartphone's IP address is static and conflicting.
Why it's wrong here
A static IP address conflict typically manifests as intermittent network connectivity issues or an inability to access network resources *after* successfully connecting to the Wi-Fi network, rather than preventing the initial Wi-Fi association and authentication entirely. Furthermore, modern networks with DHCP are designed to prevent such conflicts, and if one occurred, it wouldn't necessarily stop the device from associating with the access point.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
Network Configuration: IP, DNS, DHCP
Key term
CAN
A CAN (Controller Area Network) is a robust vehicle bus standard designed to allow microcontrollers and devices to communicate with each other without a host computer.
Key term
IP conflict
An IP conflict occurs when two devices on the same network attempt to use the same IP address, causing communication disruptions.
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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.