220-1101 Networking Practice Question

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

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  A. Change the client device to use the 5 GHz band

  Why this is correct

  The 5 GHz band offers a much larger number of non-overlapping channels (up to 23 depending on country and DFS support) compared to 2.4 GHz, and it experiences significantly less congestion from neighboring networks, Wi-Fi traffic, and external devices such as Bluetooth and microwave ovens. In a densely populated building, moving the client device to 5 GHz reduces co-channel interference because your apartment's 5 GHz channel is likely unused by neighbors, whereas 2.4 GHz has only three effective non-overlapping channels (1, 6, 11) that are almost certainly saturated. Although 5 GHz has shorter range, in an apartment setting that is rarely a limitation, making it the most reliable solution.

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  B. Change the wireless security from WPA2 to WPA3

  Why it's wrong here

  Changing the wireless security from WPA2 to WPA3 modifies the encryption and authentication handshake used to protect data, but it has absolutely no effect on the radio-frequency spectrum, channel width, or the physical-layer signals that experience interference. Interference and congestion are determined by radio physics, not by the security protocol. In a dense apartment building, neighbors' overlapping Wi-Fi signals would be just as strong whether you use WPA2 or WPA3, so the dropouts would persist.

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  C. Increase the router's transmit power to maximum

  Why it's wrong here

  Cranking the router's transmit power to its maximum increases the strength of your own signal, but in a congested environment it also raises the noise floor for every neighboring network that shares the same or adjacent channels. Because the underlying problem is co-channel interference from other access points, making your transmitter louder can cause both your own group of clients and your neighbors' clients to experience worse performance due to increased mutual interference. It can also widen the overlap region, creating more hidden-node behavior and making the problem harder to resolve. So power alone does not add capacity or reduce interference; it often exacerbates it.

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  D. Change the network SSID to a unique name

  Why it's wrong here

  Changing the SSID to a unique name only alters the network identifier announced in beacon frames; it does not change the operating frequency, channel number, transmit power, or any other physical-layer parameter that governs radio interference. Since congestion and intermittent disconnects originate from overlapping wireless transmissions on the same or neighboring channels, an SSID change cannot mitigate the problem. A unique name might help you identify your network in a scan, but it has no effect on the spectrum or on how your radio coexists with others.

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