220-1101 Networking Practice Question
A technician is troubleshooting a computer that cannot access any websites by their domain name (e.g., www.example.com) but can access websites by their IP address. The computer's IP configuration shows it received a valid IP address from the DHCP server. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
CompTIA often tests the distinction between DNS and gateway issues by presenting a scenario where IP access works but domain access fails, leading candidates to incorrectly blame the default gateway instead of the DNS server.
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 DNS server address is incorrect or unreachable
The ability to access websites by IP address but not by domain name indicates that name resolution is failing. Since the computer has a valid IP address from DHCP, the most likely cause is that the DNS server address provided by DHCP is incorrect or unreachable, preventing the translation of domain names to IP addresses.
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 default gateway is incorrect
Why it's wrong here
An incorrect default gateway would prevent the computer from routing traffic to any destination outside its local subnet, including both domain-name-based and IP-address-based web access. Since the symptom is specifically that name resolution fails while direct IP access presumably still works, a gateway misconfiguration would cause a broader loss of connectivity, not a selective failure restricted to DNS. Therefore, this option does not match the described scenario.
- ✓
The DNS server address is incorrect or unreachable
Why this is correct
The DNS server address is the correct cause because DNS resolution is the mechanism that maps human-friendly domain names to routable IP addresses. If the DNS server is misconfigured, unreachable, or not responding, the computer cannot resolve names, but it can still communicate with hosts whose IP addresses are already known or entered directly. This exactly matches the symptom of being unable to load websites by domain name while still being able to access resources by IP address.
- ✗
The subnet mask is incorrect
Why it's wrong here
An incorrect subnet mask causes the host to incorrectly determine whether a destination IP address is on the same local network or a remote network. This would lead to wrong ARP requests or attempts to send packets directly to unreachable destinations, affecting all traffic to those misclassified addresses—not just DNS queries. Since the problem is isolated to name resolution, a subnet mask error is an unlikely and non-selective explanation.
- ✗
The DHCP lease has expired
Why it's wrong here
An expired DHCP lease would typically cause the computer to release its valid IPv4 configuration and either request a new lease or fall back to an Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA) address in the 169.254.0.0/16 range. The question stem indicates that a valid IP address was obtained, so an expired lease cannot be the underlying issue. Moreover, even if the lease were renewed with different settings, the impact would be on the entire network configuration, not solely on DNS resolution.
Visual reference
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
This 220-1101 question is part of Courseiva's 896-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 220-1101 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 220-1101 exam.