- A
The workstation's subnet mask is incorrect.
Why wrong: Incorrect. If the subnet mask were wrong, the ping to the gateway might fail, but it succeeded.
- B
The router's WAN connection is down or misconfigured.
Correct. Since local connectivity works but external fails, the router likely has no internet connection.
- C
The DNS server is not configured on the workstation.
Why wrong: Incorrect. DNS is not needed for pinging an IP address; the technician used 8.8.8.8, not a domain name.
- D
The workstation's IP address is a duplicate.
Why wrong: Incorrect. An IP conflict would likely cause intermittent issues, but the successful ping to the gateway suggests no conflict.
Question 998 of 1,020
Internet Access Failure: Gateway Ping Works but Can't Reach External IPs
This 220-1201 practice question tests your understanding of ip addressing. The scenario asks you to isolate a root cause — eliminate options that address a different problem before choosing. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A technician is troubleshooting a network where a user cannot access the internet. The user's workstation has an IP of 192.168.1.15, subnet mask 255.255.255.0, and default gateway 192.168.1.1. The technician pings 192.168.1.1 successfully but cannot ping 8.8.8.8. What is the most likely cause?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue:
"most likely"Why it matters: Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
Quick Answer
The answer is that the router’s WAN connection is down or misconfigured. A successful ping to the default gateway (192.168.1.1) proves that the workstation’s local network stack, cable, and switch are all working correctly, so the failure is not on the LAN side. When you can reach the gateway but cannot ping an external IP like 8.8.8.8, the problem lies beyond the router’s internal interface—typically a lost WAN link, an ISP outage, or misconfigured WAN settings. On the CompTIA A+ Core 1 220-1201 exam, this scenario tests your ability to isolate network faults using a layered troubleshooting approach; a common trap is to blame the workstation’s DNS or IP configuration when the real issue is upstream. Remember the memory tip: “Local ping good, external ping bad? The WAN is what’s sad.”
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 router's WAN connection is down or misconfigured.
Successful pings to the default gateway (192.168.1.1) confirm that Layer 2 and Layer 3 connectivity within the local subnet is working, and that the workstation's IP, subnet mask, and default gateway are correctly configured. Failure to ping 8.8.8.8 (a public IP) indicates that traffic is not being routed beyond the local network, which points to an issue with the router's WAN connection or its routing configuration to the internet.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
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 workstation's subnet mask is incorrect.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. If the subnet mask were wrong, the ping to the gateway might fail, but it succeeded.
- ✓
The router's WAN connection is down or misconfigured.
Why this is correct
Correct. Since local connectivity works but external fails, the router likely has no internet connection.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "most likely" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- ✗
The DNS server is not configured on the workstation.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. DNS is not needed for pinging an IP address; the technician used 8.8.8.8, not a domain name.
- ✗
The workstation's IP address is a duplicate.
Why it's wrong here
Incorrect. An IP conflict would likely cause intermittent issues, but the successful ping to the gateway suggests no conflict.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Cisco often tests the distinction between local connectivity (gateway reachable) and external connectivity (WAN/routing issue), leading candidates to incorrectly blame workstation configuration when the problem is upstream.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
When a workstation pings an external IP like 8.8.8.8, the packet is sent to the default gateway (192.168.1.1) via ARP, then the router must perform a routing table lookup to determine the next hop. If the router's WAN interface (e.g., a PPPoE, DHCP, or static public IP) is down or misconfigured, the router will have no route to the internet and will either drop the packet or send an ICMP Destination Unreachable message. This scenario is common in SOHO environments where the ISP link fails or the router's WAN settings are incorrect.
KKey Concepts to Remember
- Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
- Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
- Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
- Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
- Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A network engineer segments a warehouse floor into three subnets: 20 scanners, 5 printers, and 2 management hosts. Picking the wrong mask wastes addresses or leaves too few usable hosts. Exam questions test whether you can apply CIDR notation, calculate block size, and identify the correct usable-host range for a given prefix.
Visual reference
Quick reference
IPv4 Address Class Summary
| Class | First Octet Range | Default Mask | Networks | Hosts per Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1–126 | /8 (255.0.0.0) | 126 | 16,777,214 |
| B | 128–191 | /16 (255.255.0.0) | 16,384 | 65,534 |
| C | 192–223 | /24 (255.255.255.0) | 2,097,152 | 254 |
| D | 224–239 | N/A | Multicast groups | — |
| E | 240–255 | N/A | Reserved / experimental | — |
127.x.x.x is reserved for loopback. Modern networks use CIDR (classless) rather than classful addressing.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
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FAQ
Questions learners often ask
What does this 220-1201 question test?
IP Addressing — This question tests IP Addressing — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The router's WAN connection is down or misconfigured. — Successful pings to the default gateway (192.168.1.1) confirm that Layer 2 and Layer 3 connectivity within the local subnet is working, and that the workstation's IP, subnet mask, and default gateway are correctly configured. Failure to ping 8.8.8.8 (a public IP) indicates that traffic is not being routed beyond the local network, which points to an issue with the router's WAN connection or its routing configuration to the internet.
What should I do if I get this 220-1201 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "most likely". Probability qualifier — the question wants the most probable cause or outcome, not a guaranteed one. Eliminate low-probability options.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
Same concept, more angles
1 more ways this is tested on 220-1201
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A user reports that they can only access the internet intermittently. The technician runs ipconfig and sees an IPv4 address of 192.168.1.105 with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0 and a default gateway of 192.168.1.1. The technician pings the gateway successfully, but pings to 8.8.8.8 fail. What is the most likely issue?
medium- A.The user's computer has a duplicate IP address.
- B.The DNS server is not resolving addresses.
- ✓ C.The router's WAN connection is down or misconfigured.
- D.The user's firewall is blocking ICMP traffic.
Why C: The technician can ping the local gateway (192.168.1.1) successfully, which confirms that Layer 2 and Layer 3 connectivity within the local subnet is working and that the user's IP configuration is valid. However, pings to the public DNS server 8.8.8.8 fail, indicating that traffic cannot reach the internet. Since the gateway is reachable but external IPs are not, the most likely cause is that the router's WAN connection is down or misconfigured, preventing traffic from being routed beyond the local network.
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Last reviewed: Jul 4, 2026
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