hardMultiple Choice
FC0-U71 Practice Question: A technician is diagnosing performance issues in…
A technician is diagnosing performance issues in a wireless network. Users report intermittent slowdowns. Which of the following is the MOST likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers confuse 'intermittent slowdowns' with 'weak signal' or 'incorrect channel width,' but CompTIA emphasizes that interference from neighboring networks is the most common cause of sporadic performance issues in dense wireless environments.
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
✓
Interference from neighboring networks
Intermittent slowdowns in a wireless network are most commonly caused by co-channel or adjacent-channel interference from neighboring networks. Wi-Fi operates on shared, unlicensed spectrum (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz), and overlapping channels or high utilization from nearby access points force stations to wait for clear channel access, causing latency spikes and throughput drops. WPA2 encryption overhead is negligible for modern hardware, and weak signal or incorrect channel width would typically cause consistent, not intermittent, issues.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
WPA2 encryption overhead
Why it's wrong here
WPA2 encryption overhead is fixed and negligible on modern hardware, so it cannot produce intermittent slowdowns. It is tempting because encryption sounds resource-intensive, but the stem's variability indicates a transient cause such as interference or channel contention, not a constant cryptographic cost.
- ✗
Weak signal from the access point
Why it's wrong here
A weak signal causes consistently poor throughput at range, not intermittent slowdowns affecting users unpredictably. It is tempting because signal strength is a common wireless fault, but the stem describes transient degradation, which points to interference or contention rather than coverage.
- ✓
Interference from neighboring networks
Why this is correct
Neighbouring wireless networks on overlapping channels cause co-channel and adjacent-channel interference, producing intermittent slowdowns as contention and retransmissions rise. This matches the reported symptom better than coverage gaps or authentication failures, which would cause consistent drops rather than variable performance.
- ✗
Incorrect channel width setting
Why it's wrong here
A mismatched channel width reduces throughput or causes co-channel interference, but it produces consistently degraded performance rather than the intermittent slowdowns described. It is tempting because channel width tuning is a genuine wireless optimisation task, yet the stem's intermittency points to a transient cause.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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