FR FieldReady Academy
CompTIA A+ Core 1 220-1201

CompTIA A+ Core 1 220-1201 Practice Test: 20 Free Questions with Answers

Twenty questions in the exam's domain weights, each with its answer and the reason. The full course has 270 explained questions plus generated math items, scored tests in the real exam's format, and lessons built from what you miss.

  1. A technician is about to replace the keyboard in a laptop that has an internal battery. Which step should be taken FIRST?

    1. Lift the locking tab and remove the keyboard ribbon cable from its ZIF connector
    2. Disconnect the AC adapter and the internal battery connector
    3. Update the keyboard firmware
    4. Remove the display assembly
    Show the answer

    Answer: B. Every internal laptop repair begins by shutting down, unplugging the adapter, and disconnecting or removing the battery so no power reaches the board while cables are moved. The ribbon cable comes out only after that.

    From the lesson Laptop Hardware: Replacing Batteries, Keyboards, RAM, Storage, Wireless Cards, Cameras, and Biometrics.

  2. A user wants to sit at a desk, plug one cable into a thin laptop, and have it charge, drive two external monitors, and connect to wired Ethernet. Which accessory meets this need?

    1. A USB port replicator with a built-in Ethernet jack
    2. A powered USB hub
    3. A Thunderbolt or USB-C docking station
    4. An HDMI splitter
    Show the answer

    Answer: C. A docking station over Thunderbolt or USB-C carries power delivery to charge the laptop, video for multiple monitors, Ethernet, and USB through a single connection. A port replicator adds ports but typically does not charge or drive multiple high-resolution displays.

    From the lesson Mobile Connections and Accessories: USB-C, Lightning, NFC, Bluetooth, Tethering, Docks, and Styluses.

  3. A user's phone shows no cellular signal, no Wi-Fi networks, and no Bluetooth devices. What should the technician check FIRST?

    1. Whether the SIM card is seated
    2. Whether the phone's storage is full
    3. Whether the carrier settings need an update
    4. Whether airplane mode is enabled
    Show the answer

    Answer: D. Airplane mode switches off every radio at once, which matches all three symptoms together. A SIM problem would affect cellular only, and carrier settings would not disable Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.

    From the lesson Mobile Network Connectivity: Cellular, SIM and eSIM, Wi-Fi, Hotspots, Bluetooth Pairing, and Location.

  4. A PC can ping every other device on its own subnet but cannot reach any address on the internet. Which configuration item is the MOST likely fault?

    1. The MAC address
    2. The default gateway
    3. The DNS suffix
    4. The link speed
    Show the answer

    Answer: B. Traffic for other networks is sent to the default gateway. If the gateway is missing, mistyped, or outside the subnet, local communication works while everything beyond the router fails.

    From the lesson How Data Moves: MAC and IP, Frames and Packets, Switches and Routers, and the Layers in Plain Terms.

  5. A technician needs to open a firewall port so remote users can connect with Remote Desktop. Which port must be allowed?

    1. TCP 22
    2. TCP 445
    3. TCP 3389
    4. UDP 161
    Show the answer

    Answer: C. Remote Desktop Protocol uses TCP port 3389. Port 445 is SMB file sharing, 22 is SSH, and UDP 161 is SNMP.

    From the lesson TCP Versus UDP and the Port List.

  6. Three access points on the 2.4 GHz band in one office are set to channels 2, 4, and 7, and users report slow wireless. Which channel plan would fix the interference?

    1. A single channel on all three access points
    2. Channels 1, 2, and 3
    3. Channels 36, 40, and 44
    4. Channels 1, 6, and 11
    Show the answer

    Answer: D. In the 2.4 GHz band only channels 1, 6, and 11 do not overlap at 20 MHz width. Adjacent channels such as 2, 4, and 7 overlap and interfere. Channels 36 and above belong to the 5 GHz band.

