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220-1201 Practice Question: During a conference call, a user complains that…
During a conference call, a user complains that their wireless earbuds keep disconnecting from their smartphone every few minutes. The earbuds work fine when paired with a different phone. What is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
The 220-1201 exam often tests the misconception that Bluetooth disconnections are always due to driver or compatibility issues, but the trap here is that environmental interference (especially in a conference room with many devices) is the most likely cause when the earbuds work elsewhere.
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
✓
Bluetooth interference from other devices in the conference room.
Bluetooth operates in the 2.4 GHz ISM band, which is shared with Wi-Fi, cordless phones, and other wireless devices. In a conference room with many active devices, RF interference can cause packet loss or retransmission delays, leading the Bluetooth Adaptive Frequency Hopping (AFH) mechanism to fail to avoid all congested channels, resulting in periodic disconnections. The fact that the earbuds work fine with a different phone isolates the issue to the smartphone's environment rather than the earbuds themselves.
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 earbuds have a low battery.
Why it's wrong here
A low battery in the earbuds typically manifests as reduced range, intermittent audio dropouts, or complete disconnections due to insufficient power for stable signal transmission. However, if the earbuds function perfectly with a different smartphone, it indicates their battery is adequately charged and capable of maintaining a connection. Therefore, the problem is not inherent to the earbuds' power level but rather specific to the current smartphone or its environment.
- ✗
The smartphone's Bluetooth driver is outdated.
Why it's wrong here
An outdated Bluetooth driver on the smartphone would likely cause consistent issues across all environments, such as failure to pair, corrupted audio, or general instability, rather than problems localized specifically to a conference room. Driver issues usually result in persistent malfunctions or complete non-functionality, not intermittent disconnections tied to a particular physical location. The environmental specificity points away from a fundamental software problem.
- ✓
Bluetooth interference from other devices in the conference room.
Why this is correct
Conference rooms are often densely populated with numerous wireless devices, including other smartphones, laptops, Wi-Fi access points, and wireless peripherals, all operating within the crowded 2.4 GHz Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) radio band. This high concentration of active devices creates significant radio frequency (RF) interference, which can disrupt the Bluetooth signal between the smartphone and earbuds, leading to frequent and frustrating disconnections.
- ✗
The earbuds are not compatible with the smartphone's Bluetooth version.
Why it's wrong here
Bluetooth technology is designed with strong backward compatibility, meaning newer devices can typically connect and communicate with older ones, albeit potentially without the latest features or speeds. If the earbuds and smartphone had a fundamental Bluetooth version incompatibility, they would most likely fail to pair or establish any connection whatsoever. Intermittent disconnections after a successful initial connection indicate an external, dynamic factor rather than a static compatibility barrier.
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Related to this question
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Key term
Smartphone
A smartphone is a handheld mobile device that combines cellular communication with computing capabilities, running an operating system that supports third-party applications, internet connectivity, and a touchscreen interface.
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.
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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.