    From the lesson Wireless Technologies: Bands, Channels, Widths, 802.11 Standards, Bluetooth, NFC, and RFID.

  7. A small clinic needs its IP phones on a separate voice network from its computers, using a single switch. Which device is required?

    1. A managed switch
    2. An unmanaged switch
    3. A hub
    4. A PoE injector
    Show the answer

    Answer: A. Separating voice and data on one switch means VLANs, which are configured only on a managed switch. Unmanaged switches have no configuration interface.

    From the lesson Network Hardware: Routers, Switches, Access Points, Patch Panels, Firewalls, PoE, Modems, ONTs, and NICs.

  8. A new office needs 10 Gb/s Ethernet to workstations on cable runs of up to 90 meters. Which is the lowest category that meets the requirement?

    1. Cat 5e
    2. Cat 6a
    3. Cat 6
    4. Cat 8
    Show the answer

    Answer: B. Cat 6a supports 10 Gb/s over the full 100 m. Cat 6 manages 10 Gb/s only to about 55 m, Cat 5e tops out at 1 Gb/s, and Cat 8 is limited to 30 m runs.

    From the lesson Network Cables: Copper Categories, T568A and T568B, Shielding, Plenum, Direct Burial, Coax, and Fiber.

  9. A technician plugs an external drive into a blue USB port on a desktop. What maximum transfer rate does that port support?

    1. 480 Mb/s
    2. 10 Gb/s
    3. 5 Gb/s
    4. 40 Gb/s
    Show the answer

    Answer: C. Blue ports indicate USB 3.0 (also called 3.2 Gen 1) at 5 Gb/s. Black ports are USB 2.0 at 480 Mb/s, teal or red ports are 10 Gb/s, and 40 Gb/s is USB4 or Thunderbolt.

    From the lesson Peripheral, Video, and Drive Interfaces: USB, Thunderbolt, Lightning, Serial, HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI, VGA, SATA, and Adapters.

  10. A photo editor needs a monitor with the most accurate color and the widest viewing angles. Which LCD panel type should be recommended?

    1. TN
    2. VA
    3. Mini-LED backlit TN
    4. IPS
    Show the answer

    Answer: D. IPS (in-plane switching) panels offer the best color accuracy and viewing angles. TN is fastest but poor in color and angles, and VA emphasizes contrast.

    From the lesson Displays: LCD Types, OLED, Mini-LED, Digitizers, Inverters, Resolution, Density, Refresh, and Gamut.

  11. Which memory module has 288 pins, runs at 1.2 V, and is the most common desktop memory in service?

    1. DDR4 DIMM
    2. DDR3 DIMM
    3. DDR5 SODIMM
    4. DDR3 SODIMM
    Show the answer

    Answer: A. DDR4 DIMMs have 288 pins at 1.2 V. DDR3 DIMMs have 240 pins at 1.5 V, and DDR5 DIMMs also have 288 pins but a different notch and 1.1 V.

    From the lesson RAM: DIMM and SODIMM, DDR3 to DDR5, ECC, Channels, and Virtual Memory.

  12. A user wants the fastest possible boot drive for a desktop that has an M-keyed M.2 slot connected to PCIe lanes. Which drive should be chosen?

    1. A 2.5-inch SATA SSD
    2. An M.2 NVMe SSD
    3. An M.2 SATA SSD
    4. A 7,200 rpm hard drive
    Show the answer

    Answer: B. NVMe drives use PCIe lanes and reach thousands of megabytes per second, far beyond the roughly 550 MB/s limit of any SATA drive, including M.2 SATA.

    From the lesson Storage Devices: HDDs, SATA and NVMe SSDs, M.2, mSATA, SAS, Removable Media, and Optical.

  13. A data center wants the best performance and isolation for dozens of server VMs on each physical host. Which hypervisor type should be deployed?

    1. A type 2 hypervisor installed on a desktop OS
    2. A type 1 hypervisor installed directly on the hardware
    3. A container runtime on a workstation
    4. A VDI client
    Show the answer

    Answer: B. Type 1 (bare-metal) hypervisors run directly on the hardware with no host OS beneath them, giving the best performance and isolation for server virtualization.

    From the lesson Virtualization: Purposes, Hypervisor Types, VDI, and Containers.

  14. A VM will host a file share that other computers on the office LAN must connect to directly. Which virtual network mode should be used?

    1. NAT
    2. Host-only
    3. Bridged
    4. Internal only
    Show the answer

    Answer: C. Bridged networking connects the VM to the physical network as if it were another computer, giving it its own address that other devices can reach. NAT and host-only hide the VM.

    From the lesson Building a Virtual Machine: Requirements, Network Modes, Storage, Snapshots, and Security.

  15. A technician has questioned the user and identified recent changes on a PC that is behaving erratically. Before making any changes, what should the technician do?

    1. Reinstall the operating system
    2. Back up the user's data
    3. Replace the hard drive
    4. Document the outcome
    Show the answer

    Answer: B. Step one of the troubleshooting method includes backing up before changes, because a fix can make things worse and the data must be protected first.

    From the lesson The Troubleshooting Method and the Technician's Toolkit.

  16. A desktop shows no lights and no fan movement when the power button is pressed. What should the technician check FIRST?

    1. The RAM seating
    2. The CMOS battery
    3. The wall outlet, power cord, and PSU switch
    4. The CPU thermal paste
    Show the answer

    Answer: C. No power at all means starting at the source: the outlet, the cord at both ends, the power strip, and the supply's own switch and voltage selector, before suspecting internal parts.

    From the lesson Motherboard, RAM, CPU, and Power Symptoms.

  17. During startup, a PC displays a S.M.A.R.T. failure warning for the system drive. What should the technician do?

    1. Disable S.M.A.R.T. in firmware to stop the message
    2. Run a memory test
    3. Defragment the drive
    4. Back up the data and replace the drive
    Show the answer

    Answer: D. A S.M.A.R.T. failure prediction means the drive has crossed its own reliability thresholds. Treat it as a countdown: back up immediately and replace the drive.

    From the lesson Drive and RAID Symptoms.

  18. A monitor displays 'No signal' while the connected PC is clearly running. What should the technician check FIRST?

    1. The monitor's selected input source and the cable connections
    2. The graphics card's driver version, in case an outdated driver has disabled the output port
    3. The monitor's color gamut
    4. The PC's boot order
    Show the answer

    Answer: A. The cheapest and most common causes of no image are a monitor on the wrong input and a loose or damaged cable. Both are checked before any hardware is suspected.

    From the lesson Video, Projector, and Display Symptoms.

  19. A user reports that the back cover of their phone is lifting away from the case and the screen no longer sits flat. What should the technician advise?

    1. Press the cover back into place, apply fresh adhesive, and clamp it overnight until the bond sets
    2. Stop using the phone, do not charge it, and have the swollen battery replaced
    3. Perform a factory reset
    4. Update the operating system
    Show the answer

    Answer: B. A lifting cover or screen is the classic sign of a swollen battery. The device should not be used, charged, or pressed on, and the battery must be replaced and recycled properly.

    From the lesson Mobile Device Symptoms.

  20. Three PCs in one office began freezing briefly every hour right after new fluorescent lighting was installed in that office, while other offices are unaffected. What is the MOST likely cause?

    1. A malware infection on all three PCs
    2. Failing RAM in all three PCs, since machines bought in the same batch often age at the same rate
    3. Electrical interference or power quality problems from the new lighting circuit
    4. An expired domain certificate
    Show the answer

    Answer: C. Several machines in the same location failing together after an electrical change points to the environment, not to software or individual hardware. Power conditioning or a separate circuit resolves it.

    From the lesson Worked Hardware Cases: From Symptom to Fix, Five Complete Walkthroughs.